Tag Archives: movies

Film Series

Four Movies for Analysis

Faith and Film at the Palace

This is a list of movies we will examine in the class along with some key questions the films raise.

(Note: Movies are subject to change if circumstances warrant.)

Sunday, June 2

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Inside Out (2015)

From IMDb: “After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.”

Respondent: Dr. Dave Helms, LPC

Dave Helms is a respected Licenced Professional Counselor practicing in the Austin area. In addition to his other qualifications, he has a  graudate degree in Child Psychology.

With the sequel hitting theaters in June, it is time to revisit this movie that attempted to portray the emotional battles inside the mind of a pre-teen girl. The film is animated, which leads one to conclude it is aimed at children. We invite anyone with kids or grandkids to examine this film to get a glimpse of the spiritual battles our young people are experiencing these days.

Questions this film raises:

  1. What does the current field of child psychology say about the internal emotional conflicts in a young person?
  2. Has popular science changed the way practitioners and parents treat children who have struggles like these?
  3. Are children raised in a Christian home immune to any of these problems?
  4. Are sadness and fear necessary emotions in a healthy psyche? What else is necessary? What should be repressed?
  5. What comfort and assurance can help a child who struggles with their emotions?

Sunday, June 9 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Barbie (2023)

From IMDb: “Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.”

Respondent: Robin Knippa

Robin Knippa, is a career woman, but she is also a wife and mother. She often leads Bible Classes addressing popular culture at Zion Lutheran in Walburg.

  1. What does the journey between the real and utopian Barbieland world represent? Is it the journey to maturity or the entry into a sinful world or something else?
  2. Is everything possible for women today? Have they, in at least some ways, become superior to men?
  3. What does it feel like to be put in a box? Are the intentions of the Mattel executives entirely bad? What do they aim to preserve?
  4. What does this movie say about the evolving symbiotic relationship between men and women?
  5. What statements or revelations about the relationship between the creator and the created does this movie uncover?

Sunday, June 16

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Friday Night Lights (The movie, 2004)

From IMDb: “Based on H.G. Bissinger’s book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.”

Respondent: Mike Barnes

Formerly the award-winning sports director at KVUE, Mike is now a motivational speaker and communications consultant at Barnes Team Media. He and his wife Kim recently launched Parenting Aging Parents, a resource site for people facing that unique challenge.

No one knows high school football better than our respondent. As sports director, Barns hosted the popular Friday Football Fever broadcast each fall, covering Central Texas high school football.  Many will remember his broadcasts on Friday nights covering area high school football games. 

Questions this film raises:

  1. What is the mystique about high school football, especially in small towns in Texas?
  2. How has the stadium become a holy place for many players and fans alike?
  3. What are some of the positive spirtual benefits of playing on a competitive sports team? What are the potential problems with it?
  4. How compelling is the promise of a college scholarship for these athletes? Might this carrot-on-a-stick serve as a metaphor for one’s own life quest?
  5. Is the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer (in both locker rooms) indicative of a deeper truth about Texas high school sports? How do viewers interpret that moment?

Sunday, June 23 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

The Breakfast Club (1985)

From IMDb: “Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.”

Respondent: Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Recently the interim senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School, Rev. Dr. David Kluth has also served as a professor, vice president, and dean at several Concordia universities. David led the relocation of Concordia University Texas to its new campus. He earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in instructional technology & design from Nova Southeastern University.

This classic movie is also worthy of a second look. Five teenagers, each saturated in their preferred school culture, are forced together to endure a dreaded day-long detention. The day becomes a journey of transformation for the teens. In one way or another, each of them experiences renewal as their day of detention transforms into a day of liberation.

Questions this film raises:

  1. Are the characters meant to represent universal stereotypes among high school students? If the movie were made today, what characters would be in the movie?
  2. How powerful is the drive for social acceptance among people, especially in the young?
  3. What universal strengths and/or weaknesses are apparent in each character? How does each student transition throughout the day?
  4. The retention writing assignment asks the students, “Who you think you are?” How profound and relevant is that question for today?
  5. Is anyone redeemed in this movie? If so, who or what is the redeemer?

DISCLAMER: MOVIES MAY CONTAIN ROUGH LANGUAGE AND DEPICT SEXUAL SITUAIONS.

Series Curator

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented in the U.S., Finland, and Spain on how audiences interpret the movies they watch. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he teaches at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southeaster University.

Old hymnboard with class dates.

 

Many of us will remember how enthusiastic viewers were last summer about this nostalgic look at the Barbie Doll craze. Like the doll itself, the movie seemed to be aimed at young girls. Upon closer examination, the movie makes some profound statements about the journey of young women who enjoy unlimited opportunities in whatever path they choose. Likewise, the movie makes a statement about marriage and the role of men in this utopian world. For both women and men—this movie demands a deeper look.

Questions this film raises:

  1. What does the journey between the real and utopian Barbieland world represent? Is it the journey to maturity or the entry into a sinful world or something else?
  2. Is everything possible for women today? Have they, in at least some ways, become superior to men?
  3. What does it feel like to be put in a box? Are the intentions of the Mattel executives entirely bad? What do they aim to preserve?
  4. What does this movie say about the evolving symbiotic relationship between men and women?
  5. What statements or revelations about the relationship between the creator and the created does this movie uncover?

Sunday, June 16

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Friday Night Lights (The movie, 2004)

From IMDb: “Based on H.G. Bissinger’s book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.”

Respondent: Mike Barnes

Formerly the award-winning sports director at KVUE, Mike is now a motivational speaker and communications consultant at Barnes Team Media. He and his wife Kim recently launched Parenting Aging Parents, a resource site for people facing that unique challenge.

No one knows high school football better than our respondent. As sports director, Barns hosted the popular Friday Football Fever broadcast each fall, covering Central Texas high school football.  Many will remember his broadcasts on Friday nights covering area high school football games. 

Questions this film raises:

  1. What is the mystique about high school football, especially in small towns in Texas?
  2. How has the stadium become a holy place for many players and fans alike?
  3. What are some of the positive spirtual benefits of playing on a competitive sports team? What are the potential problems with it?
  4. How compelling is the promise of a college scholarship for these athletes? Might this carrot-on-a-stick serve as a metaphor for one’s own life quest?
  5. Is the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer (in both locker rooms) indicative of a deeper truth about Texas high school sports? How do viewers interpret that moment?

Sunday, June 23 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

The Breakfast Club (1985)

From IMDb: “Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.”

Respondent: Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Recently the interim senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School, Rev. Dr. David Kluth has also served as a professor, vice president, and dean at several Concordia universities. David led the relocation of Concordia University Texas to its new campus. He earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in instructional technology & design from Nova Southeastern University.

This classic movie is also worthy of a second look. Five teenagers, each saturated in their preferred school culture, are forced together to endure a dreaded day-long detention. The day becomes a journey of transformation for the teens. In one way or another, each of them experiences renewal as their day of detention transforms into a day of liberation.

Questions this film raises:

  1. Are the characters meant to represent universal stereotypes among high school students? If the movie were made today, what characters would be in the movie?
  2. How powerful is the drive for social acceptance among people, especially in the young?
  3. What universal strengths and/or weaknesses are apparent in each character? How does each student transition throughout the day?
  4. The retention writing assignment asks the students, “Who you think you are?” How profound and relevant is that question for today?
  5. Is anyone redeemed in this movie? If so, who or what is the redeemer?

DISCLAMER: MOVIES MAY CONTAIN ROUGH LANGUAGE AND DEPICT SEXUAL SITUAIONS.

Series Curator

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented in the U.S., Finland, and Spain on how audiences interpret the movies they watch. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he teaches at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southeaster University.

Old hymnboard with class dates.

 

Film Series, Miscellaneous

Faith and Film at the Palace Theater (Informal Class for the Community)

Image Leave a comment

Faith and Film at the Historic Georgetown Palace Theater

 

Old hymnboard with class dates.Three years after being shut down due to the pandemic, Cinema & Religion returned as Faith and Film, hosted at The Palace Theater* on the historic square in Georgetown, Texas. The series was held four Sundays in July and four in October.

The series at The Palace resumes June 2 with four great films to discuss, led by four capable respondents.

Continue reading Faith and Film at the Palace Theater (Informal Class for the Community) →

Published Books

THE FILMMAKER’S PRAYER: CINEMA & RELIGION by Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

Leave a comment

Excerpt from THE FILMMAKER’S PRAYER

© Philip J. Hohle

     . . . According to Barna and Gallup polls, most of the residents in the U.S. are religious—or at least, we claim Christianity or some other mainstream faith-based worldview. Is it not strange then, that filmmakers often avoid addressing anything serious about religion in their movies?  At times, religion does play some positive minor role in the plot, but religiosity is more often the cause of the antagonist’s opposition to the less-religious protagonist than the reverse. It has become self-evident; religion is too complicated or fragmented for a scriptwriter to use as background for her characters. In making a character too religious, the writer runs the risk of losing some of the consubstantiation a viewer needs in order to like a character.

     In spite of filmmaker’s reluctance to make the celluloid sacred, I will argue in this book that films are full of religion. Both unconsciously and consciously, filmmakers infuse religion into the story in subtle ways, which can be missed unless the viewer is able to interpret the film on a less conventional level. Furthermore, I propose that if the viewer is not aware of the filmmaker’s religious sense-making within their created world, they are more subject to influence or even conversion. Considering the power of film, one can argue that the filmmaker is today’s tent-revival evangelist. But of course, most of this influence is worked in the unconscious and not always recognized in a conventional read of the film.

   In reading on, there will be some terms I use often that help shape the argument. As a matter of fact, Cinema & Religion is the sequel to Lenses, my previous book revealing ten perspectives one can use to interpret and make sense of movie narratives. . . .

[section omitted]

. . . This brings us back to the fundamental premise of this book. Films are full of ideology, and that ideology is often an identifiable worldview that is promoted as passionately as any religion. In these pages, we will compare the values, assumptions, and beliefs represented in films that, not only entertain us, but they comfort or disrupt us; they instruct and motivate us; they help us make sense of our lives. I hope that sounds like religion to you.

This book will:

  • Identify the key religious themes commonly found in narratives.
  • Show how these themes can be found and examined in a film.
  • Illustrate how the religious perspective will reinterpret the role and function of characters, the meaning of signs, and even the plot found in a movie.
  • Help the reader compare and contrast the ideological messages some popular movies to the divine story in Christianity.
  • Advance your emerging fluency as a lay critic, becoming more confident in recognizing the ideology and theology of a film.
  • Help you find a voice in communicating a case for its value or lack of value to our world. Ultimately, you can help shape the conversation over the film’s contribution to our culture’s grand narrative.
  • Motivate you to respond to an exigence (an urgent issue) raised by the film viewing experience.
  • Affirm and strengthen your appreciation for the power of film and the ability of the filmmaker to bring the viewer to experience transcendence in the story.
Published Books

LENSES: Ten Ways to Interpret the Movies You Love (and some you hated) by Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

Leave a comment
LENSES book cover man with film running in his head

Excerpt from the Introduction

© Philip J. Hohle

…This remarkable influence is why it is so vital that viewers learn to read film. It is not so we can all have the same interpretation. I think of the old school literature professor who refuses to recognize any alternative interpretation of a classic poem. Recall the first literature class John Keating has with his students in Dead Poet’s Society4. Keating has his students rip out pages in the textbook that proposed the goodness and truth of a poem could be measured scientifically—leading to a singular, objective interpretation.

Conversely, the lessons in this book serve more like a guide to make us more sensitive—more aware of both the effect proposed by the filmmaker (e.g., the film craft as a noun) as well as the affect film has on us (as in a verb). In becoming literate, we become aware of the power we give film. But do not worry that your nuanced sensitivity will spoil your enjoyment—not like how a backstage tour of Disneyland diminishes the magic. Instead, I argue our literacy makes film even more powerful. We become more aware of the subtleties most viewers miss. Knowing more about the craft makes one appreciate it so much more when the film is indeed well made.

     Becoming fluent means you can help others toward a higher appreciation of such well-made movies. Fluency for me means one can interpret film for the benefit of others—to heighten their own literacy. This increased competency can mean you will more fully love the good movies you love. Likewise, you will help open other’s eyes to seeing disruptive films for what they really are. To our friends, parents, children, and the stranger in line at the film festival— we are critics. And the more fluent we are, the more we provide useful lenses for others to use.

Lenses are what this book is finally all about—ten sets of glasses one can try on in order to make sense of a film. Metaphorically, this book is an exercise in showing the changes of hue and texture each lens affords. Thus, selecting an appropriate lens becomes critical to a fulfilling and helpful critique of a film. Not only will each lens reveal a different story in the same movie, each person also employs personal filters that may blur or sharpen what the filmmaker intended. Being aware of one’s filters can reveal something about us as they simultaneously serve to help illuminate the film…

4. Dead Poet’s Society, directed by Peter Weir (1989; Touchstone Home Entertainment, 2012), BluRay.

Find this book on AMAZON in both paperback and eReader editions.

Film Series

Fall 2019 Movies

Leave a comment

Lenses: Entertainment as a Second Language

The title of the movie we select for discussion will be posted here one week in advance (including starting time and theater number).

Nov. 18th, 6:00 PM, Theater 2

Jojo Rabbit

From IMDB [Fox Searchlight] “Writer director Taika Waititi (THOR: RAGNAROK, HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE), brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, JOJO RABBIT, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as JoJo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.” PG-13, 1 hr. 48 min. View trailer here.

 

Past Movies Discussed

Nov. 4th 6:00 PM, Theater 3

THE CURRENT WAR

Oct. 28th 6:00 PM, Theater 10

MALEFICENT — MISTRESS OF EVIL

Oct 21st 7:00 PM, Theater 1

Gemini Man

Oct 7th 6:30 PM, Theater 8

Joker

Sept. 30th 6:30 PM, Theater 9

Judy

Sept. 23rd 6:00 PM, Theater 10

Downton Abbey

Sept. 16th 7:00 PM, Theater 2

Brittany Runs a Marathon

Sept. 9th 6:00 PM, Theater 3

The Peanut Butter Falcon

 

Film Series

Lenses: Entertainment as a Second Language

Leave a comment

LENSES Informal Class for Community Learners

 

Parabolic Media is pleased to announce the return of Lenses, the popular Informal Classes for the Community starting Monday, September 9th.  6:30 PM at The Moviehouse & Eatery. For the Fall 2019 LENSES Series, there is no registration fee. Simply purchase your ticket at the box office or online on the Moviehouse & Eatery website. The series runs Sept. 9 through Nov. 18 (excluding Veterans Day on Nov. 11).

New for the Fall 2019 season, participants will be viewing CURRENT films being offered by The Moviehouse & Eatery. Due to fluctuations in distribution, the movie, start time, and theater number will be announced no earlier than one week prior to each class. Watch our web page for updates. Note that the opinions expressed in LENSES do not necessarily reflect the position of The Moviehouse’s owners, managers, or employees.

Poster announcing series on Monday nights at the movies house and eatery.

 

Participants will explore and practice ten valuable lenses that can make them fluent in their media consumption—better at making sense of the messages and meanings behind their favorite movies. Improve your media literacy—become fluent in reading popular film.

The Lenses series is parallel to the Cinema and Religion series offered at The Moviehouse each spring. Focusing on film, the two classes provide examinations of this compelling media form in the context of an actual movie theater with an audience—the most pure and powerful viewing environment.

For more information, visit the FAQ page.

 

Class logo