Pro-life trend in the media this year

A new survey by ABC News found that Americans are 6% more pro-life than 6 months ago. I believe that the rash of pro-lifed themed songs and movies out there may have had something to do with it.
There's the Romanian "Nine Months" movie, which won the Cannes Film Festival this year, American films "Waitress","Juno", "Knocked Up", "In the Wake of Choice", "Bella", and "Noelle". I can't think of another year with so many movies, which contained strong pro-life themes, perhaps even unintentionally.
The French Candian folk-rock band, "Mes Aieux"(my ancestors) were upset when their song, "Degeneration" about the sterility of modern French Candadians was reported as pro-life. But it is.
Roughly translated into English, the words say:
“Now you, my little lady, change partners all the time
When you screw up you save yourself by aborting
But there are mornings when you awake crying
When you dream in the night of a large table surrounded by little ones.”
The song title is a play on words that signifies not only the passing of generations, but the moral degeneration as well.
HT Lifesite
Former Senator from Pennysylvania, Rick Santorum wrote an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer on this phenomenon.
There is a saying "politics is downstream from culture". I'm beginning to see the wisdom in that expression.

Exciting News: Cover to Cover to begin reading Swimming With Scapulars

Catholic Radio International’s latest show, Cover to Cover, will begin reading Swimming With Scapulars on Monday, January 7, 2008. This book was a best seller for Loyola Press and made the Catholic News Service best seller list in May of 2005.

This popular book is the memoir of Matthew Lickona, a staff writer at the alternative weekly, the San Diego Reader. It has been variously described as “a sometimes funky, sometimes lyrical explanation of how a cradle Catholic, who buys the whole package, thinks, prays, struggles, and manages to have a lot of fun while being self-consciously counter-cultural” (George Weigel), “a breath of fresh air, thoughtfully written and happily absent of platitudes and pious moralizing” (Publishers Weekly starred review), “done in precise, sometimes rollicking language that is charged with a taut energy that comes with tying the firm line of formal religious practice to the anchor of devotion” (Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion), and “a delightfully high-spirited and candid account of living Catholicism as though it were true, scapulars included” (First Things).

The book will be read by CRI’s Joseph O’Brien. Joe has a vested interest in the book because he and Matthew are very good friends. In fact, Joe is mentioned several times in the book, for instance as the one who introduced Matthew to both scapulars and Wild Turkey bourbon (101 proof).

This will prove to be a great read and a great listen. You can find the installments at Catholic Radio International’s website every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

This is exciting news for more than one reason.

First, how I have missed hearing of this great resource I don't know but I'm happy to have found it. Check out their site as there is another interesting looking book just finishing up. Also, I will be interested to check out their archives section which is coming soon.

The only disappointment is that, from what I can tell, the files are not downloadable. This is a detriment for those of us who can't listen at their computer but download files for drive time, chore time (hey, otherwise would my floor get washed? I think not!), knitting, etc. I'm checking this out with them as I may have missed something.

Secondly, I am a big fan of Swimming with Scapulars (review, excerpt, another excerpt) and recommend it to any young Catholics who are married or of marriagable age for a realistic yet cheerful view of the struggles encountered in that sacrament.

Cross-posted at Happy Catholic.

Eastern Promises (2007)

Short Review: There is exactly one too many naked men in this film – that is to say there’s a naked man in this film.


This is a brutal film and not for the queasy. The film opens with a gory throat slashing and then moves directly to a pregnant woman hemorrhaging at a convenience store. If this seems like a harsh way to open a film you can stop reading now, this isn’t the film for you.

The film showcases a family of Russian mobsters operating in London. Anna, a midwife (Naomi “how can someone so pretty be so boring” Watts) looks over a baby after the baby’s anonymous mother dies. Having only the mother’s diary (which is written in Russian) for identification, Anna decides to have a local Russian immigrant restaurateur translate the book. Unbeknownst to Anna, the restaurateur (Armin Mueller Stahl) is the head of a crime family and the dead girl is one of his sex slaves. Anna is quickly pulled into the web of the mobsters which includes the stoic Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen). If you don't think this sounds like a compelling narrative, you’d be right. The story is rather flat, but the lack of a fantastic arc to the story lends more credibility to the piece in a certain way. This is a mob movie with all of the contrivances removed. Since it is devoid of stylized assassinations and gangland battles, we are left with a stark character piece that is all too willing to show the bad side of those involved.

Mortensen (Hidalgo) is the real treasure in the film and he commands over the other performances. His Nikolai is an intensely interesting yet utterly despicable character. This performance is a clear candidate for a best actor nod and deservedly so. The man is willing to make risky moves in his career. Following the Lord of the Rings Trilogy it is certain he could have written his own ticket and gone the usual Hollywood route. Mortensen has chosen a different path and followed with more complicated roles that reveal an actor more interested in making intelligent works than popcorn fluff.

This film reteams director David Cronenberg (Scanners, The Fly) and Mortensen. Much like their previous effort, A History of Violence, this film studies violent characters and the morally confused universes they inhabit. This piece is filled with harsh scenes of cruel people doing cruel things to one another. Many feel that violence in film is inherently a bad thing. In particular people despise the acts like the ones found in this movie which seem to fail to provide a clear moral denunciation of the violence. I disagree with this view provided there is context and meaning to the violence. The violence in the film is not stylized nor is it cinema friendly. There’s a sense of dreadful inevitability to every horrifying act. The criminals are predators and they do what predators are inclined to do – hunt, destroy and consume. When a man is murdered by an opposing mob family or when a woman is introduced into sexual slavery, it is treated as a natural act no different than the killing of a weak elk by a lion. Those who live by the sword die by the sword so those involved should be shocked when their time comes. Cronenberg orchestrates the adult content to full effect. An example of this is the movie’s most striking scene where Mortensen’s character Nikolai is attacked in a steam bath. Nikolai and his two assassins slash at each other with knives, wrestle and fight. During this Mortensen is completely naked. His full frontal nudity is difficult to view not only because…well…Aragon’s personal hobbit is on display – but because his nudity, in light of viciousness of the attack, serves to bring an uncomfortable vulnerability to the scene. Many will be disgusted by the violence and frank sexual content. Some will claim the adult content is unneeded or at least too casual. I’d argue that the seemingly gratuitous nature of the sex and violence replicates how gratuitous they are when performed in real life. In an age when Hollywood is all too willing to show girls being tortured to death on screen (Hostel, Saw II, Wolf Creek) without a meaningful moral structure condemning the acts, seeing a piece treating violence in such an honest fashion is almost a relief.

Again, this is a very harsh movie. The blunt view of violence and criminality will be too much for many audiences and makes this a hard film to fully recommend. If you are able to handle the rough stuff, you’ll find this an intelligent and striking film. If you have any concerns about the content at all you’re probably best served by simply skipping this one. It’s a good film but it’s not worth it if you have problems with raw material.


Cautions: Blood, gore, violence, frank sexual acts, there's tons to be cautious about here.


Worldview: In a way this film paints a valuable look at what sin can and will do when left to fester. Morality, when discarded, is a difficult thing to regain and impossible to hold when one doesn't turn from their sin. At one point Nikolai claims he died when he committed his first crime as a kid - he was right. Those who fail to cast their sins aside are the living dead and will find no peace.


Cross-posted at Good News Film Reviews

My Top Ten Favorite Films for 2007

1. Into Great Silence - I predict that it will be a spiritual classic and be loved by audiences for many years to come. Into Great Silence answers the most frequently googled question, "Who is God?" as well as "How can I find Him?" It also answers, "How can I find true happiness?" All this is explained using minimal dialogue, but just by watching the way these monks live their lives. This is a must - see movie for everyone! The DVD is now out.

2. Bella is a beautiful film that has had a powerful impact on our culture! As a result of this film, lives have been saved. Bella was responsible for the birth of seven babies. And, this was all possible through a grassroots effort -- promoted by the culture of life.

3. Amazing Grace is a movie which emphasizes character, Christian values, and yes, even virtues – something that you rarely see in Hollywood films nowadays.

4. Ratatouille - Like a great recipe, this film has all the right ingredients – humor, drama, romance – which, blended together, offer a delicious and delightful treat.

5. Juno is a film I would like to watch again to laugh again, to cry again, to listen to the music again, and to analyze just a bit more. I enjoyed it that much and I think you will, too.

6. The Bridge to Terebithia is a a beautiful reality-based story, which focuses primarily on the friendship between a boy and girl whose lively and vivid imaginations take them on an exciting adventure into a shared fantasy world.

7. The Ultimate Gift is an excellent movie with a straightforward spiritual message that will tug at your heartstrings. There is a wonderful pro-life message included in this values - oriented film, which is an added treat.

8. Spiderman III To me, this is the best of the trilogy. The powerful themes that run through the film are good vs. evil, friendship, forgiveness, and healing. It was indeed a deeply spiritual film.

9. Meet the Robinsons is an animated film adapted from William Joyce's children's book, A Day With Wilbur Robinson," about a futuristic family, with a time-travel plot and a comical villain. To me, it resembled a slightly more whimsical and wacky animated version of "Back to the Future."

10. Miss Potter is the charming and enchanting tale of Beatrix Potter (Rene Zellweger), a beautiful and creative woman who delighted generations of children with her books. It is well-crafted and contains lovely music, great whimsical animation, as well as some humorous escapades. The scenery of the English countryside is beautiful and the acting is superb.

Cross - posted at Catholic Fire.

Bulletin Board

David Greenspan writes to let us know:

Thought  your readers might be interested to know that The National Interfaith Cable Coalition's Faith and Values will continue a relationship with The Hallmark Channel. Faith and Values has reached an agreement with the Hallmark Channel in which it will receive two hours on Sunday mornings to broadcast its programming.

A Multichannel News article has more information on the deal.

Hollywood and Me: my journey towards engagement in the culture wars

I used to be completely hostile to Hollywood, since I grew up in the late 1960's and saw Gidget replaced with "Hair".

Gone were the days of innocence and in were sex, drugs and hedonism.

This bitterness was confirmed after viewing Michael Medved's video based on his bestselling book, "Hollywood vs Relgion", which is valuable as it's from a former atheist insider who rediscovered his Jewish faith and how it opened his eyes about the prevailing secularist hostility toward religious people there.
Then, "The Passion of the Christ" showed me that some good could come through Hollywood,and I began to look to support worthwhile projects, just around the time Hollywood smelled the money from Christian market. New groups like Fox Faith, Walden Media, and Grace Hill Media sprang up to meet the demand. Their attempts have been somewhat lame, (Evan Almighty, The Nativity Story) with noteworthy exceptions, (Amazing Grace, Chronicles of Narnia) because they know not what they do, and don't get the right people to consult. I'm hoping someday we Catholics will be asked in on a project to tell what Catholics really want. Walden has already done that, thus my friendship with Dr. John Seel.
Then, I saw "Bella" and realized we Catholics don't have to be outside the studio gates, begging Hollywood for crumbs, we can sit in the director's chair. I am appalled at the snobbery of some Catholic critics towards "Bella". A prominent blogger friend refused to see it because another prominent Christian critic panned it sarcastically. It may not be the best film of all time, but considering the low budget ($200, 000) it is durn good. Who defines good anyway? Taste is a rather elusive idea among film critics.
Have you seen "Please don't Eat the Daises" with Doris Day and David Niven? I highly recommend it. Niven is a struggling Broadway critic, loving husband to Doris and father of several boys, UNTIL he becomes successful and realizes that he is now a kingmaker in Broadway, and just relishes the opportunity to destroy a show with a snide remark. This power changes his character, and his new overblown pride pulls him toward adultery, and away from his family, until his wife brings him down to size.
While the nature of criticism is to find fault, and I certainly don't want to encourage mediocrity in film, to destroy efforts to uplift the media by independent filmmakers is counterproductive. Say what they're doing right, and encourage them to improve. That's why I reviewed "Facing the Giants", which many Christian critics eschewed. Sure it was schlocky in parts, and all turned out well in the end, but something in that film which featured real men and women in pain praying, which touched thousands of moviegoers and we have to acknowledge that. And replicate it, with better scripts and actors.
My point is that we Catholics aren't in charge of Hollywood, as we were during the Legion of Decency days, and we are emerging from the dark days of begging for scraps, so just where is the Catholic film critic? Our job is to discern for the Catholic viewer what films are good and which are harmful, to save moviegoers and their children from falling victim to soul-damaging films or giving up on Hollywood altogether. We don't have to settle for condescension and mediocrity, but we have to get used to the director's chair. It's been a long time since Frank Capra directed "It's a Wonderful Life". (Did you know it was panned in 1946 for being too sentimental?)
We Christians, after all, are masters of the arts, as we were in the heyday of Renaissance masterpieces, as we worship the Master of all beauty, and Truth Himself. We know true beauty when we see it. We see Christ in the Church, in the Eucharist, in His Blessed Mother, in nature, in the poor, and in the love of our families.
Film is just another art form, the most powerful form and we MUST engage the culture of death or lose millions more souls to it.

Latenight TV Review: Jay Leno continues Anti-Catholic jokes

Cross-post from The World...IMHO

As most of you probably know by now, Both Jay Leno and David Letterman have returned to latenight with new shows, despite the writers' strike.
I used to enjoy Jay Leno's monologue. But this past summer, he started making anti-Catholic jokes a regular part of his monologue (see link to post below). Even the Catholic League noticed this.
He made jokes about the Pope, priests, and altar boys. I started watching Letterman's show...at least he wasn't regularly making anti-Catholic jokes. Last night I was watching Letterman, but I had a real hard time watching him with that beard he came back with :( So I decided to see what Leno was saying. On his second night back, Leno cracked a joke about the priest that was stalking Conan O'Brien. (by the way, that's yesterday's news, Jay). He said "Gee I hope they don't just transfer him to another latenight show". I immediately turned the TV off and went to sleep.
I don't know why Leno has decided to make Catholic Jokes a regular part of his monologue, but I find it offensive. I find nothing funny about the priest abuse scandal. As I've said before, I think any priest proven guilty should be defrocked, excommunicated and put in jail. Ditto for any Bishops that covered up the abuse.

I just wanted to let Catholics know what to expect from Jay Leno.

What's up with Jay Leno?

Podcast Review: Into the Deep

Into the Deep*
This podcast is a conversation between three Catholic men about various methods of growing closer to God. I love these guys. They are humble and sincere in their desire to be closer to God, while at the same time being honest enough about real life that they spend some of the time laughing at their own foibles (and that makes me laugh and recognize my own foibles too). In their own words:

Into The Deep is a podcast designed to be a resource to those who wish to spread the saving message of Jesus Christ as faithfully transmitted by the Church. This means that it is applicable to every Baptized Christian, as we all share a common commission to evangelize the world.

They tend to work in series of discussions which is helpful for those desirous of focusing on subjects such as prayer or humility. Most recently they have been working their way through a spiritual classic (that I'd never heard of before), The Spiritual Combat. As these three men are Catholics there are various mentions of such things as the rosary but overall these podcasts would help any Christian desirous of strengthening their prayer life and their relationship with God.

For those not into listening, their blog also is very good as they don't stop at simply posting info and links about their podcast. They keep it lively with writing on other subjects that catch their eye in living the faith.

Highly recommended all round.

* Unless otherwise mentioned, any podcasts or audio can be downloaded to your computer (using the right click mouse button) and listened to there or burned to a CD if you don't have a mp3 player. I mention iTunes because that is what I use, however most of these also can be found through other podcatchers (usually mentioned on their sites).

Reposted and slightly expanded/updated from Happy Catholic

Book Review: Movies That Matter

MOVIES THAT MATTER: Reading Film Through the Lens of Faith
by Richard Leonard

... St. Thomas argued that wherever faith, hope, love, justice, fidelity, self-esteem, prudence, mercy, and hospitality are present, then named or not, Christ is present. The best of missionary dialogue has been conducted on this basis, recognizing and affirming the goodness in culture. What applies to non-Christian cultures equally applies to non-Christian elements in our own culture -- at the metroplex.

We approach the task of inculturation by not being against everything. If a film presents virtues and values, and many do, then named or not, Christ is present in and through them. We should say yes to these movies and promote them. Yet we often insist that the world talk our talk and walk our walk. Jesus' great commission to go our to the world does not lead to that conclusion. Rather, Christ sends us to meet our sisters and brothers where they are, as they are. Again, Jesus is our model. The parables do not mention God. They rarely have a religious setting. Jesus takes ordinary events of daily life and draws out lessons about faith, hope, love, justice, fidelity, self-esteem, prudence, mercy, and hospitality. The cinema's parables can provide us with a venue in which to fulfill the great commission.

Richard Leonardi examines fifty-four popular movies and shows how Christian subtexts can be found in the most unlikely subjects. He begins by talking about the power of media to shape ideas and goes on to a good examination of positive and negative cultural "signposts" that can be found in current movies. This is followed by a look at individual movies which includes "teachable moments" to be found in each, a plot summary, how each shines a light on a particular Christian value, and a few simple questions that can further discussion.

Leonard has written a book that serves as a good primer for people who never have examined a movie beyond whether it entertained them or not. I can think of several friends who would benefit from such a book. Leonard's writing is clear and concise. He does a good job of communicating how to find Christian subtexts in the movies and how to apply them to our lives. Indeed, in the case of several movies that I thought I had thoroughly mined for information, he had several new ideas that I really enjoyed thinking about. For instance his discussion of The Exorcist and the nature of true evil as well as how The Exorcist is wrong on some key points was welcome and enlightening. When Leonard points out the sacramental nature of Chocolat I suddenly realized that chocolate in that movie is Eucharistic. Everyone who eats it suddenly realizes their true and better nature. The Lord of the Rings trilogy brings an insight about a Trinitarian imagery that I hadn't considered. I was well aware of Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn as Christ figures. However, I hadn't caught another reference.

Alternatively, we have a reimaging of the Trinity: Gandalf, the father who creates and calls; Frodo, the son who bears the form of the least but whose destiny is to save; and Galadriel, the spirit who inspires, enlightens, and comforts.

Unfortunately, a true movie aficionado will find that Leonard's commentary about The Lord of the Rings also embodies one of the ways that he falls prey to his own personal prejudices. He has a habit of using surprising and inappropriate moments to push his own personal agenda, which leans heavily towards social justice. Quite often, the interjection of a seemingly random, albeit quite pointed, comment throws the reader off stride since there is rarely any preparation for the remarks and seldom any follow-up. Many Catholics won't be surprised to find that Leonard is a Jesuit since this is a particular passion of that order. Social justice as a theme is certainly a purview of the movies, however, one only wishes that Leonard could contain his passion for more appropriate moments unlike his introduction to the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Some Christians object to stories about wizards, elves, and dwarfs. For those who take evil seriously, such objections are nonsensical. I only hope those who get into a lather over the evil of fictitious creatures are equally committed to the anything-but-fictitious fight against starvation and the unjust distribution of wealth.

Unfortunately, instead of the author's intended effect, the above passage had the unintended result of making nearby people ask this reader what was so funny in response to the resultant snort of laughter. Similarly, one finds his anything-but-subtle commentary about theology scattered throughout as well. This continues through remarks about more accurate renditions of violence being shown if more women directed movies, the idea that only Jews can recognize blatant anti-Semitism (yes, that tired old horse is being beaten in his Passion of the Christ comments which can only have been included for Leonard's desire to castigate it considering the overwhelming negativity), and the idea that we have "overdone the father language in theology and liturgy" from which we are liberated when we pray to "God as mother." This becomes quite tiring after a short exposure and the reader wishes that the editor had been more vigilant about the author's interjection of personal commentary.

One suspects that this passion for social justice is also what prompted the quite predictable inclusion of movies which the movie-going public needs no help with in seeing a Christian subtext. Almost half the movies (21 of 54) are those in which the theme is so blatant that the title is all one needs to know the social issue being explored. Usually the movies also have been discussed ad nauseum so that one knows the specific message without having to have seen the movie as well. Gandhi, Romero, JFK, Unforgiven, Schindler's List, The Shawshank Redemption, City of God, The Magdalene Sisters ... the list goes on and on. We already know these movies matter. Movie critics have told us so time and again. It would have been refreshing to have Leonard show us how movies matter that don't necessarily pound us over the head with message, however sensitive or well done. A few of these movies are to be expected but for such a large percentage to be so very obvious becomes quite boring and one again wishes for a more vigilant editor who would call the author to a higher standard. Even these could be forgiven if the author plumbed new depths but he follows the same well-trodden path as every other commenter. Perhaps that is because there are no other depths to be found in these films. As praiseworthy as the subjects of these pointed films are, they are not the movies which the general public is flocking to see, as is evident from the list in the beginning of the book of top ten grossing movies of all time. If the author was going for the obvious movies, these would have been the ones to include. We then would have seen such films as Titanic, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Star Wars, and gone with the Wind discussed. What enthralling and unexpected commentary that would have been for many.

It is obvious that Leonard does understand what sorts of movies that are both interesting and informative to discuss simply because of the strong possibility that no one ever looked for a Christian subtext. It was delightful and fascinating to see Groundhog Day, Finding Nemo, Hannah and Her Sisters, Italian for Beginners, and Chocolat discussed.

Christianity has had a variable relationship with the world. At times the world has been viewed as a hostile place with temptations and risks to the life of faith. This is the Marlin school of theology - venture out only when necessary, and then do so with extreme vigilance...

The Nemo school of theology holds that the world is the gift of God, to be explored, dealt with, delighted in, and within which we learn who we are and who God is in the scheme of things.

I never would have considered this reading of Finding Nemo and it was quite eye opening. I did not necessarily agree with the reasons given for his assessment (not included in the excerpt) but agreement is not necessary. Simply having the concept brought up opens new vistas of a movie in which one can then go on to explore those themes for oneself. Those glimpses of depth and insight applied to more popular movies were what frustrated the most in finding so few of these movies discussed. Even with these movies one does wish for an additional, deeper level of discussion such as can be found in the reviews from such favorite reviewers of deep faith as Nehring the Edge, Overlook Journal or Decent Films. However, if this book is viewed as a primer the lack of depth is more excusable.

Despite the negative, this book does have value and a place in the education of the film going public, especially those faithful Christians who haven't considered looking below the surface of movies that don't have an obvious Christian message. As I mentioned, the author does have some very interesting things to say even to those who are used to examining every movie indepth. The mere fact of disagreement with so much of what Leonard included has been the subject of on-going discussion in our household for the past three days. Any book that can engage such conversation is definitely worth reading. However, one must do so with an awareness that the author has his own specific nonsubtle message as well as simply pointing out how faith lies beneath seemingly ordinary entertainment.

Reposted from a previous review at Happy Catholic

Mercatornet picks the best films of 2007

The staff of Mercatornet chose their top films of 2007. Of these, my favorite were: "Michael Clayton" for tightly wound tension and moral content (sin has it's consequences), and "Amazing Grace" for inspiring historical drama. I enjoyed "Ratatouille" for outrageous fantasy and tongue-in-cheek satire(we just love to satirize the French!), and my favorite film this year, was "Bella" a complex drama with memorable characters, distintict Latino culture, a moving storyline and the right touch of comedy. Not to mention it's lasting impact for the Culture of Life: "Bella" is responsible for the birth of seven babies.