ReligionDispatches - S. Brent Plate

Mother (Nature) Will Eat You: Lars von Trier’s Antichrist

S. Brent Plate — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:01 PDT

Von Trier’s terrifying rumination on the triad of “pain,” “grief,” and “despair” reminds us that, in contrast to the pronouncements of politicians on what is natural and normal, in nature eating one’s young is not too far out of the ordinary—especially in times of stress.

Lars von Trier is the Antichrist Best Film Director in the World

S. Brent Plate — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 09:00:01 PDT

In the great tradition of Socrates and Kierkegaard, Lars von Trier realizes that his role is to enable the audience to ask questions and confront themselves.

Baby Dolls, Sex Dolls, and Ritual Objects

S. Brent Plate — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:00:01 PDT

From a man in Japan who has romantic attachment to a pillow, to boom in realistic baby dolls, to a movie about a man who falls deeply in love with a life-size silicon woman, our craze for surrogate objects reveals more than simple fetishism.

Pop-Eye: Blind Faith and the Invisible Font

S. Brent Plate — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:00:01 PDT

Simply put: Font matters. Is it possible that the most pervasive typeface of late capitalism—Helvetica—is telling us what the gods wish: Do not worry. Trust in me. Put your value here, and you will be rewarded?

Pop-Eye: Global Jesus on Film

S. Brent Plate — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:00:01 PDT

In this invitation to inter-cinematic dialogue, S. Brent Plate offers a Lenten season roundup of Jesus films from all across the world, and not a blue-eyed protagonist among them.

RD10Q: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World

S. Brent Plate — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:01 PDT

RD columnist S. Brent Plate crosses disciplinary boundaries to show us how film creates worlds, just as religion does; through incantation or special effects anything is possible.

Pop-Eye: Meat The Wrestler

S. Brent Plate — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:00:01 PST

How did reviewers from the New York Times to Christianity Today miss the obvious religious references in this Oscar-nominated hit? Did they blink and reach for popcorn at the images of a tattooed Jesus Christ on Randy’s back, or was it more about the myth of modern individualism and body-soul dualism?

Is Religion a Game?

S. Brent Plate — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 00:00:01 PST

Playing Gods, a new board game making headlines, is more than just a playful riff on religion. If we want to understand religions, we have to understand their game-like qualities, and that religion might, at the heart of it all, be a game. Which does not make it trivial.

Why Bill Maher Gets a “C” in My Introduction to Religion Class...

S. Brent Plate — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:00:01 PDT

...as do Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. Upon viewing Bill Maher's Religulous the author asks: Why are the so-called New Atheists using the archaic and theologically conservative definition of religion pushed by home-schoolers?

There Will Be a Nation

S. Brent Plate, Religion Dispatches — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 10:00:01 PST

Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood, starring “Best Actor” Daniel Day-Lewis, operates as the creation myth of an imperialist America.