Battlestar Galactica and the Future of American Religion
What does a sci-fi hit have to tell us about ancient Greek theater and today’s electronically-inflected cultural landscape?
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Sacred&Profane: The “Cult” of Oprah Inflames Religious Right
The Religious Right’s wildly popular video attack on Oprah’s “dangerous” teachings may not be as far off base as it first appears.
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Pretty People, Shiny Clothes: Biblical Illiteracy in NBC’s Kings
Television fails once again to do justice to the complexity of biblical narrative.
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Divine Inspiration: Kings Works Wonders
Drawn from the Bible, Kings takes a risk that pays off. Plus, we get Ian McShane.
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As Funny as the Times Will Allow: Obama on Late Night TV
The President tried to be funny on Jay Leno, and the joke fell flat. But it might be that this says more about us, his audience, than anything else.
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Super Bowl Sunday, American Holy Day
Indignant responses to the Janet Jackson nipple slip and the somber post-9/11 halftime show reveal glimpses of the sanctity of this yearly ritual, but it’s also in the creation of icons, the reinforcement of rules, and Americans telling themselves stories about themselves.
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Heterosexual With Issues: Haggard’s Self-Hate
Former pastor Ted Haggard is desperate for redemption, but he can’t do the one thing that might make it possible—admit and accept that he’s gay.
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“Godly Or Bad?”: The Return of Ted Haggard
There’s something about American evangelical life that tends toward the production of these sex sagas and tonight’s HBO documentary on Haggard airs just as new dimensions of the sex scandal emerge.
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Praying Away the Gay: “This is What Love Feels Like?”
Prayers For Bobby, a new Lifetime TV movie, portrays the tragic struggle of a gay teen in a conservative Christian family and the family’s attempt to “heal” him. Predictably, the film was heavily criticized by the religious right.
Read MoreBad Karma: Life Lessons From Earl
When an American TV show borrows from Eastern philosophy, it leaves the ethical dimension behind while offering a healthy dose of materialism. Even so, it might have something to teach us.
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