October 2009 Archives

Michael Moore, the film-maker, for "Catholic of the Year?"

That is exactly the nomination currently being put forward by Anthony Stevens-Arroyo in Newsweek's "On Faith." Before you form your opinion, some points he makes are worth considering.

"'Capitalism: A Love Story'" provokes such passion on either side that--on that count alone--it becomes a tribute to his skill as filmmaker," he writes of Moore's current film. "Admittedly, Moore's style borders on buffoonery, but his message is nonetheless important. I admire the Catholic currents of social justice in this film."

"Moore places a favorable light on his lived Catholic experience and the trust he places in Catholic priests," says Stevens-Arroyo lists three main reasons why Moore--and specifically his latest movie--warrant not only serious consideration but are also indicative of a depth to Moore as a person that his physical appearance and documentary style of filmmaking may mask."At a time when Catholicism's foes pounce on reports of pedophilia from the clergy or criticize single issue politics as reasons to denigrate the Church, Moore gives us good news. He lets his own pastor and priest friends come across as down-to-earth."

In case you haven't noticed, vampires have invaded. Given, it's October, so this month generally does see a rise in the prevalence of vamps, zombies, witches and axe murderers on TV, but what I'm talking about is something beyond that. Besides our fascination that hearkens back to Nosferatu (or "Thriller," or Buffy, depending on your generation), when I started thinking about it more expansively, maybe we're all vampires.

At this week's 140 Characters Conference (a conference of Twitter enthusiasts and social media professionals) in Hollywood, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest was a speaker. The person who introduced him, remarking on Seacrest's TV and radio projects, said "he's a vampire." The implication was that, to be able to achieve everything that he does, Seacrest was something other than human. Many audience members undoubtedly felt the same way about their lives, too: we're up at all hours of the night, Tweeting, Facebooking or doing whatever to manage our busy 24/7 lives, conducting our business in the dark, sinking our teeth into the projects about which we're the most passionate.

Vamps on TV and film are nothing new, a fact of which we are reminded every October: Buffy, Angel, Blade, Dracula, The Vampire's Assistant, Interview with the Vampire, The Vampire Diaries. But what's really interesting is that even non-vampires are vampires. Journalists are hungry to get to the juicy stories first, before they're reported over Twitter, and Twitterers and bloggers are salivating over potentially scooping mainstream media. Many spiritual movements speculate about the idea of a life after death, post-mortem curses, a second life, a reincarnation, or a resurrection. Politicians have always had a little vampire in them, seemingly seductive with a wicked afterbite.

But maybe the ultimate non-vampire vampire is "Mad Men"'s Don Draper - a mysterious man with a hidden history and a secret other life. Don is in a business where his aggressive ambition is rewarded - he drinks and eats, but this is not what fuels him: he spends every moment pursuing youth and beauty, often in the middle of the night. All the while, his suburban life (and wife) sleeps, promiscuously preying on the necks of young women who desire him in a desperate attempt to find passion, blood, fuel for his life. Don is the king vampire at Sterling Cooper, itself a nest of vamps (the ad execs) and victims (the women apparently powerless to resist their charms).

Earlier this year, Spike Lee called Tyler Perry's work, "coonery and buffoonery". Lee, a veteran in the industry, believes that we must want more for ourselves in terms of the black entertainment we support and supporting Perry is supporting an "Amos n' Andy", shucking and jiving, stereotypical portrayal of ourselves that is unacceptable. It was not long ago that I agreed with Lee...

Marriage, the death of a parent, the birth of a child: we here at Beliefnet pride ourselves on knowing what brings people back to a faith they've long ignored or to discover one they never had. But Jon Gosselin has a new one on us. The New York Post is reporting that the onetime star of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" has been meeting with Michael Jackson's erstwhile spiritual counselor (and a Beliefnet contributor) Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. With Boteach's help Gosselin will "reconnect with my deeper, more spiritual, more altruistic self."

What sparked his conversion? According to the Post, it was the suggestion bruited about recently that Gosselin was going to share a reality show with Octomom Nadya Suleman.

Although the recent Diablo Cody-penned post-feminist horror flick "Jennifer's Body" didn't scare up much box office, it has resurrected an interest in both womens' surprising consumption of horror films, and the robust body of work surrounding feminism and the genre, in particular the trope of the "Final Girl," that strong-willed, determined gal who survives all of her male and less-pure female friends, flips the game on the psycho, and either escapes the killer (until they meet again in a sequel) or dispatches him herself. (Read more about The Final Girl, in Carol J. Glover's Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film.)

And while not all of the following frighteners could strictly be called "feminist" in nature, they all feature fierce female characters and offer up plenty of scares:

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
Written by noted feminist activist and author Rita Mae Brown and directed by Amy Holden Jones, this slasher flick touted its female-friendly pedigree on the back of the box-- a siren call for any Junior High group of gals looking for some Friday night fun. Rumor has it that 'Massacre' was originally conceived as a parody of the genre--the killer uses a massive drill to dispatch his victims (yes, it's that phallicly obvious), but producers churned out an earnest rendition with some unintentionally, classically funny bits. Valerie, the new girl in town, isn't invited to neighbor Trish's slumber party, but that doesn't stop her from getting involved when the local escaped insane murderer crashes.