Recently in Pop Culture Category

Okay, I can hear the cards and letters (or posts) comin,' because Idol Chatter is usually a generous and congenial part of the Beliefnet blog network, and we usually take a pretty open position in embracing our culture and the arts relative to our faith journeys.
But every once in a while, art doesn't transcend truth as much as it distorts it, and that's where I draw the line. Hence my opposition to the upcoming "Princess Diana Bible."

Now, when you hear that term, what do you think of? A bible that the princess gathered scholars together to discern and produce, prior to her death, a la Kings James of 1611? Or perhaps a bible which features commentary focused on the needs of the poor and the oppressed, which she spent the latter years of her life focusing on? Or perhaps even a Bible written in the current Queen's English?

Nope, the upcoming "Princess Diana Bible" will be a pro-gay translation bible from authors who claim "there is solid evidence that Adam and Eve were both women" and whose current movie has been banned by at least one movie theater chain.

Germany has made no secret of their complete and utter distaste for Scientology in recent years. Last year, government officials dared to ban Tom Cruise from filming on location because of his Scientology affiliation. But that was really only one minor incident in the government's surveillance and investigation of the organization in an attempt to ban the Church of Scientology from the country altogether. However, the government has now dropped its attempts citing insufficient evidence. But, government insiders say that the organization will continue to be monitored by the government because of concerns that the tenants of the religion go against the constitutional principles of Germany.

The Church of Scientology is celebrating this decision as protection of freedom of religion and as a hopeful end to alleged persecution of its members in Germany. I suppose I should be celebrating along with them-- however reluctantly--because governments limiting reasonable religious expression is never a good idea, no matter the religion. But Germany hasn't attacked the Church on grounds of religious expression as much as it has sought to define the group as a business and to attack its corrupt business practices. I think it would be great if the United States and other countries would try that angle in dealing with Scientology as well.

Actors in Goth costume pantomiming stories of cannibalism, rape, empassioned beheadings, wild scenes fueled by throbbing rock... Not another Biblical musical?

At Northwestern College, a Christian institution in Orange City, Iowa (and not to be confused with the Chicago-area university), drama students have remounted "Terror Texts," a musical performance of what Northwestern theater prof Jeff Barker calls "six of the most violent and mysterious stories in the Old Testament." In an AP story published last weekend, Barker calls the Bible "a repository of ancient plays" that, before they were set down on paper, were probably more often performed as poetry. Take a peek:

Imagine the expectations when one of the most popular--and one of the most inspiring--television shows returns to the air for the first time in more than a year and a half. I mean, that's a lot of time for creativity and editing. Expectations were high. Interest peaked. Heck, even Idol Chatter's Kris Rasmussen returned to the "24" blogfest! And last night was the night, as the popular show returned to the air in the two-hour "24: Redemption."

I wonder how many viewers tuned out of "24's" first scene, which may have been the most disturbing in its history, as African children were being trained by their soldier guardians to hate those not among them. The scene culminated in one of the children being challenged to use a machete to kill an African-American man in front of the cheering crowd of other children.

Hollywood is a conspiracy, all right. Movies tell the same stories over and over again, Hollywood thinking that we won't notice if the movies show ogres or animals fall in love and live happily ever after, or that the planet has already been saved twice this year.

According to the Anti-Defamation League's national director, Abraham Foxman, a new poll shows that Americans are on to another devious Hollywood plot: almost half of us believe that Los Angeles is the center of "an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country."

This is a pretty astonishing claim, amplified by further finding that 61% of the country thinks, organized or not, the media has put religious values "under attack." Why does Hollywood want to attack our religious values? Easy. Almost 60% of those polled last month by the Boston-based Marttila Communications Group said, "the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans."

What's most astonishing about these numbers is that even though movies and TV shows make producers money, more than half of the intended audience finds the movies distasteful or downright morally aggressive. As one conservative commentator ruefully put it last year, "The culture wars are over and capitalism won." In short, sex sells.