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Films @ AAR: a review series

At the 2006 AAR/SBL Annual Meeting, a number of films were shown and discussed as an effort to engender dialogue regarding art and social issues. I was unable to attend any of the film viewings, so instead I will watch and post reviews of these films over the next few months. The following is the list of films I will review:

Dawn of the Dead
Crash
Guelwaar
Gattaca
Toward a New Christianity: Stories of African Christians in Ghana and Zimbabwe
Mooladé
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
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Michael Westmoreland-White, Ph.D. said…
D.W., at the AAR, did you get a chance to see/hear the debate between Jean Bethke Elshtain, defending the war on terror from a JWT standpoint, and my mentor, Glen Stassen, who argues that the practices of Just Peacemaking are both more Christian and more effective against terrorism? I'm trying to see if that debate was recorded and how I can get a copy.
It was attended by over 600 people.

BTW, I agree that the church should denounce Saddam's execution. I am against all capital punishment, but this trial was also a show trial. I argued against the execution of Timothy McVeigh, whose trial was among the fairest.

Refusing to kill even the worst people shows the value of human life that is near to the heart of the gospel.
November 25, 2006 10:28 PM
David W. Congdon said…
Unfortunately, I did not. I marked it down for a blog post as soon as I saw it listed in the session catalog. I'll probably write something on it in the next day or so. I myself would love to hear the actual debate. If you find out how to get a hold of it, do let me know.
November 26, 2006 6:52 AM
byron smith said…
I just saw Crash a week ago. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I love your reviews.
November 27, 2006 2:25 AM
a. steward said…
Which "Dawn of the Dead" was shown, the original or the remake? Romero's original is a tremendous movie, full of a lot of provocative social critiques. The remake has some entertaining special effects, but little in the way of things to think about. Also, in regards to your post on Hussein and Capital Punishment, Romero's development of the Zombies as a race from "Night" and "Dawn" to "Day" and "Land" seems to make a pretty profound statement about our capacity to see our enemies as non-persons, and how things change when we stop seeing them as just walking dead. Also, "28 Days Later" does some interesting things in this vein, as it appeals to all the formalities, even type scenes, of the zombie genre, but it's zombies are in fact still human.
December 03, 2006 11:14 PM
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