The Cinema of Adoption

  To go along with National Adoption Month in the US, here is a link to my column On Faith and Media in St. Anthony Messenger magazine. Some of the movies I talk about are Secrets and Lies, Juno, Heaven on Earth, Daughter of Danang, Superman, etc.      

Religious Education Congress 2011: A vibrant human mosaic

The labyrinth   ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Ask anyone who participated in the Religious Education Congress March 17-20 how they would describe the event in terms of art, and they will tell you: It’s the people. Ask author/speaker Jesuit Fr. James Martin and he will tell you that the congress — not Disneyland across the street [...]

Why Flannery O’Connor Matters Today

On the season finale last year of ABC’s hit drama “Lost,” alert viewers would have noticed that the mysterious character, Jacob (Mark Pellegrino), was reading the book Everything That Rises Must Converge. The tome is a collection of short stories by the American Catholic novelist, Flannery O’Connor who was born in Savannah, Ga. March 25, 1925 [...]

How to Write Your Social Media Plan in 8 Steps

Click here for How to Write Your Social Media Plan. Very clear and helpful.

Cruel and Unusual: A book about television, punishment and God – AMERICA review

I just got the May 4th online version of AMERICA (www.AmericaMagazine.org) and this book review of “Cruel and Unusual: the Culture of Punishment in America”  authored by Anne Marie Cusac, caught my eye. You usually have to be a subscriber to access the entire issue online, but during April and May anyone can – you just [...]

Brave Knights and Heroic Courage and Holy Moments Lecture

Last November I had the privilege of responding to Walden Media co-founder Micheal Flaherty’s lecture at USC. Here is the text of my response: The Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at USC Religion and Film  Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies USC Lecture Series 2008-2009   Brave Knights and Heroic Courage and Holy Moments   Featured [...]

To Fall in Love with the World

In 1995 I made my annual retreat (silent/directed) at  Craighead Retreat House neat Glasgow, Scotland. I had taken my final exams and turned in my dissertation for an MA in Education in Media Studies at the University of London’s Institute of Education and was awaiting the results before returning to the USA. One day I [...]

Easter (and Pauline themes) in Memorable DVD’s

Celebration magazine recently published my article “St. Paul Goes to the Movies at Easter”. Here is an abridged version now available online: Easter in Memorable DVD\’s  Celebration magazine is the liturgical resource of the National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company.

A Vision of the Future

A Vision of the Future from Carmelina Films on Vimeo. Daniel Cubas has been blind since childhood, but this hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passions and following his dreams. This documentary follows Daniel as he discusses his successes and roadblocks on his journey to achieving his goals. A touching and uplifting story that will [...]

The Miracle by Rossellini: Resources

On Friday, November 9, I will be teaching a film class at the Saddleback College Emeritus Institute in Mission Viejo, CA. The focus of the class is film and censorship using Rossellini’s 1948 controversial short film (c. 40 mins.) Il Miracolo (or “The Miracle” in English) as a case study. The Miracle is actually the second [...]