TV | Mockingbird

Another Week Ends: More Linsanity, IMonk Grace, TechnoSabbaths, Defending Nic Cage, DFW on Corrosive Illusions, Cougarton Abbey and GNR Rumors

by David Zahl on Feb 17, 2012 • No Comments

1. Just in case you haven’t overdosed on Linsanity yet, David Brooks offers a sympathetic big-picture perspective in his column in The NY Times, highlighting how the culture of achievement and glory in professional sports conflicts with ethical framework espoused by most of the major religious traditions. Some will certainly say that Brooks going overboard, but I’m not so sure. Of course, there are plenty of valid, non-religious ways to rationalize competition, but attempts to do so on the basis of Christianity have always struck this blogger as particularly unconvincing, ht TB:

The moral ethos of sport is in tension with…

Comics / Film / Identity / TV

Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Part 4c

by Mockingbird on Feb 17, 2012 • No Comments

You guessed it, Bat-Fans: this time The Riddler is our subject. As always, to start with, er, year one of Jeremiah Lawson’s soon-to-be-definitive exploration of Batman mythology, go here. Or to simply catch up on the current arc, the villain-themed The Wounds of Discovery, go here.

PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY

3. The Life and Death of the Mind

All this I tested by wisdom and I said, “I am determined to be wise” — but this was beyond me. Ecclesiastes 7:28

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs…

Addiction / America / Art / Bible / Books / Education / Film / Humor / Music / Psychology / Religion / TV / Week In Review

Another Week Ends: Joseph Mills, Commitment Devices, Anxiety Rights, Bible Rescue, Imposter Syndrome, Hitch on Chesterton, Elmer Bernstein and Liz Lemon

by David Zahl on Feb 10, 2012 • 6 Comments

1. One of the many things to adore about David Foster Wallace’s A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again is the cover (of the US edition). The collage manages to capture the torrential intellect at the heart of that wonderful collection without losing the humor. But it wasn’t until this past week that I knew anything about its designer, photographer/artist/pumpkin farmer Joseph Mills. The Washington City Paper did a feature on him back in 2003 in conjunction with an exhibit at the Corcoran, and Joseph’s words–and personal history with psychosis and depression–pack quite a punch, ht SJ:

When asked about…

America / Books / Celebrity / Everyday / Identity / Relationships / TV

“Weeping and Lifting Weights”: Getting Real with The Bachelor

by Ethan on Feb 10, 2012 • No Comments

Did you see this Monday’s Bachelor? When Casey S. got called to come outside and talk to Chris about something important, you knew, you knew it was something important. You just knew her bags were packed, she was leaving her chance at, her life with Ben. Casey S. had that look, like “I know I’m about to be found out, but I’m going to hold these cards up until the very last minute. I can’t give in. Well, I want to, but I don’t want to, you know?” You know? The scene was so perfect. Out the heavily windowed courtyard,…

America / Books / Identity / Technology / TV

Walker Percy, Staying a Step Ahead, and Island News “So 42 Seconds Ago”

by Ethan on Feb 9, 2012 • 2 Comments

AT&T’s most recent ad campaign is all about getting there first, “staying a step ahead,” being the closest possible to the newest source of the newest News–and chiding the stragglers, those who got there too late, those for whom the News is Old News. Shame! They miss the “flash” mob, they miss the party, they miss the boat, they miss their future spouse, they miss the free office masseuse–because they were not a step ahead, like everyone else, they were a step back, and they miss The Next Thing. Their technology restrained them. Because they did not have the Samsung…

Comics / Death / Identity / Suffering / TV

Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Pt 4b

by Mockingbird on Feb 3, 2012 • 1 Comment

Hey there, Bat-Fans! We interrupt our regularly scheduled blogging to bring you the next installment of Jeremiah Lawson’s expert look at Batman mythology. As the last entry indicated, these next few posts will look at the (utterly fascinating) psycho-spiritual motivations of the Dark Knight’s various villains.

PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY

2. Idols of the Heart

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

It’s not uncommon for a person to start down the path of wrong-doing through an obsession with a certain kind of relationship. We all know why restraining orders exist and we…

America / Film / Grace in Practice / Law / Music / Psychology / Relationships / Religion / Social Science / Theology / TV / Week In Review

Another Week Ends: Indie Law, The New Marriage Killer, Futurizing Fear, Apatheism, Damsels in Distress, George Lucas and Downton Abbey

by David Zahl on Jan 27, 2012 • 3 Comments

1. In his short article “The Pitfalls of Indie Fame” on Grantland, Chuck Klosterman captures something we have been trying to say on here forever. Don’t be put off by all the music jargon; he is using the critical success of the tUnE-yArDs debut record as an opportunity to reflect on the cruelty of the Law. Which may be particularly pronounced in the indie world (or any rarified/snobby setting for that matter), but the phenomenon is universal. The human relationship to righteousness is a troubled one, love/hate at best, and it finds expression in every possible arena. And while non-religious…

Comics / Film / Identity / Psychology / TV

Batman: The Agony of Loss and the Madness of Desire, Pt 4a

by Mockingbird on Jan 25, 2012 • 1 Comment

We’re baaaack! The fourth installment of Jeremiah Lawson’s brilliant exploration of the philosophical and theological underpinnings of Batman mythology has finally arrived, and I think you’ll agree that it was worth the wait. This post works as a perfect jumping-on point, the beginning of a significant new “chapter.” Of course, if you’d prefer to bat-a-rang back to the beginning, go here.

PART FOUR: THE WOUNDS OF DISCOVERY

1. The Strength of Knowing Weakness

What is crooked cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.
Ecclesiastes 1:15

If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can…

Children / Death / Film / Gender / Grace in Practice / Humor / Literature / Religion / Social Science / TV / Week In Review

Another Week Ends: Colbert’s Gratitude, Eagleton’s Jesus, Silent Men, Parenthood, Buck, Twilight Sparkle, and Sendak on Blake

by David Zahl on Jan 6, 2012 • 2 Comments

1. Midway through The New York Times Magazine’s lengthy profile of America’s favorite all-around man-of-excellence Stephen Colbert, a bomb drops. To comment on his words might detract from their power. Holy Smokes, ht NM:

In 1974, when Colbert was 10, his father, a doctor, and his brothers Peter and Paul, the two closest to him in age, died in a plane crash while flying to a prep school in New England. “There’s a common explanation that profound sadness leads to someone’s becoming a comedian, but I’m not sure that’s a proven equation in my case,” he told me. “I’m not bitter…

Sports / TV

Tim Tebow, We’re Not Done With You Yet

by Nick Lannon on Jan 5, 2012 • 5 Comments

Everyone is seemingly tired of talking about Tim Tebow. And yet, they talk. And talk and talk. I witnessed Kordell Stewart get visibly angry this morning on ESPN’s First Take when talking about the chances that Tebow is getting compared to chances that African American quarterbacks with the same skill set have gotten in years past. At one point, he simply sighed and said, “I’m just so tired of talking about Tim Tebow.” But even after Tebow’s Broncos are eliminated from the playoffs (hopefully this week by my beloved Steelers), we’ll talk about whether or not Tebow is the “quarterback…

Humor / Identity / Law / TV

Who Will Deliver Us From Dumpster Dairy? Portlandia and the Narcissism of Small Differences

by David Zahl on Jan 4, 2012 • 4 Comments

A wonderful profile of Sleater-Kinney guitarist/Portlandia co-creater Carrie Brownstein appeared in The New Yorker last month. We’ve championed the IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia consistently since it debuted last year and with good reason. Browstein and creative partner/SNL mainstay Fred Armisen have a lock on identity satire. They intuitively understand the absurdity of most identity markers (diet, image, art, even activism), and how deceptively the slide into self-justification can happen. In our parlance, you might say they have a firm grasp on how identity and Law often function as synonyms. In fact, more than anything Portlandia seems to enjoy unveiling…