REL 360–our one credit hour course–will be ending the semester with the film Bend It Like Beckham. The film’s protagonist, Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra, is obsessed with football (more aptly known as soccer in the U.S.), but her fascination with the sport doesn’t align with her parents’ traditional ideas of a young woman’s future. When she joins a soccer team, tensions worsen within her family and she must chose between following her parents’ wishes or pursuing her passion. […]
Tag: REL 360
REL 360 Presents: Citizenfour
The second meeting of REL 360–our one credit hour course–will be viewing Citizenfour. This 2014 documentary follows director Laura Poitras during her investigation into the rise of government-run monitoring programs in the U.S. after the September 11th bombings. During her research, she begins to receive emails from a stranger known only as Citizenfour, who leaks classified information concerning illegal wiretapping practices conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). Poitras and two other investigative journalists fly to Hong Kong to meet with Citizenfour, who soon agrees […]
REL Movie Nights Return with Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Our one credit hour course–REL 360–returns for the fall semester with the showing of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai. This 1999 crime/action film follows “Ghost Dog”, a hit-man for the mafia who models his life by the code of the samurai. When one of his missions goes awry, causing him to leave a witness alive, Ghost Dog himself becomes a target of the mafia. […]
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Narrative Constructs Culture
Micah Davis is a graduate of the University of Alabama who majored in Religious Studies and Philosophy. He is interested in ethics and social theory. The following was written for REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. REL 360 is the Department’s one-credit hour course that shows four films focusing on religion in pop culture throughout the semester. What do the Jewish Bible, the stories of Jesus, and movies have in common? They are all story-driven. The stories found in these different […]
Imagination, Morality, and the Value Gap
Bethany Scott is a freshman at the University of Alabama with a major in Human Performance Exercise Science, with a focus on Nutrition on a Pre- PA track. She graduated High School in Augusta, Georgia, but as a military kid she was able to travel and live in many different countries. This post was written as part of REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Everyone knows that as your age increases imagination decreases, but one question that comes to mind is, […]
REL 360 Movie Night: Killer of Sheep
Rel 360–our one credit hour course–is presenting its last movie of the semester, concluding the series on Democracy, Race, and Religion by showing the 1977 film Killer of Sheep. Selected by the National Society of Film Critics as one of the “100 Essential Films” of all time, Killer of Sheep focuses on the life of Stan, a dreamer trapped in the mind-numbing job of working at a slaughterhouse in L.A. The film shows bleak moments of happiness in Stan’s life, […]
REL 360 Presents Lilies of the Field
REL 360–our one credit hour course–is hosting yet another movie night! To follow this semester’s theme on Democracy, Race, and Religion, the course will be screening Lilies of the Field. The 1963 film focuses on Homer Smith (also known affectionately as Schmidt) who stops for water in a small farm in Arizona and ends up drawn into a lengthy endeavor by Mother Maria and her fellow nuns to build a church for the impoverished community. What begins as a battle of biblical quotes […]
Enlightening or Entertaining: Kumaré
By Vincent M. Hills Vincent M. Hills is a now graduate of the University of Alabama who majored in History with a minor in Religious Studies. The following was written for REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Kumaré is a very interesting “documentary”, but for many different reasons than most documentaries. The film did not wow viewers with interesting facts or show picturesque landscapes, it did however show a side of Western culture that is often the brunt of criticism from many […]
Elmer Gantry: The Trap of Hypocrisy and Greed
By Ashley Daugherty Ashley Daugherty is a senior majoring in Anthropology and Spanish. She is looking to work in Applied Business Anthropology. The following was written for REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. Elmer Gantry is a film that exposes hypocrisy and greed among religious leaders who seek to exploit gullible citizens looking for something in which to believe. This abridged version of Sinclair Lewis’s novel of the same name focuses on Elmer Gantry, a con man expelled from seminary school, […]
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Elmer Gantry and A Little About Race
By Sarah Griswold Sarah Griswold is a senior double majoring in Mathematics and Religious Studies. She spends her “free time” analyzing her favorite shows on Netflix, which of course winds up ruining them. The following was written for REL 360: Popular Culture/Public Humanities. “Elmer Gantry was drunk,” begins Sinclair Lewis’s 1927 novel. That’s how the movie Elmer Gantry begins too. The story is of Elmer Gantry who loves women and whiskey more than just about anything else. A fast-talking salesman, […]