The Thin Place

By Film Geek RadioTV & Film

The Thin Place episodes

November 22, 2012 Episode #26: Will God Give Us A Pass For Watching The Sessions?
Ken and Todd tackle Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Can a priest ever give you permission to sin? Does calling something therapy change what it is? Is God a bully who hates us and wants us to be miserable? Is it possible to be compassionate while still having standards?
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro, summary. "Not a prostitute."
05:15 - "God will give you a pass on this one..."
11:32 - Erring on the side of love.
14:20 - Sinning against conscience and Mark’s religious life.
23:00 - Of course sex has consequences.
29:00 - The great hubris of intellectualization.
31:00 - Overall assessment.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
35 min
October 22, 2012 Episode #25: The Exorcist and Christian Approaches To Horror
Ken and Todd revisit William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece, The Exorcist, and use it as a springboard to talk about whether or not Christians should watch horror movies. Does the film imply that evil is stronger than holiness? Who is the main character? What does the film say about the spiritual condition of the late 20th century?
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro, summary of Scott Derrickson keynote address on horror.
06:42 - Historical significance: real evil in an age of unbelief.
11:35 - Mechanics of fear vs. true horror.
15:20 - Gothic vs. Horror.
18:17 - Impressions on a new viewing: soundscape, pace, and performance as theme.
29:00 - Does the exorcism fail?
39:51 - Defending the ending.
53:00 - Thumbs up to the devil? Esteeming vs. recommending.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
58 min
October 01, 2012 Episode #24: Looper and the Morality of Time Travel
Ken and Todd look at Rian Johnson’s sci-fi, time-travel hit, Looper. Is changing the future the same as "playing God"? Is there anything theological about the film’s depiction of addicitons? What verse in the Book of Genesis makes Ken doubtful that time-travel is ever really possible? Just what exactly is soul annihilation, and why does the way we interpret the film have consequences for the way we conceptualize hell?
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro, endorsement, and plot summary
03:50 - Moral choices and how we justify them.
11:20 - Old Joe vs. New Joe.
17:07 - Violence, addiction, and moral deterioration.
26:30 - Soul annihilation and playing God.
33:00 - Changing the world vs. changing yourself.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
41 min
September 18, 2012 Episode #23: Grace and Merit in Great Expectations
Guest host Andrew Johnson joins Ken at the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss Mike Newell’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic novel. What is the difference between grace and random acts of kindness? Which character reminds Ken of the rock opera Chess? Warning: some profanity in this episode.
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro. What is grace?
05:12 - Grace vs. random acts of kindness
07:25 - Class conflict, Puritan work ethic, and deserving success.
12:20 - "Pity the child, but not forever," the problems with economic determinism
17:40 - Miss Havisham and the culture of victimhood
25:00 - The circle of (moral) life and the film’s resolution.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
30 min
August 29, 2012 Episode #22: An Encounter With Simone Weil
Director Julia Haslett makes a documentary that is part biopic, part self-reflection. How should we respond to human suffering? Do Simone Weil’s writings give us a road map for answering that question?
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro. Self-reflexive vs. biography
10:06 - Understanding vs. Acting On
18:10 - "I feel like there’s something you want me to say..."
20:48 - "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."
27:00 - Is "attention" the same as being a Christian "witness"?
31:45 - Global vs. local; not burning out.
34:22 - A philosophical dead end?
42:25 - I go to extremes...
49:30 - Concluding remarks.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
50 min
August 15, 2012 Episode #21: Is Vertigo the Best Film of All Time?
Critics polled by Sight & Sound magazine in 2012 ranked Vertigo as the greatest film of all time. What does that ranking say about the spirit of the age? Is the greatness of a film measurable? If not, why do we keep trying? What causes our obsession with lists? Ken and Todd discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece and the poll that thrust it back into the limelight.
Warning: Spoilers for Vertigo and Sunrise: A Story of Two Humans.
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro. The Sight & Sound poll and canon making.
6:47 - Two views of lists: corporate wisdom and platonic ideals.
12:26 - The function of criticism at the present time.
18:13 - "I’ve seen Vertigo..." Great vs. The Greatest.
22:21 - Can people change?
27:51 - Obsession vs. Love
31:55 - Melancholia and the spirit of the age.
36:00 - Critics vs. directors; Vertigo vs. Kane.
46:22 - Concluding remarks.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
48 min
July 24, 2012 Episode #20: Nature, Nurture, Truth, and Lies in The Dark Knight Rises
How Batman is not a "Christ figure" but Bane is reminiscent of...Willy Wonka!?! It's the summer's most anticipated film as only The Thin Place can cover it. Ken and Todd discuss whether Christopher Nolan's trilogy is telling us "you can't handle the truth" or simply isn't clear in its own mind about what it wants to say. Warning: Spoilers!
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro and outlining spiritual themes.
3:54 - Our obsession with back stories and the nature/nurture debate.
14:21 - What is a "Christ figure" and why Batman isn't one.
20:03 - To escape is better than sacrifice...
29:12 - Well intentioned lies.
35:00 - Metafiction and (intentional?) ideological fuzziness
40:54 - Yes, but is it entertaining?
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
45 min
July 08, 2012 Episode #19: When We Watch Chariots of Fire, Do We Feel His Pleasure?
Few films are more beloved in Christian circles than Chariots of Fire. Todd and Ken ask why this is the case, and whether the film that beat out Raiders of the Lost Ark for an Academy Award has stood the test of time.
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Intro: Why Do Christians Love this Film?
5:00 - Is it idealized? Shaping a true story.
10:13 - What is the story?
18:03 - Does God care who wins sporting events?
26:30 - Affinity vs. Judgment
30:08 - Better and Worse Than I Remember
34:36 - Tim Tebow, Identity Politics, and Incarnational Christianity
44:45 - Overall impressions and conclusion.
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
47 min
June 15, 2012 Episode #18: What We Choose to Believe About Prometheus
Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction is not only one of the most anticipated films of the year - a prequel to Alien - but it also attempts to address deep philosophical and religious questions. Can a film be an action blockbuster and a successful cosmological treatise?
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Show intro. Who is Robert Bresson?
4:43 - Bresson’s style: acting, visual style, and sound
8:28 - Editing and elliptical narration
15:44 - Defamiliarization and a tale that’s been often told
20:22 - Confusion and doubt as a motif
25:55 - Historical romances as comments on the present age
30:51 - Questioning assumptions and filling in gaps
37:00 - Exit comments
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
43 min
June 15, 2012 Episode #17: The Elliptical Structure of Bresson's Lancelot du Lac
As a touring retrospective and the reissue of a famous anthology revive interest in the enigmatic and critically revered Robert Bresson, Ken and Todd examine the French director’s Lancelot du Lac.
SHOW NOTES:
0:00 - Profile, persuasion, or historical account?
7:00 - Talking past each other and retrofitting theology
13:33 - Theological argument or social justice argument?
19:13 - How heterosexuals are portrayed; leadership vs. laity
24:12 - The lack of a theological argument
31:30 - Social justice vs. the integrity of the church, part 2
35:19 - North Carolina Amendment #1 and Unintended Consequences
40:24 - The film as film; humanizing gays AND Christians
DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!
38 min

About The Thin Place

From the publisher's feed

Join Ken and Todd every two weeks as they explore films that are about or advance our understanding of issues of faith and spirituality. Some films may do so overtly, through a direct examination of these themes as subjects; others may be more subtle or even opaque in the way they prompt us to think on such things. Still other films may serve primarily as a catalyst for dialogue or discussion. Insights can be gleaned from a part of a larger whole, a scene, a shot, a moment. As the title suggests, such moments can be elusive, fragile, or obscured.