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epic

Culture, social media

Best part of ‘The Bible’ was on social media

I really was not expecting much from The History Channel’s “The Bible” but it made for some interesting discussion on social media. Folks on Facebook and Twitter really had fun with the ‘epic’ story.

Many hailed “The Bible” as on par with “The Lord of the Rings”. It wasn’t. One reviewer said, “It has a huge budget, so expect polish and high drama in the mould of historical epics like Game of Thrones. There will be violence. There will be deception. There will be fire.” Well, maybe it wasn’t that epic.

“The Bible” was good. I enjoyed it. I had low expectations. But, this was a History Channel production. I quickly realized that if you want to tell the story of The Bible, you have to have characters like Noah narrating Genesis 1 & 2. You have to take some liberties. Angels fighting with jujitsu, for one. But, the writers managed to make sure Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt. With a $22 million budget, you can’t make everything happen.

For “The Bible” didn’t do, it did achieve something notable. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook were afire with comments. Here’s a few from Twitter:

http://twitter.com/ChristopheSaqff/status/308388380180361216

Social Media provided the laughs and the show provided the fuel. I’ll keep watching the series, but I think you should check out what is being talked about on social media. Follow me on Twitter for some pithy quotes and witty comments.

blog, Christianity, Culture

History Channel begins epic ‘The Bible’ on Sunday

What is being hailed as an ‘epic’ drama on the scale of ‘The Lord of the Rings’, “The Bible” premiers this Sunday on the History Channel. As many media outlets and TV channels begin focusing biblically related content during Lent, many are excited about the History Channel’s new take on major biblical stories.

Channel Guide Magazine neatly summarizes the show:

History presents the ambitious 10-hour, five-week miniseries The Bible, dramatizing the most famous tales from the Good Book beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Stories depicted include the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Flood, the Exodus, David and Goliath, and the Gospels. The series concludes on Easter with the story of the Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ.

I will be watching on Sunday with a keen eye. What makes the show interesting is that Survivor producer Mark Burnett is on the project. It makes me wonder, Will Noah get voted off the boat in this series? Condensing the Bible into 10 hours seems like an impossible task, and it is.  Hopefully, the writers did the script justice. When you name a series, “The Bible” there is an expectation that the totality of the Good Word will be covered.

Perhaps what is interesting about this show is why it was created. Former “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey, married to Burnett, felt called to bring the project to life. The Salt Lake City Tribute reports:

“In my prayer and meditation, I imagine somehow running into a stadium carrying this,” Downey said. “The light is not the Olympic torch, the light is the series. And as I come into the stadium, instead of people standing and cheering, I feel like everybody’s running down and grabbing a bit of that light and running with me.”

“Three-and-a-half years ago, I felt the call to do this,” Downey said. “I got my husband to share the vision. He is a great man for making things happen. He doesn’t hear the word no.” Downey said her spouse is “deeply humbled to be given this once-in-a-generation opportunity to breathe new visual life into the Bible’s profound stories.”

I’m always fascinated how Hollywood depicts Bible stories and characters. Mel Gibson‘s “The Passion of the Christ” was a game changer. Will “The Bible” do the same? Find out this Sunday @ 8:00 p.m. ET on the History Channel.

Check back Monday for my analysis of “The Bible”.

 

dystopia

Why dystopia is in vogue

This past weekend the movie “The Hunger Games” opened to millions of adoring fans. Over 35 million books have been sold in “The Hunger Games” series and the books currently sit atop of Amazon’s best seller list. It seems that our culture is shifting to an interest in dystopia.  Almost everyone I talk to who read “The Hunger Games” said they couldn’t put the book down.

Move over Harry Potter and Twilight. You have been replaced.

Dystopian novels and movies are all the rage. But, why now? Isn’t dystopia for sci-fi fans?

One of the major reasons why “The Hunger Games” is so en vogue, much like Harry Potter was, is because people love a good epic battle between the forces of good and evil. Especially, if there are young people involved.   Erik Feig, president of production at Lionsgate, the studio behind “The Hunger Games” and “Twilight” sheds light on this type of entertainment:

Continue Reading…

abc

Biennial Day One: Be Epic

sfs_sweetlen_intro[1]The first day of the American Baptist Churches Biennial in Pasadena, CA began Thursday.  The major events of the day were special General Board events and other smaller group meetings.  The biennial was still coming together yesterday as vendors and workers set up rooms and displays.  I continue to discuss the “Missionary Situation” with many of my friends, colleagues, and other ABC attendees.  In addition, I learned that one of bloggers on my blogroll, Tripp, who is a pastor of an ABC church in Chicago area, is here.   I was able to be in contact with Tripp.  The wonders of the globally connected world.

Day one of the Biennial, which was mainly pre-biennial events, primarily consisted of Leonard Sweet’s speaking session (over 3 hours) in which he contrasted the old world vs. the new.  His phase for this contrast is the Gutenberg world (pre-1973) and the Google world (post 1973).  He picks 1973 as a point of division because that is the year the internet was invented.  Sweet contends that we as churches and pastors must understand that we are the google world.  The google world is a world of Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and the internet.  The google world is a world of information in the form of images.  The Gutenberg world is a world of texts and books.

Sweet related this concept to how churches must understand the world is changing and we must adapt.  The most striking connection he made with this concept was to worship.  He did not advocate for contemporary worship or innovative worship, but rather whatever worship a churches does it must be epic.  He spoke of his congregation and how it was full of 20 and 30 year olds worshipping in high-high liturgical worship.  He encouraged the attendees to see worship as God centered, but to think about how culture is highly image based.

Great stuff here.  More to come,

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