“Lord of the Flies” is an allegory of human disorder and depravity—in a word, what the Christian tradition has called the “fall.”
Television
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‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ and the harsh realities of modern motherhood
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ mixes the sacred with the profane, love with fear. Characters rise above their circumstances while also being crushed beneath them.
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Joyful, grateful and Catholic: Two fans say goodbye to Stephen Colbert and ‘The Late Show’
Comedy is fun, but Colbert’s conception of joy stretches far beyond making people laugh.
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In Netflix’s ‘Beef,’ we can’t stop watching unsympathetic jerks
The baseline rule of storytelling is that we are interested in what happens; sympathy may arise but is not required.
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‘House of David’ is the next hit TV biblical drama
“House of David” brings classic streaming storytelling to a tale I thought I knew.
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‘How to Get to Heaven from Belfast’ can’t match the high-wire comedy of ‘Derry Girls’
“How to Get to Heaven From Belfast,” Lisa McGee’s new series for Netflix, is a wobbly, unsuccessful blend of comedy, mystery and would-be thriller.
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The ‘Stranger Things’ finale puts evil in its place
The final episode of ‘Stranger Things’ reminded me that evil is never one and the same with any human being.
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‘Pluribus’ asks big questions about human freedom. It’s must-think TV.
‘Pluribus’ asks: Would we be willing to give up the struggles of the human condition for life in a friction-free bubble of contentment?
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The extraordinary life of Carlo Acutis—directed by Martin Scorsese’s daughter
By choosing to highlight Carlo, whose life was relatively short and simple in comparison with his fellow saints, the series offers an insightful—and perhaps counterintuitive—reflection on what it truly means to live an exceptional life.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
The Catholic stories Ken Burns left out of his new American Revolution documentary
Ken Burns’s new documentary achieves a tone that is unmistakably Burns: measured, atmospheric, at times elegiac and always attentive to nuance.