“Shogun” is a dire portrait of the Catholic Church’s role in colonial history, but the Japanese are not mere victims in this story.
Television
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
PBS’s ‘Dante’ introduces the divine poet—and neglects his Catholic faith
Ric Burns’s splendid two-part PBS documentary, “Dante: Inferno to Paradise,” has brought Dante’s achievement beyond the groves of academe and into America’s living rooms.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Netflix’s ‘3 Body Problem’ is a solid adaptation of the books. But it could use some religion.
“3 Body Problem” is an imaginative Netflix adaptation of Cixin Liu’s trilogy of sci-fi novels—and yet is mostly true to the books.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
‘The Woman in the Wall’ is worth the watch—if only for the Irish history lesson
Lorna Brady has been traumatized by her time in a Magdalene Laundry in Ireland. But when she receives a mysterious note regarding the whereabouts of her missing daughter, she pushes past her trauma to reveal the truth.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Showtime’s new miniseries ‘Fellow Travelers’ explores the Red Scare, the AIDS crisis and Catholic guilt
“Fellow Travelers” is a broad and intimate depiction of late 20th century gay life and the events that shaped it.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Andre Braugher played the best Catholic character on TV
Frank Pembleton, Andre Braugher’s character on “Homicide: Life on the Street,” embodied the struggle to reconcile faith and intellect. Of course—he was educated by the Jesuits.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
The hidden costs of ‘peak TV’
Television as a popular medium died 25 years ago. It’s time to mourn.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Matthew Perry: a friend who gave even as he suffered
What do you do when literally the entire world loves you, but not you?
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
In ‘Ahsoka,’ ‘Star Wars’ explores faith when organized religion fails
The latest effort from the ’Star Wars‘ franchise asks: What happens to you after you lose your faith?
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
In ‘The Secrets of Hillsong’ documentary, a megachurch pastor is saved—not destroyed—by scandal
Carl Lentz ultimately was not disgraced by his deceptions, sexual affairs and banishment from the pulpit of the megawatt Pentecostal church: He was re-graced.