“The Good Fight” is ending its run by ramping up the surrealism—and the idea that we are all living in a very real political nightmare.
TV
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
For J.R.R. Tolkien, no one is beyond redemption—even orcs
For Tolkien, every creature exists on the same continuum between good and evil, and has the capacity to travel either way along it.
Posted inFaith, Ideas
Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ was fiction—but it depicted Queen Elizabeth’s very real Christian faith.
As the queen of England, Elizabeth served as the religious leader of the British Commonwealth and supreme governor of the Church of England—and she took that role very seriously.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
‘Abbott Elementary’ is a show about vocation — and the tenacity teaching requires
‘Abbott Elementary’ manages to be both hilarious and honest about life in the classroom.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Emmy nominee ‘Severance’ explores how we handle grief in a world obsessed with productivity
‘Severance’ critiques the faceless American company, for whom workers are interchangeable cogs and poor mental health is the collateral damage of productivity.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Book Club
The Catholic faith (and pessimism) of J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world was in many ways a direct reflection of his understanding of reality.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Review: ‘The Rings of Power’ will make you want to read Tolkien’s books again
The new “Lord of the Rings” prequel series is a confident, well-conceived and often gorgeous addition to the previously adapted work of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Posted inPolitics & Society, Television
What does the Catholic Church say about psychedelics?
Psychedelics have been seen as far worse than alcohol and cigarettes, but are they really?
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
How ‘House of the Dragon’ can learn from the mistakes of ‘Game of Thrones’—and the Catholic Church
Pope Francis has not weighed in on the new show. (As he doesn’t watch television, this is not unexpected.) But on his behalf, we have a couple of notes we’d like to share from a Catholic perspective.
Posted inArts & Culture, Television
Nathan Fielder’s comedy is hilarious. But that doesn’t give him a pass to toy with people’s lives.
Rather than using jokes to make a larger point, Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal” derives its humor from making fun of ordinary people.