Argo and the Shape of Deliverance
The premise of Argo is almost absurd in the way true stories often are. Six Americans escape the U.S. embassy during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and find shelter in the Canadian ambassador’s residence. CIA operative Tony Mendez is tasked with getting them out by creating the cover of a fake science-fiction film.
A fake movie. A fabricated production. A rescue hidden inside performance.
The Bomb and the Sovereignty of God
Recently, unable to sleep, I stayed up late and watched a Netflix film I had added to my watchlist months ago: A House of Dynamite. I knew almost nothing about the plot going in. What unfolded was a sobering story that imagines how key figures within the United States national security apparatus might respond in the midst of a nuclear attack.
Work, Loss, and the Search for Purpose: A Christian Perspective on Netflix Hit, Train Dreams
Denis Johnson tells the story of Robert Grainier, a man shaped by loneliness, labor, and loss in the American West near the turn of the twentieth century. Without spoiling the plot, Robert’s life is marked by repeated catastrophe, interrupted by only brief pockets of ordinary joy. He is resilient—stalwart, loyal, and hardy—and yet the tone of the story is unmistakably melancholic: a man doing his best to live well while the world moves on without noticing.
The Theology of Interstellar
Everyone possesses a theology, whether they admit it or not. If you have not reflected on the source of your worldview, it is guaranteed that your theology has been shaped by the influences surrounding you. For example, children raised exclusively in Muslim communities often grow into adults with a fatalistic mindset, as that culture is grounded in determinism. During the year I lived in Bahrain, I heard the Arabic phrase “Inshalla,” meaning “If God wills it,” probably ten times a day. Conversely, a child raised in secular America often has a markedly different outlook, believing that they are the masters of their own destinies. America is obsessed with liberty and freedom, which may partly explain why many Westerners cringe at the mention of Calvinism, as it suggests that we may not be as in control of our outcomes as we wish to believe. That said, the great director Mr. Nolan undoubtedly has his own theology, and my purpose today is to explore some aspects of that worldview as reflected in the plot of Interstellar.