a review of religion and media
PREVIEW SCREENING
WRITING IN WATER 水书
A film on the social life of calligraphy” 书法的集体生活
(42 min., Angela Zito 司徒安director)
Tuesday, March 6, 6:00PM
NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Department of Cinema Studies
721 Broadway, 6th Floor, Michelson Theater
Free and open to the public.
Seating is limited and is available first-come, first-seated.
* * * * * Followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. * * * * * Continue Reading →
Come see me, Paul Raushenbush (HuffPo), Laurie Goodstein (NYT), Bruce Clarke (Economist) and others discuss the state of religion in the media on March 20th at 4:30 at NYU’s Rosenthal Pavilion. Here’s a description:
A moderated panel discussion with leading journalists and broadcasters on issues and trends around they way in which religious identities and communities are represented and reported in the media. The panel will explore the challenges and barriers within the current media landscape that further division and fuel prejudices. They will also identify ways in which the media can be used as a tool to advance understanding and coexistence. The discussion will offer opportunities, methods and resources that enable social activists, religious communicators and aspiring journalism students to be a part of the solution of addressing these challenges. The audience is targeted at a mix of religious communicators, social activists, scholars and NYU journalism students. The event is envisioned to be delivered in partnership with NYU Center for Media and Religion, Odyssey Networks and Religion Communicators Council.
Come see me, Paul Raushenbush (HuffPo), Laurie Goodstein (NYT), Bruce Clarke (Economist) and others discuss the state of religion in the media on March 20th at 4:30 at NYU’s Rosenthal Pavilion. Here’s a description:
A moderated panel discussion with leading journalists and broadcasters on issues and trends around they way in which religious identities and communities are represented and reported in the media. The panel will explore the challenges and barriers within the current media landscape that further division and fuel prejudices. They will also identify ways in which the media can be used as a tool to advance understanding and coexistence. The discussion will offer opportunities, methods and resources that enable social activists, religious communicators and aspiring journalism students to be a part of the solution of addressing these challenges. The audience is targeted at a mix of religious communicators, social activists, scholars and NYU journalism students. The event is envisioned to be delivered in partnership with NYU Center for Media and Religion, Odyssey Networks and Religion Communicators Council.
By Becky Garrison
Despite recent efforts to mainstream its image, Exodus International, a network of ministries formed over 30 years ago to “mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality,” appears to be on the decline. As reported by Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that fights anti-gay religious extremism, attendance at Exodus International’s latest Love Won Out conference, drew at most 400 people, a far cry from the 1,000 in attendance during its heyday when Focus on the Family organized these quarterly ex-gay symposiums. This drop in attendance follows a meeting convened by Exodus International President Alan Chambers on November 16, 2011 to explore how to keep the organization from social and economic oblivion. Continue Reading →
Observations from a few hours spent at the 136th Kennel Club Dog Show
By Ashley Baxstrom
We gathered, one week ago, like so many pilgrims flocking to a holy site.
Or rather, flocking to a site where the objects of our devotion gathered. Was it the idea of a place in which generations had come together for more than a century, first in 1877 at Gilmore’s Gardens (the Hippodrome), and now here? True, most of the time Madison Square Garden plays host to feats of athletic prowess or demonstrations of theatrical and musical creation. But for this weekend, it was ours. The bright screens overhead glowed with our insignia, our group’s name. Green felt track covered the arena, an ice rink no more (though betrayed by a distinct chill in the air). And everywhere you look, we, the worshippers, and they, the worshipped.
Because it’s not about the place. It’s about the puppies. We’re all here to admire them, gaze at them with love and devotion. Me, I’d like to pet them. I’m not a member of this congregation, just a brief visitor, and I came for puppies. I came because my friend’s boss had tickets and let us borrow them for the morning. It’s like borrowing a parishioner’s pew, sitting in their seat, but the parish is so big nobody knows you don’t belong. They smile and nod at you, because you’re one of them, we’re all in this devotion together. Continue Reading →
Amy Levin: Last year it was Jo Calderone performing at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, and this year it was Roman Zolanski at the 2012 Grammy Awards. If these names aren’t ringing a bell, you might otherwise know them as the now famous male alter-egos of singers Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, respectively. After Minaj, the rising female rapper, showed up at the Grammys with the Pope as her date and performed an exorcism on stage, she joined both Lady Gaga and Madonna in the line up of performers with Catholic-themed spectacles. Unsurprisingly, both pop entertainment media and Catholic organizations (namely the Catholic League) equally denounced Minaj’s performance as overboard, vulgar, disrespectful, tasteless, and silly. Continue Reading →
We asked our Near and Dear to tell us something about today, the day when we celebrate love–or loss or absence or grief or joy or chocolate or the color red. Valentine’s Day is one of those not-so-holy (or so-holiday) holidays we bump into on the annual calendar, on our way to spring, rebirth and Easter rising. We didn’t really know what we’d get for our asking.
It’s an odd and fascinating assortment of reflections and observations from some of our favorite loves–our regular contributors, family and friends. Happy Valentine’s Day! We love you, we do!
“Month of Valentines” by Stacy Doris
“#MyGrownUpValentine” by Ashley Baxstrom with image by Angela Zito
“A Buddhist Valentine” by S. Brent Plate
“My Friend” by Jacob Glatstein, translated from the Yiddish by Peter Manseau
“A Valentine Offering” by Genevieve Yue
“My Wish this Valentine’s Day” by George González
“A Simple Dinner” by Anthea Butler
“St. Valentine’s Fallen Face” by David Metcalfe
“Heart in the Snow” by Mary Valle
“A Red Bagel” by Adam Becker
“The Gospel of Sacred Candy Hearts” by Amy Levin
“Be Mine” by Jeremy Walton
image: “Heart to Heart” by Angela Zito Continue Reading →
The GOP cites Leviticus as just cause for a one-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.
Paul Mutter: Mitchell Plitnick reports that in a closed meeting in January, the Republican National Committee (RNC) adopted an official resolution supporting “united Israel governed under one law for all people.” What?
Yes, according to the resolution, “the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.” The justification for this position begins with the words, “Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament.”
It seems that the bible–as Barbara Lerner expressed in the National Review,”restore what God gave Abraham’s people”–is the basis for Congressional Republican policy. So too is Rick Santorum’s telling gaffe. Christian Zionism is riding high as the 2012 elections approach. Brothers all are we? Continue Reading →
The GOP cites Leviticus as just cause for a one-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.
Paul Mutter: Mitchell Plitnick reports that in a closed meeting in January, the Republican National Committee (RNC) adopted an official resolution supporting “united Israel governed under one law for all people.” What?
Yes, according to the resolution, “the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.” The justification for this position begins with the words, “Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament.”
It seems that the bible–as Barbara Lerner expressed in the National Review,”restore what God gave Abraham’s people”–is the basis for Congressional Republican policy. So too is Rick Santorum’s telling gaffe. Christian Zionism is riding high as the 2012 elections approach. Brothers all are we? Continue Reading →
From Mark Oppenheimer’s article at the New York Times today on the case, taken up by the Christian legal organization Alliance Defense Fund, of a counselor who refused to treat Continue Reading →