• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Film
  • DVD
  • Editorial
  • About ScreenFish

ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • News
  • OtherFish
  • Podcast
  • Give

Christian

This Episode Has No Agenda

February 10, 2021 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

This is an experimental episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, recorded with literally no set topic, no notes, no agenda.

We can’t (won’t) even pitch what we actually ended up talking about (because we do, of course, now know what that was), even though it for sure turned out to be very, very interesting.

We could tell you what the goal of this experiment was, but that may be construed as an agenda and/or otherwise give you information about the episode ahead of time, which we can’t (won’t) do. You’ll just have to listen and find out. We do, as usual, hope you find this beneficial 🙂

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Christian, christian podcast, church, culture, current events, drive, Faith, hill, politics, polzin, religion, saginaw, spirituality

The Best Christmas Movies Ever

December 17, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Do you want THE definitive list of The Best Christmas Movies Ever? Want to know why they matter deeply? Look no further…

In this final Your Sunday Drive podcast episode of 2020, we reminisce and riff on some of our favorites, unpacking plenty presents along the way: What makes a Christmas movie a Christmas movie and why does Die Hard count as one? What things do these stories have in common? Why do we build such strong traditions around them? Why does flying kites suck so bad? What role does magic and belief play in these movies?

Most importantly: How do these favorite seasonal stories connect to the actual Christmas story and the gospel itself?

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, best christmas movies, Charlie Brown, Christian, christian podcast, Christmas, christmas movies, church, dark, Die Hard, Elf, Faith, gospel, holidays, It's a Wonderful Life, light, Love Actually, magic, Mental Health, Santa, spiritual

Election Final Thoughts; Year’s Best Shows; Tolkien on Stories

October 28, 2020 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

With one week left before the 2020 election, we present some final thoughts, hot takes, questions, hopes and more.

We also share about some of our favorite shows and other media of 2020, asking the question “how can we redeem the time spent on such things?”

Finally – to help answer this question – we look at J.R.R. Tolkien’s “On Fairy Stories” and the idea that stories have three essential parts, all of which mirror the gospel.

All this (and more) in a new episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast:

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: biden, boys, Christian, christian podcast, church, culture, election, fairy stories, last kingdom, Lord of the Rings, NeXT, oxenfree, Pandemic, politics, tolkien, Trump, utopia

Jarrid Wilson & Hope in the Face of Suicide

September 13, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Jarrid Wilson

Aren’t Christians supposed to have it “all figured out?” Does the gospel really work? Can people change? Is victory over our struggles possible? How?

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we talk about Jarrid Wilson, a pastor and mental health advocate who recently committed suicide, and some related questions for Christians and non-Christians alike.

If you need help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. 

Come along for Your Sunday Drive – quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Hosts: Matt Hill and Nate Polzin. Presented by the Church in Drive of Saginaw, MI, as often as possible. Please visit churchindrive.com and facebook.com/thechurchindrive



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: addiction, anthem, Christian, church, depression, hill, hope, jarrid wilson, Mental Health, Podcast, polzin, suicide

Fall Kickoff: Sports; Future of College & Work; Meaning in Life

August 20, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

your sunday drive podcast

Fall is here and with it the 150th season of college football in the U.S.!

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we use this occasion as a kick-off point to revisit the topic of spirituality in sports.

Then the conversation goes deep into the current state of higher education, and the future of college and work.

Finally, the concept of God’s image is used as a touchstone principle to connect these topics to larger questions about purpose and meaning in life.

Take a listen and let us know what you think! Want to interact with us? Comment here, or on Spreaker or Facebook!



Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Christian, college, drive, Football, God, hill, life, meaning, Podcast, polzin, saginaw, sports, sunday, work, your

Moon Landing Then & Now; Trump, Dissent & Political Divide

July 23, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

It was recently the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, bringing to mind how unity and division often exist together in the U.S.

In this episode of the Your Sunday Drive podcast, we go deep with a moon landing retrospective, contrasted with a conversation about Trump, free speech, dissent, the current political divide in the U.S., how Christians are involved and how Christian witness is impacted.

Also: how amazing was the moon landing?, human drive to explore and know, a Christian worldview upholds scientific discovery, Trump comments about “the squad,” free speech and does it have limits?, is being associated with Trump good for the church and the spread of the gospel?, should the gospel always be “unoffensive?,” and more.

Take a listen and let us know what you think! Want to interact with us? Comment here, or on Spreaker or Facebook!

Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: apollo, Christian, christian podcast, christian witness, church, church in drive, division, free speech, hill, moon landing, politics, pop culture, squad, Trump, your sunday drive

Check Out the Your Sunday Drive Podcast!

May 29, 2019 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Your Sunday Drive Podcast

Hey everyone!

I’ve been so proud to write for Screenfish over the years. Now I’m excited to share a new project I’ve been working on – one that very much fits into the mold of examining spirituality in culture:

The Your Sunday Drive podcast!

So what’s this podcast all about? Simple: Quick conversation about current events, politics, pop culture and more, all from the perspective of a couple of guys trying to follow Jesus.

Our most recent episode tackled the current abortion debate. Before that, we did episodes on the Avengers, faith and science, Easter, the Final Four and spirituality in sports, Sekiro and spirituality in gaming, and much more!

I hope you appreciate this new endeavor as much as I hope you’ve appreciated my previous posts. Look for more episodes to show up regularly here, and please subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, etc., and like, comment, review, share and all that!

Filed Under: OtherFish, Podcast Tagged With: Christian, mi, Podcast, pop culture, saginaw, your sunday drive

Why I Love (and Fear) Jordan Peterson & Russell Brand

August 22, 2018 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

Jordan Peterson and Russell Brand

tldr version

Jordan Peterson
and Russell Brand
both see a
current crisis
and both see it as
primarily “spiritual”

however, for each,
there are issues
when it comes to how
*truth*
and “spirituality” relate

and how they relate
is vital

bit longer version

fanboying

i love me some
Peterson and Brand

always generally dug
Brand’s flicks
and standup,
and have been a
fan of his podcast/YouTube
for a year plus

(fun fact:
the pic above is
from once when
Peterson went
on said podcast;
and don’t they look
smashing together?
🙂 )

Peterson came to
my attention
more gradually,
but then like a
hurricane recently –
seriously:
give him a Google
and marvel at the
moment he’s been having

i have Recovery and
12 Rules for Life
on my bedside table
(along with some more
explicitly Christiany books
and a tablet, upon which
i theoretically read,
but mainly just
obsess over guitar gear
i don’t really need)

both are excellent texts
and both feel
supremely plugged in
to a zeitgeisty sense
that something’s amiss,
in general,
with ppl rn

(i agree)

both also,
and both men
in their public lives,
propose something
like a
spiritual cause
for this
“something amiss” –
what might be called a
“spiritual crisis of meaning”
stemming from
God
(or something like God;
more on this later)
no longer holding
significant sway
for so many

(i agree for sure)

caveating

please note here
that these gentlemen
are obv far more complex
than i’m making
them seem, as is
this whole topic
(and i’m not
even addressing
their politics);
i’m attempting to
essentialize here;
i considered deep diving,
but am refraining
for the sake of brevity
and also because i’m
kind of lazy

in any case, here are
some decent articles
related to this post;
go ahead and Google –
there’s plenty more:

“Jordan Peterson vs. Russell Brand”

“The religious hunger that drives Jordan Peterson’s fandom”

“Is Dr. Jordan Peterson A Gateway Drug to Christianity, Or Just A Highbrow Joel Osteen?”

here are two of my own,
also related:

“Get Re-Enchanted: Stranger Things 2, Pop Culture & God”

“What IT Means (and How *Any* Good Story “Means”)”

problematizing

but here’s the problem:
as much as i *love*
Peterson and Brand’s
respective approaches
to the significance
of the spiritual,
i *fear* that
neither approaches
*truth* sufficiently

what do i mean?

well, with Brand,
the issue appears to be
lack of specificity –
many manifestations
of spirituality
might address the
problems he sees
(note that his book
is based on the 12-steps,
which speaks of “God,
as we understand him”)

and while this is
well and good to a point,
of course,
in the end,
truth commonly understood
is *specific* and *exclusive*
by its nature,
and not addressing this,
it seems to me,
is a problem

for Peterson,
the issue is confusing
*truth*
with something like
“what works”

he tells us to live by a
certain ethic
and seek a certain meaning
grounded in
certain Jungian archetypes,
not because it is true
or because the
archetypes are –
at least not in
the usual
historical/correspondence
way generally meant –
but because it
just happens to reflect
how things have gone
re: humans
when it comes to
our psychology
from an
evolutionary perspective;
it is what is and
therefore what “works”
and therefore “true”

again, all well and good
to attach some
functionality to truth,
of course,
perhaps,
but conflating the two,
it seems to me,
is a problem

also, this is why
Peterson kind of
dodges/ducks/complicates
the question he’s
often asked:
“do you believe in God;”
he may or may not,
but he definitely
does not think of
that question primarily
as it relates to *truth*
commonly understood

finning

and so:
when it comes to
Peterson and Brand,
i love them,
but i also fear them

i find them both
engaging and articulate
and brilliant, etc.,
and *correct;*
but, concerningly,
on this point,
only to a point

i want people to
hear their message(s) –
i know good can come
of it –
but i fear ill may too

i see them as
important,
*prophetic* even
in this current moment –
both have
cut through the mix
in a way that’s so
unusual anymore,
given the noise –
but probably only
“part way down the path”
to the true destination
they both seem to
have glimpsed
(or, better,
which has glimpsed them):

not God
“as we understand him,”
not a “God” that
simply works,
but the *true* God

the true God
as He really is

 

Filed Under: Books, Current Events, Editorial, OtherFish Tagged With: 12 rules for life, 12 step, alt right, archetype, books, Canada, Christian, God, jordan peterson, jung, meaning, modern, politics, professor, Psychology, recovery, religion, russell brand, social justice warrior, spiritual, twelve step

The Dark Tower Ending Explained

June 28, 2018 by Matt Hill 1 Comment

screenfish matt hill dark tower
[there be SPOILERS ahead,
may it do ya fine]

yesterday i finished
sai Stephen King’s
The Dark Tower series –
entered the clearing
at the end of that path

it took me right around a year,
all told;
i think the longest extended
narrative i’ve ever read

by way of a mini-review:
i dug it 🙂

i’m a fan of King
and his style,
and the story here is
obv epic in scope,
full of wonders, adventure,
humor, tragedy,
characters you can relate to,
ones you wish you couldn’t,
and, ultimately,
it MEANS something
(more on that soon)

it was not perfect,
certainly –
many sections
and even entire books
got to be a bit of a slog
(like the characters’
journeys themselves),
there were build ups
to ultimate let downs,
promises not kept imo,
digressions, confusions, etc.,
much of which may be
due to the series’
long, fascinating
actual history
(which you can google) –
but in the end, for me,
it was worth the trip
for sure

saying more would only
hold up what i
mainly intend to say:

The Dark Tower Ending Explained

so what does the
series
and its ending
mean?

for such a long,
complex tale,
and such a
seemingly tricky question,
it’s surprisingly simple

The Dark Tower is
a story about stories

what about stories?

they end.

they themselves
inevitably reach
the clearing
at the end of the path.

to shoot straighter:
stories resolve.

King himself,
near the end of Book 7,
the last,
even cheekily
chides the reader
for needing
an ending,
basically daring us
not to read on;
but nevertheless,
he gives us the end
as he knows he must

and, also, as well,
the specific end he gives,
in context,
underlines the point:
stories resolve

see, The Dark Tower
is about how
“there are other worlds
than these;”
about, basically,
“the multiverse” –
the idea that
there are
different worlds,
and also that the lives
of the different
people within them
(including those of
King himself and
his decades-deep
cast of characters)
are somehow
actually happening together,
intertwined in space/time

sitting at
multiverse center?
the Dark Tower itself –
the nexus of all worlds

a knight errant –
Roland Deschain,
the gunslinger,
the main character –
is destined by ka
to seek this tower
and reach the
room at its summit;
the series tells
of this quest

at the end of Book 7,
the coda,
Roland reaches the
top of the tower,
only to walk through
a door
(and back in time)
to the opening line
of Book 1:

“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”

in other words,
the multiverse
is not only made
of many worlds,
it also apparently
runs in many cycles –
the “end” is
just the beginning

but, however,
most ultimately importantly,
just as the many worlds
of the multiverse
converge on the one spot,
one thing for Roland
is different
in this one new cycle
that begins at the end:
he has an item
(the Horn of Eld,
though the specifics
probably aren’t
what’s important)
which promises
the possibility
of a final and last cycle –
an actual end,
the inevitable resolution

So What?

great question 🙂

one this post
won’t address

but i encourage you
to ask more deeply:

why do stories resolve?

why must they?

why must we humans
tell them –
all of them variations
of the same
resolving tale,
over and over?

(for a bit of
my personal take, see:
“What IT Means (and How *Any* Good Story ‘Means’)”

here’s a hint:
it has something to do
with Gan (God),
commala come you)

in any case,
long days
and pleasant nights
to ya –
till you too
reach the clearing

 

Filed Under: Books, OtherFish, Reviews Tagged With: book, childe roland, Christian, crimson king, ending, explained, interpretation, jake, meaning, metaphor, movie, religious, resolution, roland, roland deschain, spiritual, Stephen King, the dark tower, tower

The Ready Player One “Easter Egg” That Bypasses the Backlash

April 18, 2018 by Matt Hill Leave a Comment

this quick post plays
through three short stages

the third contains
the Easter egg

all three potentially
contain SPOILERS


Stage One: “Microreview”

if you haven’t seen Ready Player One
(or read Cline’s book),
you really should;
particularly if you’re the
target demo:
a “nerd,” “geek,”
pop culture afficionado
of a certain stripe
(70s-80s gaming, sci-fi, etc.)
(more on this later)

but even if you’re not
the target demo du jour,
you should still see it,
cuz it’s a fun,
eminently Spielbergian,
bombastic popcorn flick
(tho, prepare to
suspend plenty disbelief
and prepare to groan
at the too-neat ending)


Stage Two: “Context”

if you’ve seen this movie already –
more certainly if you’ve
read the book,
have this kind of thing
on your radar, etc. –
you may have a sense of the
Ready Player One backlash
that’s been afoot:

e.g. 1: Steven Spielberg’s Oblivious, Chilling Pop-Culture Nostalgia in “Ready Player One”

e.g. 2: The Ready Player One backlash, explained

(those two pieces are helpful
primers and there are others)

the gists of the criticisms
have to do with
Cline, Spielberg, or both
succumbing to certain
negatives of nostalgia and some
nasty exclusivity concerning
particular pet passions
(this involves something
called “Gamergate”)

i think there’s obv
plenty valid points here,
but delving in fully
is beyond this post

(for some
thoughts on nostalgia, see my
good, bad, ugly: nostalgia edition)

(for some
thoughts on how groups
(like gamers)
crave things like
ownership, community, etc. –
relevant to them
playing out negatively
re: Gamergate – see my
a pop invite to the church)


Stage Three: “Spiritual < Spiritual”

while in general i agree with
Rob Bell that
“everything is spiritual,”
i think some
desires
(longings,
hungers,
senses of privation,
experiences of lack,
problems,
issues,
whatever)
are more clearly so

in this instance, by “spiritual”
i mean something like
“essential to our being
as humans;”
i also mean something like
what’s at play here:

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” ~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

here, in other words,
spiritual = supernatural

and HERE is where we discover
the titular EASTER EGG –
the “secret” that “saves”
Ready Player One
from some potential negatives
brought up in Stage Two….

Ready Player One, really,
is about these spiritual/supernatural
longings/desires;
specifically, i see
The OASIS
(the movie’s VR game world)
as a proxy for
desires for
things like:
love, belonging, community,
escape, freedom, victory,
meaning, enjoyment, passion

Ready Player One
says this about people:
people need
love/meaning/etc.
and they’ll do
whatever it takes
to get it
(including create
fictional worlds where they do)

but now notice how
Ready Player One‘s
counterintuitively anti-gaming ending –
when we’re told something like
“the real world is what’s real” –
also says this about people:
real (read: spiritual) problems require
real (read: spiritual) solutions,
and *bigger* ones, too

in other words: spiritual < spiritual

it may seem like The OASIS
can give Wade (the main character)
what he needs,
but nah: he needs Samantha (the girl)
irl for that;
in this same way,
our ultimately
spiritual/supernatural
desires for
love/meaning/etc.
must be “solved” by something/someone
ultimately
spiritual/supernatural –
and *bigger –
too

and,
to me,
with this Easter egg
of perspective in hand,
Ready Player One –
though imperfect –
communicates something
very valid,
very real
about being a human

(for some
thoughts on how
humans often
sneak these kinds of
Easter eggs
into pop culture, see
what it means that you like things that are like other things that you like
and
Get Re-Enchanted: Stranger Things 2, Pop Culture & God)

 

 

Filed Under: Editorial, Film, Reviews Tagged With: 1980s, atari, backlash, Christian, easter egg, ernest kline, gamergate, games, gaming, God, interpretation, Jesus, meaning, media, movie, negative, nostalgia, OASIS, ready player one; steven spielberg, religious, review, spiritual, video game

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

THE SF NEWS

Get a special look, just for you.

sf podcast

Hot Off the Press

  • Reporting from Slamdance – The Winners Are…
  • Reporting from Slamdance – a few final films
  • The United States vs. Billie Holiday: Keep Singing a New Song
  • Sex, Drugs & Bicycles: Wait, You Can Do THAT?
  • Minari: What is This Place?
Find tickets and showtimes on Fandango.

where faith and film are intertwined

film and television carry stories which remind us of the stories God has woven since the beginning of time. come with us on a journey to see where faith and film are intertwined.

Footer

ScreenFish Articles

Reporting from Slamdance – The Winners Are…

Reporting from Slamdance – a few final films

  • About ScreenFish
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 · ScreenFish.net · Built by Aaron Lee