Reassessing Repossessed

 

Reassessing Repossessed 

by Kristin Battestella

The Exorcist star Linda Blair is all grown up and, according to our theme song, “re-re-repossessed” in the 1990 head-spinning, pea soup spewing, oft-maligned spoof Repossessed. Priest Leslie Nielsen (Dracula: Dead and Loving It) is on the devilish case, escalating to the Pope saving souls on live television and an infamously low 11% Rotten Tomatoes score – if viewers remember Repossessed at all. With today's cult-like administration practices, however, it's time to reassess how the religious and political satire of the much derided Repossessed may have actually been ahead of its time.

As a kid, Repossessed was one of my VHS staples. 1990 was still very eighties and Reagan-esque, so anything scandalous with tawdry nudity was treasured. When the bimbo in the front row at Father Leslie's lecture is showing too much leg, he asks her to pull down her dress. She of course responses by pulling the top down and letting the bazongas free. Re-watching Repossessed now, there were many more anticipated punchlines and rim shots that still made me laugh – much to the chagrin of my never-seen-it-before husband who was both annoyed at my predictions and didn't find any of it all that funny. Such datedness is indeed much of the problem with Repossessed. Like new viewers who won't understand the Glenn Miller jokes on The Golden Girls, Repossessed is so overly reliant on eighties scandals, headlines, and pop culture moments that you really had to be there to get it. You may think that makes Repossessed bad now, but just think how all today's quip a minute movies will be undiscernible in forty years!

Demure, yuppie housewife Blair (Witchery) who's supposed to have the ideal conservative life is once again possessed by the devil, who discovers that exorcisms on television are the gateway to spreading demons to leaders across the globe thanks to America's sanctimonious floundering over the likes of Jerry Falwell and Jessica Hahn. Telethon cameos from Body by Jake, Jesse Ventura, and more people modern viewers probably won't recognize anchor music montages to “Devil with the Blue Dress On” but, do folks today even know that song? Yes, it's busy and messy, descending into mixed meta, slow chases, and the Pope on guitar. Repossessed does not always succeed in its larger satire comedy thanks to a muddled, stupid finale designed for the MTV generation. Had Repossessed had a more finely tuned script or edit then, maybe it wouldn't have flopped into obscurity. The “Father Mayii” name in itself is hysterically genius to every twelve year old.

Anthony Starke (The Magnificent Seven) is also here as Nielsen's priestly sidekick, and for a time, to me as a precocious kid anyway, it seemed that he'd cornered the market on satirical genre fare thanks to the likewise shrewd Return of the Killer Tomatoes. Blair and Nielsen also seem to be having a great time with the self-referential performances, confronting Blair's horror typecasting while Nielsen lampoons it – like when our priest is caught on camera calling his agent asking how to get out of this. For all the nostalgic eighties floral prints, bright colors, and big hair; Repossessed actually looks good when it comes to the expected Exorcist effects, making one wonder what might have happened if the story was told straight. However, to be so chilling was not Repossessed's intent. Unfortunately, viewing Repossessed again under the orange cloud that is Trump brings the film disturbingly full circle. The devil shall enter in via the perfect housewife! How can he spread evil to the masses? Television!

When Repossessed originally bombed at the box office in the Fall of 1990, Trump was already a well-known, notorious businessman with his Art of the Deal ghostwritten fakery – as parodied in much better in Back to the Future Part II. It wasn't until the 2004 reality show The Apprentice that Trump was re-imagined as savvy cool wealthy business leader who could fire at will. Television had made the now seemingly downright demure scandals of the eighties mocked in Repossessed, and the reality show era likewise capitalized on creating scripted shock value. Now, the daily absurdities and constantly escalating extremes of our current regime make Repossessed perhaps seem even weaker because it doesn't go far enough. We were too innocent then to think you could pretend to be Jesus and piss off the Pope and just get away with it. Our husband and son just want their possessed mom back sans the demonic drama and split pea soup. American families currently suffering the increasing sociopolitical consequences can certainly relate to the desire for normalcy. Devil with a blue dress blue dress blue dress devilwithabluedresson...we impeached a president for lying about a stain on a blue dress but now we let them tear down the East Wing and hawk edited Bibles with Trump's gold seal of approval. Make it make sense!

Even if you don't get all the pop culture puns or televangelist taboos and thus some of the jokes fall flat, there's a lot of Repossessed that's eerily all too familiar thanks to the contemporary political climate. Don't dismiss the comedy performances and social commentary just based on that Rotten Tomato score. Reassess Repossessed and heed the horror comedy parable.

Greatest Movies of All Time Guest Podcast: Ben-Hur

 

This year I've been so grateful to guest on several podcasts and audio collaborations! Recently, I was part of the Greatest Movies of All Time episode discussing Ben-Hur!

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You can follow @GMOATPodcast for more or See and Hear the episode on YouTube. Keep track of my previous Podcast and Video guest appearance with our blog tags and stay tuned for more! I can also be heard regularly on the Women InSession Podcast at InSessionFilm.com and am currently booking guest spots into mid-2025. For collabs, messaging on Twitter is still open, but I'm much happier at Blue Sky! 

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More Audio/Visual Appearances:

Neverending Watchlist James Bond Collab

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed with Making Tarantino

The Jay Days Halloween Horror TV Video Special

Religious Discourse and Documentaries

Religious Discourse and Documentaries

by Kristin Battestella

These documentaries and series provide friendly starting points on broad biblical subjects as well as high concept theology and religious supposition.

Beasts of the Bible – This 2010 documentary starts off with unnecessary ominous and eerie foreshadowing alongside laughable CGI and animated critters crawling across the screen. An endearing host, animals, or zoo locations would have been better than the redundant prologue and slithering titles padding the run time. Fortunately, expert demonstrations, aquariums, and specimens in jars are more fun amid the medieval bestiaries, alternate scriptures, and scholars debating if the tempting serpent in the Garden of Eden had legs. Modern animal authorities showing lizards, boa constrictors, and monitors are far better than fake visuals as poison salamanders, prehistoric predators, skeletal evidence, and evolutionary changes make the reptilian connections. Moses' staff may have been a snake, too, however his brother Aaron's rod is describe as turning into a “tannin”– Biblical shade taking digs at Pharaoh, Egyptian gods, and the Nile crocodile. Archaeology and ancient ruins help investigate crocodile mummies stuffed with relics while Hebrew scholars compare Greek translations and original etymology to clarify the insects featured in the Ten Plagues. Frogs and locust, sure, but also gnats and mosquitoes rather than lice, dangerous swarms instead of just flies, and potentially killer bacteria like anthrax causing those infamous boils. The science does jump the fantastic shark with mermaid talk when suggesting Philistine temples to Dagon and half-man, half-fish gods were just manatees, seals, or sea lions conflated with myths and mistranslation. Was Jonah and the Whale really a mega mouth shark or merely metaphors for maritime constellations? Some of these Old Testament animal tales are more famous than others, but intriguing creatures such as unicorns, griffons, satryrs, and giants are missing. There's no mention of Noah's Ark, and the hippopotamus as the behemoth or oar fish as sea monsters and leviathan feel tacked on in the final twenty minutes before abruptly ending with cherubs, eagles, and Ezekial visions. The hyperbolic voiceover often negates the interesting theories presented, and embellishments or dated visuals waste precious minutes – every encounter has to have some kind of secret, shocking revelation. This Animal Planet presentation ends on unknown horrors and “Here be dragons” winks when the subject matter is entertaining enough to be a longer series. Fortunately, although the live feeding snakes may scare younger viewers, this eye catching style can be fun for kids who like creepy crawlies.

The Dead Sea Scrolls: Voices from the Desert – There are so many old Dead Sea Scrolls documentaries streaming that I had to make sure this wasn't the same one I reviewed previously. Though dated 2016, this hour is obviously older, too, thanks to large computers, then new database analysis, and sharing the high resolution photographs or documentation on CD – recent academic strides nonetheless after decades of painstaking restoration work and study opportunities only open to a select few. Vintage newsreels of the discovery reiterate the history alongside fears and conspiracies that always seem to come in Dead Sea Scrolls discourse, and aerial views of the Qumran ruins and on location cave scientists better explain how the harsh climate helped preserve the documents. Carbon 14 proof pinpoints the first century when but not why as interviews with both Hebrew and Catholic scholars dissect the language, scriptures, and incomplete text. Varying language, penmanship, and reconstruction is not without controversy, however, as touching up the text or attaching fragments requires interpretative decisions. NASA imaging replacing infared mid-century photographs and new satellite technology reveal an elaborate Dead Sea complex while DNA sampling can help match texts from the same hide. Rather than the back and forth discovery history, the second half here improves with recent publications and academia studies detailing the Scrolls' contents – Community Rule for the Sons of Light, scriptorium organization, and obsessions with purification in spirit, ritual baths, and precious desert water. Special clay jars, sundials, and hasty construction suggests the Essenes knew what they were doing was for posterity even if their excessive military preparation failed at Roman hands – leaving no one to tell us about the wither tos and why fors. Although this doesn't really share anything new to those familiar with the Scrolls and doesn't have time to get in depth with all the angles it presents, this hour remains a good introductory piece or classroom starter and springboard to individual research.

How Jesus Became God – This 2014 twenty-four episode Great Courses lecture presented by the University of North Carolina's Bart D. Ehrman posits whether Jesus was divine or merely a dissonant rabbi prophet against Rome teaching to love god and your neighbor as yourself. The historical versus theological questions begin with earlier godly and human relationships – Roman gods, humans becoming revered in Greece, and elevations in Ancient Judaism alongside other miraculous births, Appollonius of Tyana, Nephilim, immortals, and mortals with magical children. From gods becoming human or coming down in the garden to call Adam and others elected as deified like Romulus or Julius Caesar to angels and Satan; the Old Testament is also rampant with all manner of intermingling between man and gods. While some lectures are broad, others are specifically focused on Genesis, Job, and the pyramid of divine hierarchy – a demimonde of saintly or fallen movement with which pagans were accustomed. “Son of God” and “Sons of God” were ironically common phrasing in early Jewish texts, and onscreen notations break down Jesus' ministry, his disciples, and the gentile spread thanks to the polytheistic ease in believing a man made god. Not believing in his resurrection means the Jesus movement would have remained a small sect of Judaism, so the question isn't necessarily whether he was or was not God but how early Christians themselves perceived Jesus. Paul's letters vary amid Trinity confusion and one god separating his divine partiality thanks to hypostatis and the personification of God's Wisdom or Word. Jesus' own ministry was about preparing for God's coming kingdom, not his own divinity, and the reverence came from others bowing down to a suffering messiah created after the fact. Crucifixion would seem to be a failure if not for the resurrection – whether he rose from the dead or not is almost beside the point because the spread of the belief in Christ's resurrection and the visions after his death are what spurred the Jesus movement to change history. The discourse, however, does get redundant in the middle – how many times can one say denominations bend the scripture to fit their beliefs? – and debating the fifty years plus between the crucifixion and the gospel writings is more interesting, combing Acts and Romans for earlier quotes and possible Q references common in the early movement but distorted like a game of telephone by time the New Testament was gathered. Exhalations of Jesus as the Son of God were adopted at the resurrection, but later ideologies move his divinity backward – his baptism, at birth, all eternity, existence at the beginning with God. Which is the truth when the gospels themselves present multiple cases? Docetism, Ignatius, non-canonical books, and disparate texts in the first and second centuries allowed for multiple points of view including Marcion ideas on the appearance of Jesus as a human rather than a bodily being and Gnosticism versus sacrifice. Despite Christianity originally being much more diverse, orthodox worship was ultimately dominated by Rome and the founding of the Catholic church, leading to persecutions for different beliefs before Constantine's conversion and Council of Nicea declarations creating today's somewhat more harmonious tradition. Had he not been raised from the dead, Jesus would have been a historical footnote about a prophet who's predictions failed, and at times the narrative favors Josephus and history over the spiritual, but our professor also admits that history is woefully inaccurate. Although confusing for a new believer and the deeply religious may balk at the idea of examining Jesus' divinity, this is nothing to be threatened by thanks to detailed timelines and texts breaking down fascinating first century sources. Should proving theories, scholars, or miracles one way or the other change what you believe? No, and this series remains a provocative supplement recounting historical facts as well as theological ideologies past and present for the faithful scholar or a higher education study.

Disappointing

Who Wrote the New Testament? – This 2016 two hours plus doesn't need opening re-enactments, scripture quotes, and famous lines montages bloating the time; the viewer is already here for the Word of God analysis, who collected the Twenty-Seven New Testament works, and the conflicts over which letters, gospels, and accounts to include. Why is there no definitive account of Christ? Why do no original manuscripts remain – just copies of copies written decades later in Greek? Despite the tantalizing opportunities, this documentary is all over the place to start with Mount Sinai monasteries, stolen documents, and arid preservation setting the scene with great on location tours and rituals but showing precious little on site researchers, modern cataloging, digital opportunities, and fellow academics. Non-canon texts such as Epistles from Barnabas and Clement or Thomas and Mary gospels help reveal the risk of following Jesus, his inevitable outcome in standing up to Rome, and the danger in following him to record his ministry – leaving oral traditions to carry the story when so many were illiterate. It takes over twenty minutes for all this background before we get to discrepancies and enigmas in Mark and how easy it is for later scribes making choices or transcription mistakes to change locations or verses. Matthew's account bridges the Jewish history of early Christianity while prolific Luke's Gospel and Acts of the Apostles take up a quarter of the New Testament to spread the Jesus Movement to the gentiles. Rumors of Luke's decapitation and burial in Padua are tested with exhumed bones, DNA analysis, and matching the skull to the body – fascinating stuff that is bizarrely tossed in here with less time spent on the purported Q source gospel and parchment pieces from John's Gospel. Odd editing makes it seem as if this was part of a larger series now condensed into one special, for the narrative is terribly haphazard in postulating one generic, problematic, or science related aspect to the scripture before dropping it in favor of Hitler's disturbing Bible translations. I was not expecting to see Holocaust footage when I tuned in nor Protestant Reformation scandals or Mary Magdalene gossip. The fast moving meandeing can't cover its own topic – lumping the New Testament Letters together for a few moments before splitting hairs over the controversies within them instead. James and Jude earn a mention before going back to Paul amid circumcision, pagans, and a throwaway line wondering which epistles Paul really penned or not. All this is thrown at the screen in the first hour alone, and I zoned out after that. If you are studying a particular part of the New Testament, this is really only worth the matching sampling if you can find it, for this is a thematic mess that ultimately never does what it says on the tin.

A Christmas Catch All

A Christmas Catch All

by Kristin Battestella

Music, vinyl, or specials – this holiday trio offers a little festive something for everyone!

Tennessee Ernie Ford: Christmas – Try and keep up, for although the rousing “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “What Child is This?,” and “Away in a Manger” repeat from Tennessee Ernie Ford's Christmas Special – itself a double LP combining his previous Sing We Now of Christmas and O Come All Ye Faithful albums – this CD compilation is not the same album as any of those. Bellowing carols “O Holy Night,” “It Came upon the Midnight Clear,” “Silent Night,” “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” and “Joy to the World” are also repeated from The Star Carol: Tennessee Ernie Ford Sings His Christmas Favorites, but this isn't that complete session gone digital, either. The download version, however, lists some of the songs herein as 1971 re-records, so unfortunately Ford fans looking to upgrade their scratched vinyl have to pick and choose individual tunes. Of these fifteen tracks, remaining songs that don't appear anywhere else include a lofty “The First Noel” before a jolly, family friend “Up on the House Top/ We Wish You a Merry Christmas” medley and the deep, somber “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” “O Christmas Tree/ Deck the Halls” and “Jingle Bells” end the set with traditional festiveness for all, and while frustrating thanks to its confusing set list, this forty minute CD fits the bill for boomers nostalgic for a good old fashioned baritone Christmas.

A Very Terry Christmas – NBC invites viewers to Get Cozy with Terry Crews as the Brooklyn 99 sergeant embraces the ever lovable Bob Ross The Joy of Painting model with a fireside canvas and holiday brush strokes. Calming Christmas music accents the relaxing blue skies, and it's fascinating to see our burly, funny favorite's soft spoken delight over the two inch brush and his gentle satisfaction while equating mixing paints to playing in the mud. Breezy inspirations and lighthearted instruction create art therapy with no wrong moves. It's all good – paint over what you don't like because Terry's always wanted to say “Happy little trees.” For those who have never actually watched Bob Ross or only know of his recent resurgence in pop culture, this ode may be too unusual or boring. This presentation expects viewers to know the format and doesn't explain itself, for the wonderfully nostalgic and comforting recreation adds it's own spin, including Terry working left handed and portraits of co-star Andre Braugher's Captain Holt hanging beside the Christmas tree. Although this was originally a 2018 streaming event on a twenty four hour loop, now the one off forty minute special remains bemusing on its own, and I'd love to see Terry make more holiday painting appearances. The question isn't “Why should we watch a former football player paint a Christmas tree?” but “Why not?”

You Make the Call

Amy Grant: A Christmas Album – The Contemporary Christian flavor of this 1983 debut holiday hit gets to the country strings immediately with the snowy, sentimental, and slightly dated saccharin “Tennessee Christmas.” “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” lets Grant's voice shine with an a cappella start before the choir and music swell for the big finish and the festive, instrumental “Preiset Dom Konig (Praise the King)” interlude. Though a chart topper in its day, the electronic sound, tech beats, and synthesizer mixing of “Emmanuel” now sounds more like it belongs over an eighties action movie montage than on a Christmas album. Some who like Christian Rock may still find this hip, but break dancing over the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace won't be for everyone. Several of the tracks segue into one another, and it's tough to tell where “Little Town (O Little Town of Bethlehem medley)” begins thanks to similar keyboard edge interfering with Grant's delivery. She can hold the big notes so the over produced orchestration is unnecessary on centuries old carols that have stood the test of time. “Christmas Hymn” is a much more heartfelt original, reverent with its choir echoes and crescendos while “Love Has Come” combines the family holiday with praise and worship verses in obligatory Contemporary Christian style. It's not that this is a bad song, in may ways there's nothing wrong with it. However, it reminds me exactly what I don't like about contemporary worship music – the need to make Jesus hip. Yeah! Rock on! Hold up the lighters for Christ! Fist bump! John 3:16! Why does it feel the need to make the Messiah cool as if he hasn't done enough already? o_O “Sleigh Ride” is much better, a familiar medley and jolly pace that showcases Grant's vocal alongside the long, lingering, mellow notes of “The Christmas Song,” which is arguably the best tune on the album. “Heirlooms” lays on more sentiment, starting off cozy and seemingly secular before switching to adoration – pretty, but thematically a little all over the place. Why would you equate Jesus to random trinkets? Again, the style tries to say something powerful but comes off forced when the orchestral prelude of “A Mighty Fortress/Angels We Have Heard on High” is stronger. This longest finale track brings down the house with traditional chorales and uplifting high notes peppered with classical accents. Though definitely dated with an of the moment, doing too much contemporary movement capitalization that will be off putting to some listeners, this thirty-seven minute brevity can be a fine accompaniment to baking cookies or wrapping presents.

Kenny and Dolly's Once upon a Christmas

Festive Kenny and Dolly's Once upon a Christmas Remains Meaningful, too

by Kristin Battestella

A year after Eyes That See in the Dark and their “Islands in the Stream” duet success, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton re-teamed for the multi-platinum 1984 Once upon a Christmas, a short session nonetheless brimming with country cozy pop and spiritual touches.

County guitar rifts open I Believe in Santa Claus as Kenny and Dolly alternate on the lighthearted magic, hearth, and honesty. Initially, this doesn't seem like a December tune, however, the down home spirit stirs as religious lyrics and children's choirs join the seasonal fun keeping Once upon a Christmas catchy even if you don't like country. Dolly is likewise pleasant and countryside comforting in bringing the casual snowy mountain feeling to Winter Wonderland/Sleigh Ride. Extra beats and Tennessee twang add to the combination arrangement before the ad libs go out with some eighties groovy that could have been both songs in full rather than a quick three and a half minutes. The upbeat tempo of Christmas Without You belies the sophisticated lyrics as Kenny and Dolly create a mood of snug sweaters and fireside romance. This melancholy mixed with merriment has adult maturity as well as casual, able to sing along hooks. It's pop, it's easy on the ear, and it was a hit single, naturally.

The synthesizer notes feel slightly unnecessary for Kenny's first slower ballad The Christmas Song, but fortunately, his soft gruff builds as the verses escalate to the big long held notes. Once upon a Christmas is a short thirty-five minutes with only ten tracks of mostly new holiday songs, which is unusual since there are plenty of fun and familiar holiday tunes that would have fit in with the jovial, breezy A Christmas to Remember. Edgy jazz beats accent Kenny and Dolly's rhymes of fireside memories and Tahoe skiing. This is a fun snowball fight wrapped up in the adult simmer after – an easy listening single very of its time. However the maturity also feels quite contemporary for today's holiday radio play before the fast paced, get thee to the holiday hoe down of With Bells On. The toe tapping jingle mixed with Kenny and Dolly's duet style adds to the sing a long mood of Once upon a Christmas. Us listeners are welcome to join in as our stars have room to break out and harmonize, creating a good time Christmas feeling.

Next, Kenny adds some Spirit of the Season balladry with Silent Night. Surprisingly, the music seems louder than Kenny when it shouldn't be, but this is an older CD that may not be well mixed compared to digital sound. Fortunately, Kenny's raspy melody fits perfectly with the humble notes before one more big reverent refrain. Again, Once upon a Christmas may have benefited by having more of these tender, country carols. The subdued seasonal imagery continues with The Greatest Gift All. Kenny and Dolly mix candlelight romance and snowy love with church bells, peace on earth, and gospel accents for a shrewd single combining the suave pop and spiritual tender. Dolly also has the chance to take it slow with White Christmas, providing the session with some penultimate holiday nostalgia before the eponymous finale Once upon a Christmas. A spoken account of baby Jesus opens Kenny and Dolly's longest track before somber notes retell the story of the manger, gifts from three wise men, and the king come at last. Rather than being out of place compared to the holiday happy golly gee dominating Once upon a Christmas, this topper brings the spiritual sprinkled throughout the session to the forefront, reminding one and all of the reason behind the snowy country happiness.

A more reverent session can be found in Kenny Rogers' The Gift, and Dolly Parton takes on more classic carols in 1990's Home for Christmas. With so many original compositions on Once upon a Christmas, it helps to look up the lyrics, as many of the songs sound alike. This session plays like one long concert – which of course worked back then with Kenny and Dolly's accompanying television special. Fortunately, Once upon a Christmas takes multiple listens to pick up all the holiday happy and country catchy. Though slightly dated in its early eighties country crossover pop sound with nothing stand out or what one would call timeless, Once upon a Christmas remains a perennial feelgood listen all the same – a quick, lighthearted, and cozy festive for sentimental adults who remember Christmas then. 

 

Religious Viewing Round Up

A Religious Viewing Round Up

by Kristin Battestella

These movies, documentaries, series, and biographies tackle numerous famous names, spiritual places, and religious histories for some uplift or education near and far and for one and all.

David and Bathsheba –A written prologue sets the scene for this 1951 tale sourced from the Second Book of Samuel starring Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Susan Hayward (I Want to Live!) as the Israel shaking titular couple. Yes, the cast is unfortunately white washed with stars of the day. The script also fails Peck by being too preachy, as if he has to repeat all of the Hebrew history onscreen to make the casting authentic after the fact. This waxing philosophical, however, and the wishy washy infatuations that come with it make for slow, non-interactive scenes – there's a lot of talking and not a lot of doing in what supposed to be such a passionate story. The scandalous for the time peaking at Susan Hayward bathing also isn’t much taboo today, and her somewhat flat delivery leads to more back talk then chemistry. What do you want? No, what do you want? Obligatory Ark of the Covenant appearances, tribal dancing for the court, stonings, Psalm 23 recitings, and Star of David emblems likewise lend more Hollywood stereotypical rather than historical accuracy. Though mid-century colorful, the small-scale designs can’t be compared to other Biblical epics like Samson and Delilah before or The Ten Commandments after thanks to modern hairstyles and obvious matte backgrounds. Fortunately, it’s nearly impossible to dislike Peck’s soft spoken and wise king in love. Although, audiences may find it difficult to believe such a traditional good guy would be so unscrupulous and shady. 3,000 year old spoiler alert – David sends his lover Bathsheba’s husband to the front lines so he'll die in battle. Intriguing thoughts on whether David is a fraud not living up to his predecessor Saul only provides background for a few scenes before Peck grows a beard and gets his crisis of faith burdens on in a final half hour of repentance accented by a lovely Oscar nominated score from Alfred Newman (The King and I). While this romance is again not on the same scope as other Old Testament yarns, fans of the cast can enjoy the performances here, and this fits in nicely for a religious marathon or classroom comparison and accuracy discussion.

The Great Works of Sacred Music – Everything from chanting and where we get the “amen” to Handel's Messiah and Christmas music is meticulously detailed in this 2015 sixteen episode series from the Great Courses Signature Collection. Professor of Musicology at Oberlin College Conservatory Charles Edward McGuire focuses on western Christian music from the Middle Ages to 1901, defining how originally sacred music used solely for worship has now become a mixture of concert and entertainment. Does it make the Latin chorales and canon hymns any less reverent if they are now heard in the concert hall? Ritual origins, strophic formats, melodies, and texts cross denominations or change to suit new religious needs, and our Professor sings with onscreen music measures while comparing and contrasting the syllabic, melismatic, and neumatic notes. Familiar tunes and memorable names such as William Henry Monk, Charles Wesley, and St. Augustine anchor debates on hymn structure, whether a trained choir or congregation is meant to sing, and what makes “hallelujah” such a special word. Twelfth and Thirteenth century chanting begets monophonic versus polyphonic mass music, Latin prayers sung, and innovative oratorios before Renaissance aesthetics pass into artifacts no longer heard in their original worship purpose. Despite a wealth of surviving medieval music, much of it is actually lost and unknown. What instruments were used? How many people sung this? How did this sound then? Differences between who could chant, such as those ordained or not, and Gregorian naming disputes fade as the Protestant Reformation brings new styles to the public and opera competes with sacred music for sponsors and patrons – forcing composers the likes of Monteverdi and Vivaldi to combine the minstrel with reverence at the turn of the seventeenth century. Mendelssohn details and Mozart Requiem samples highlight new accompaniments and arrangements alongside the increasing use of musical instruments, organs, and strings. Two episodes here are dedicated to Bach's Cantatas, moving his Mass in B minor pinnacle from sacred to concert repertoire complete with translations of Lutheran texts, Haydn's The Creation, and personal meets pious Christus am Olberge versus Missa solemnis Beethoven explorations. The nineteenth century somewhat anti-establishment music of Brahms and Verdi, however, gives way to a Victorian resurgence of longstanding carols – from the Latin origins of O Come All Ye Faithful and the Coventry Carol to the German Silent Night and surprisingly recent O Come, O Come Emmanuel – where anyone can lift up their voices. This is a very detailed breakdown of lyrics, notes, history, and composition not intended for a non-musical layman – this series is more for those already with a music background rather than an introduction piece. At forty-five minutes per episode, the sessions are somewhat long, padded with caveats explaining about what they are going to explain or even over-explain thanks to redundant melodies and repeated talk of one note differences that are indistinguishable to the common ear. One can easily zone out as the analysis goes deeper and deeper, however the pleasant music samples, familiar cues, and famous names call one back for more. These segments are superb for independent musical scholars or for a picking and choosing study honing in on specific composers. 

 

John Wesley: The Faith that Sparked the Methodist Movement – On location English tours, period maps, and religious artwork accent this documentary on the eighteenth century founder as scholars detail Wesley's early life and family background as the son of an Epworth rector alongside his younger brother Charles – two of ten surviving from a whopping nineteen! Onscreen writings and voiceover quotes recount his mother's methodical routine, theology, and home tutoring, which helped shape Wesley's early education before surviving a childhood fire left him seeking out his special purpose in life. Sports at Christchurch College in Oxford are traded for pious prayer meetings with brother Charles – mocked by other students as “The Holy Club” despite the group's mission to help the poor, support families with loans, and establish schools. By 1735, however, Wesley's inexperience and lack of faith lead to failure in America before Moravian associates strengthen his personal religious commitment. Wesley's new heartfelt ministry anchored in methodical beliefs, unfortunately, wasn't welcome by the Anglican church. Though he himself was initially appalled at open air meetings, Wesley's teachings from the outdoor pulpit allowed common people who couldn't afford to attend bigger cathedrals or religious schools to hear and embrace his ideology on salvation and grace through spiritual discipline. Wesley promotes the then shocking notion that people of multiple classes and stations can worship together by organizing small groups and societies where the faithful can uplift each other thanks to the non-ordained or women ministers. Such preaching seemingly against the Church of England led to mob threats and physical attacks on the Wesleys – who nonetheless remained Anglican. Wesley continued to write sermons and publications challenging authority – standing at a desk even though he was only 5'3 – and welcomed the illiterate to attend his services, for they could sing what they could not read. When his hometown scoffed at the open air churches, Wesley took to Bristol to build the first Methodist church in 1739. This “New Room” became a school, shelter, and chapel featuring Charles Wesley's hymns, and although Wesley never intended to set up a new denomination, the Methodist numbers grew into the thousands as missionaries and followers sailed to America. This presentation is a little older and slightly juvenile thanks to dramatizations from a film with bad effects and a terrible wig called Wesley: A Heart Transformed that unnecessarily stray into abstracts when facts from the experts and notes from the man himself are more interesting. Many may know the subject by name but not much of the details, and this hour is good for a Sunday School accompaniment or jumping off point for further biographical study.

Dated Split Decision

Enigma of the Dead Sea Scrolls – This 2009 hour chronicling the 2,000 year old documents opens with Jerusalem celebrations and brief recaps on the coming together of the Christian Bible before the eponymous 1947 Qumran caves happenstance. Unfortunately, rather than letting the facts speak for themselves or expanding on a peek inside the museum basement where only a select few can see the unpublished texts firsthand; the flowery, anecdotal narration bounces back and forth. The rough VHS looking presentation also remains terribly dated thanks to constant complaints regarding the secretive releasing of the documents, creating controversy and spending more time on people who refused to talk on camera. Then contemporary footage fill ins and second hand accounts invoke a tabloid, unauthentic feeling that points fingers about the texts before tossing in wartime history instead of discussing the actual scrolls. This briefly mentions the content of the parchments themselves, who wrote them and why with details on early Jewish and Christian sects before again downplaying the academic excitement with war time delays and unscrupulous dealers trying to profit from the discovery. The uneven, confusing narrative compromising interesting nuggets on copper scrolls, carbon dating confirmations, and questions on why the documents were hidden. The purpose here seems more angry at the wrongs rather than having excitement for the historic and religious value of the scrolls – as if conspiracies to suppress the materials are more important than potential Essenes origins, Masada connections, surviving pottery, and new restorations using high resolution photography. Although the Dead Sea Scrolls Wikipedia page has a much more detailed, organized timeline, there is a certain historical value in seeing the older footage here and how digital access for all has changed some of the cloak and dagger secrecy from decades prior. Some segments are also useful for the classroom, however the old fashioned tone and lacking of current facts creates a frustrating shortsightedness, leaving one in search of a deeper independent study.

Didn't Finish It

The Cathedral – State University of New York at Geneseo History Professor William R. Cook uses videos, animations, and photography to capture the architectural scale and magnificent awe of the eponymous but not necessarily all ecclesiastic buildings of Western Europe in this 2010 Great Courses twenty-four episode series. Explanations on the bishop's throne as a cathedra help define a cathedral at its simplest as a building with a cathedra in it before detailing how that role as a seat of the religious authority has changed since the earliest fourth century large scale worship constructions thanks to centuries of encroaching urban development and adaptations for contemporary use – not to mention the destruction or survival of many churches amid medieval upheavals, rebellions, or more recent wartime damage. High definition zooms highlight facade statuary, inner sanctum iconography, stain glass windows, and their past repairs or modern updates. The focus here is largely on French buildings with Romanesque styles and the evolution of the vaulted ceiling before Saint-Denis and the emergence of Gothic design, Notre Dame glory, and the peculiar cathedral at Laon. However, there are also spotlights on Chartres, English Norman meets Gothic developments, and Italian architecture. There is a lot of fast talking information here and at first I skipped around, as there are numerous tangents that leave you wondering what this has to do with the topic of the half hour at hand. Instead of being a fresh course made available thanks to new streaming technology, our Professor reminds me of a stuffy Ross Perot – some segments are forced to be at school dry or sermon heavy handed since he stands at a podium when other presenters in the Great Courses lectures are more relaxed. It's easy to zone out unless there is a picture, because I think most viewers would ultimately tune in here for the history of the featured buildings and seeing all the pretty architectural details. However, those purple ties and green shirts are kind of fun, and I might try Cook's 2014 follow up The World's Greatest Churches, as it seems to feature much more international variety from which to pick and choose.