Here’s the latest installment in the Through a Screen Darkly series at Christianity Today…
It Came Upon a Big Screen Clear
Holiday movies don’t often depict the real Christmas story, but when they do, it’s a light shining in the darkness.
My latest commentary in the Through a Screen Darkly series is up at Christianity Today Movies.
This one’s about Christmas movies… especially those that capture a sense of the light that shines in the darkness.
Welcome to the confessions of a Christian moviegoer.
Jeffrey Overstreet, film enthusiast and movie reviewer, takes readers on a journey that spans the globe.
From a desert scene in Mongolia to a galaxy far, far away, you’ll explore the power of cinematic journeys to introduce life-changing new insights. While visiting the angels of Wings of Desire and the inquisitive British newcomers of The New World, he’ll show you how different characters, different worldviews and different experiences offer pieces of a larger truth.
Examining methods and styles employed by Martin Scorsese, Tony Scott, Paul Thomas Anderson, Akira Kurosawa and Krzysztof Kieslowski, Overstreet highlights the ways in which art and entertainment can both harm and heal. You’ll find excerpts from his conversations with directors Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), Wim Wenders(Wings of Desire) and Patrice Leconte (The Widow of St. Pierre), and producer Ralph Winter (the X-Men series).
What makes some films timeless rather than merely popular has everything to do with the way these artists — whether they know it or not — have captured reflections of God in their work.
Publishers Weekly, Christianity Today, Image, Relevant, Paste magazine’s Andy Whitman, and filmmakers like Scott Derrickson and Darren Aronofsky have praised Through a Screen Darkly as “compelling,” “inspiring,” and “masterful.”
Jeffrey is represented by Lee Hough, an agent for Alive Communications.
Jeffrey is currently appearing for interviews on radio programs across the U.S., and speaking to audiences at universities (Seattle Pacific University, Biola University, Northwestern College) and bookstores (Third Place Books, The Next Chapter).
Invite Jeffrey for an interview (print, telephone, radio), a speaking engagement, or for answers to your questions about the book. Write to him at joverstreet [at] gmail [dot] com.
And, speaking of interviews … here’s an interview with Jeffrey at Christianity Today!
[TEMPORARILY OFFLINE. CHECK BACK LATER.] Read bonus chapters, film recommendation lists, and follow-up readings, reviews, interviews, and commentaries (as mentioned in the back of the book).
What are readers, filmmakers, writers, and moviegoers saying about Jeffrey Overstreet’s Through a Screen Darkly?
Publishers Weekly, filmmakers Scott Derrickson and Darren Aronofsky, magazines like Christianity Today, Relevant, CCM, and Aspiring Retail… the book is receiving quite an ovation!
“If viewing a film is to be a spiritual exercise, one must be open to conversion. Overstreet … leads readers through his own cinematic conversion in this compelling volume. Overstreet’s greatest gift is the masterful way he brings a spirit of discernment to the world of film. … Two thumbs up!”
- Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“If you propose in academic or professional film circles the notion of ‘Christian film criticism’ as a serious discipline … you will probably be laughed off. Thankfully, we are taking steps to change that. A significant step in the right direction has come with the brand new book by Jeffrey Overstreet, Through a Screen Darkly…. Overstreet … has taken it upon himself to free Christian arts journalism from the ghetto and shackles of narrow-mindedness, utilitarianism and aesthetic ambivalence (as well as the flipside — aesthetic gluttony). His new book … gives hope to all of us who struggle for a more thoughtful, measured and empathetic Christian perspective toward cinema.”
- Brett McCracken, Relevant Magazine
“Like a machete-wielding soldier facing a jungle, Overstreet . . . cuts through the glamour of the silver screen to reveal deeper truths behind films both famous and little-known. He explores such themes as wonder, loneliness, humor, and abuse — and how movies can give us God’s perspective on subjects we would normally avoid. . . . Overstreet brings readers beyond gut-level reaction to deeper understanding of movies and why some things rejected out-of-hand by most Christian reviewers shouldn’t be. Overstreet’s grand tour of the entertainment industry is thoroughly enchanting, enlightening, absorbing. For many readers who were previously unfamiliar with him, the book will make him the reviewer of choice, the best source for what movies to see, what to avoid — and how to watch a movie.”
- Aspiring Retail Magazine
“Jeffrey Overstreet is a spiritual bloodhound, rabidly tracking the voice of God through his own experience of the history of cinema. In Through a Screen Darkly, he leads the way for all of us, demonstrating how we can look closer and experience the divine invasion of film for ourselves.
-Scott Derrickson, Writer and Director, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Day The Earth Stood Still
“Inspirational…. Sometimes all of us forget that love for movies, that internal spark inside us that movies lit, and your book is going to remind many of us about it.”
- Darren Aronofsky, director of Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, in a message to the author (shared with permission)
“[Overstreet] doesn’t just tell you whether or not he liked a movie. He offers you a seat next to him as the movie unfolds and he points out and reflects on the things that thrill, fascinate or trouble him. It’s an invitation not only to look more closely, but to ponder more deeply and appreciate more fully.”
- Steven D. Greydanus, film critic, ChristianityTodayMovies.com, DecentFilms.com
“Overstreet’s memoirist-as-mentor tack serves the ‘invitation’ part of the book well, enabling him to address contentious issues from an intimate, personal vantage. Nudity, sex, violence, profanity, anti-Christian storylines: He approaches each in a seasoned, sometimes battle-weary way, still smarting from the e-mail shellackings he’s received from hostile readers over the years. So in the form of a story — his own story — he responds, seeking to deepen the reader’s notion of what art is and fashion a new framework for considering the vexing questions art invariably raises.
“Overstreet is most convincing in his effort to show evangelical readers that their traditional approach to art tends to impede both a rich experience of the goodness of God and a profound understanding of this present darkness. … He urges readers instead to more daringly embrace good art, whether Christian or not, as a means of expanding vision and enlarging wisdom, accepting ‘the sensual pleasure of God’s gifts’ even as they take care to avoid the kind of exposure that may actually diminish their ability to taste goodness.
“To this end, Overstreet gives layers of description of dozens of films, ranging from The Empire Strikes Back to Taxi Driver to Wings of Desire. It’s a clinic in art criticism. Through his earnest and illuminating instruction, we learn much about genre, sacramentality, cinematography, and more. His quest to ‘apprehend beauty wherever I can find it’ is clearly an impassioned romance, one he longs to usher us into as well.”
- Eric Miller, Christianity Today book review
“Scarcely a few decades ago, the phrase ‘Christian movie reviewer’ might have seemed an oxymoron: entire denominations and churches shunned the theatre, believing it to be evil per se. Overstreet is a much-needed voice that helps postmodern Christians and others be fully engaged with their culture, yet move beyond its limitations to produce high-quality films.”
- Dr. David Frisbie, at the award-winning Armchair Interviews site
“Jeffrey Overstreet has taught me a great deal not just about how to watch movies, but also how to glean truth, beauty and redemption from films of all types — even those that aren’t necessarily comfortable to watch. I am learning the art of looking closer, and this book takes that art — and that education — to even deeper, and thus more rewarding, levels.”
- Mark Moring, Editor, ChristianityTodayMovies.com
“Jeffrey Overstreet is a witness. While habituating the dark caves of movie theaters, he gives articulate witness to what I too often miss in those caves — the contours of God’s creation and the language of Christ’s salvation. In these theaters, assumed by many to be unholy temples in a wasteland of secularism, he writes what he sees and hears. I find him a delightful and most percipient companion — a faithful Christian witness.”
- Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, author of The Message and Eat This Book
“God the Maker made us to be makers as well. That is why, as Chesterton said, ‘Art is the signature of man.’ Filmmaking is an art form that is the unique invention of the twentieth century. Nothing quite like it had ever existed before, and through it, millions have had powerful, even profoundly spiritual, experiences. Jeffrey Overstreet is a guide eminently qualified to show us how to see the way in which films both illumine the terrain of the human spirit and probe the eternal mysteries of God.
- Mark Shea, Senior Content Editor, CatholicExchange.com
“Jeffrey Overstreet understands the art of understanding art and believes it is too important a task to leave to the experts. Through a Screen Darkly is a trustworthy guide as you sort through the enriching, exhilarating, messy, dangerous and important business of loving God and film.”
- Dick Staub, Author, Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters and The Culturally Savvy Christian
“Through a Screen Darkly constitutes a milestone in Christian reflection about contemporary film. This is not simply because it is full of insightful analysis and a generous, open spirit, but because its vision grows out of a passionate, personal journey. This is film criticism with a soul and a sense of urgency growing out of the conviction that faith and the imagination need one another — the better to open our eyes to the flickerings of God’s grace.”
- Greg Wolfe, Publisher and Editor of Image; Author, Intruding Upon the Timeless: Meditations on Art, Faith and Mystery
Preferred Bookstores for Through a Screen Darkly
You can find copies of Through a Screen Darkly at any of your favorite bookstores, but these fantastic stores have been especially supportive in sharing this volume with their customers and communities.
Many thanks to all of them!
If you would like your own personal inscribed copy signed by Jeffrey Overstreet…
or if you’d like to surprise your movie-loving sibling by having a copy arrive in his mailbox,
or enlighten your parents (who have never understood your love for movies),
or start some conversations with the friend who always saves your seat while you go get popcorn,
or recommend to one of your teachers or professors that they consider the book as a classroom text,
well…
here’s what you can do:
Make a personal check out to Jeffrey Overstreet and send it to:
Jeffrey Overstreet
Seattle Pacific University
3307 3rd Ave W, Ste 116
Seattle, WA 98119-1997
That price will cover the book AND the shipping.
Price: $17.50 per copy.
PLEASE SPECIFY if you want Jeffrey to write a note to someone in particular, and make sure he can read the name clearly.
And if this book is a birthday present, I’ll be happy to mention that in my note as well.
DON’T FORGET TO INDICATE the address of the package recipient.
The curtain just went up on my new monthly column at Christianity Today Movies. It’s named after my “memoir of dangerous moviegoing.”¬†
Enjoy!
Mark Moring responds to a chorus of angry readers regarding why Christianity Today Movies bothered to post a review of Sex and the City.
Mark’s response is calm and thoughtful, which is the best way to respond to hysteria and outrage.
(And this isn’t the first time CTMovies has printed an answer to mail of that sort.)
It’s been an interesting week.
On Tuesday, I submitted Cyndere’s Midnight, the sequel to Auralia’s Colors, to the editors at WaterBrook Press. There’s still some “trimming” and editing to do, but it’s almost ready to go.
Time flies when you’re working a full-time desk job, writing movie reviews, and then spending six-to-seven hours in the evening (and all weekend) hunched over a hot laptop writing fiction.
The difference between Auralia’s Colors and Cyndere’s Midnight will probably surprise some readers. While the first book was often meditative, very descriptive, and it led them slowly toward a violent finale, the second book is quite different. It has a lot of action all the way through. It’s full of chases, battles, narrow escapes, monsters, miracles, and cliffhangers. (In fact, Cal-raven literally hangs from a cliff during one particularly intense battle scene.)
And instead of focusing on two children caught up in a frightening world of grownup problems, Cyndere’s Midnight (“Cyndere” is pronounced “SIN-der”) focuses on a grieving widow and a murderous monster, and what happens when the two meet in the wilderness.
Anyway, in the excitement of finishing Cyndere’s Midnight, I almost forgot to observe a certain anniversary…
It was during this very week in 2007, one year ago, that Through a Screen Darkly landed on bookstore shelves and arrived in mailboxes all over the place. (more…)
Luci Shaw‘s friendship, generosity, and writing has been an inspiration to Anne and me. Luci was the one who persuaded Madeleine L’Engle to write Walking on Water: Reflections on Art and Faith, a book that transformed my understanding of creativity and Christianity. And Luci herself has written several volumes of poetry, as well as The Crime of Living Cautiously, an inspiring book about living courageously, and a new memoir called Breath for the Bones.
I did a lot of work on both Through a Screen Darkly and Auralia’s Colors at Luci’s home beside Lake Whatcom. What an inspiring, spirit-filled place. It’s good to see that The Washington Times (in the other Washington) saw fit to interview her about her new book.