Sex, Cinema, and Sanctimony: The Top 10 Posts of 2022
Highlights from the previous year at Unpop Culture
The biggest change for Unpop Culture last year was its migration from Blogger to Substack. It proved to be a rather smooth transition, and while Substack isn’t as easily searchable as Blogger, I have enjoyed this new platform immensely.
Looking back at 2022, here are the ten most popular (new) pieces I wrote for Unpop Culture,1 both here and at my previous site.
10. Rape Culture, MeToo, and Whether or not to “Believe Women”
That this piece shows up on my Top Ten list, even after being posted only a few weeks ago, shows the interest garnered by its topic. As a society, we must condemn both rape culture and porn culture, for they are two sides of the same coin.
9. The Grope Seen Around the World
During the 2022 Oscars, a worldwide audience got to see how Hollywood is attempting to distance itself from sexist and predatory-tainted portrayals of women—by replacing them with sexist and predatory-tainted portrayals of men. (It’s not a good look.)
8. Does ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Treat Women Worse than ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’?
If Christian film critics are going to call out female objectification in our entertainment (which they should), they need to do so indiscriminately and without personal or political bias.
7. In Defense of ‘Encanto’
A handful of my film critic friends critiqued Disney’s 2022 sleeper hit—unjustly so, in my opinion. This motivated me to share why I think Encanto warrants appreciation—especially from Christian audiences.
6. When Christians Defend “Redemptive” Porn
It’s an argument as old as time: “The pornographic visuals in the story are justified because of its moral message.” It’s an argument utilized ad nauseum by libertines, and now it’s been showcased with shocking brazenness by Christians. (It’s not a good look.)
5. Tim Keller is Wrong about Abortion because he is Right about Third-Wayism
In addressing the issue of abortion on Twitter in April of 2022, Tim Keller bizarrely utilized a false equivalency that needlessly confused, rather than clarified, the issue. While many point to his third-wayism as the culprit for such rhetorical fallacies, I argue the opposite.
4. The Patriarch Convention, The Gospel Coalition, and Snap Judgments
This post got a boost when author and pastor Michael Foster (whom I both defended and critiqued in this piece) shared it on his website. I am encouraged that he considers my critiques charitable enough for others’ consideration.
3. The Fault in Our Lines
As someone who agrees with Pastor Voddie Baucham on issues of first importance, I desired to take the arguments in his book Fault Lines seriously and do him the honor of a careful and comprehensive critique. To date, this is my most thoroughly researched post, involving months of labor. I am grateful for the large audience this review has reached, due in part to its support from the likes of Stephen Feinstein (the original author of the 2019 SBC Resolution #9) and Garrett O’Hara (who was a part of the initial launch team for Fault Lines).
2. 3 Misunderstandings about my ‘Redeeming Love’ Article
When I wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition critiquing the two sex scenes in the faith-based filmed Redeeming Love (see “Honorable Mentions” below), many readers walked away with erroneous interpretations of what I actually said and/or believed. The gargantuan amount of negative public feedback (mostly based on these misunderstandings) motivated this follow-up post.
1. Imaginary Pitch Meeting for ‘Redeeming Love’
My most popular 2022 blog post—by far—was this piece of satire, in which I detail an imaginary pitch meeting between a Hip and Edgy Christian Screenwriter (HECS) and a Priggish, Obtuse Producer Crazy about Oscars, Ratings, and Notoriety (POPCORN). This was a delight to write, and it allowed me to poke holes in the faulty ethical underpinnings of Redeeming Love’s objectification of its two lead actors.
Honorable Mentions
Of course, I wrote the occasional piece for platforms outside my own site, including old and new sites. Here are the most notable:
‘Redeeming Love’ Irredeemably Exploits Actors and Viewers - The Gospel Coalition
I would have preferred a different title (my first choice was ‘Redeeming Love’s Unfortunate Exploitation), but it was an honor to share my concerns with actor exploitation with a larger audience:
Debates among Christians about the presence of nudity and sex in media are certainly not new. But it’s an important topic to continually reengage and thoughtfully consider—especially as the boundaries of sexual content on screen continue to be pushed. The release of a “sexy” faith-based film like Redeeming Love offers a chance to revisit this discussion, albeit from a new vantage point.
‘Turning Red’ and the Dangers of Expressive Individualism - The Rebelution
“There are many in our society who view rebellion, not necessarily as an inherent good, but more as an inevitable passageway between childhood and adulthood. I get the sense the filmmakers of Turning Red share this perspective (especially considering the additional material in Embrace the Panda, a making-of documentary about the film).
But despite what society tells us, rebellion is not some necessary evil for proper teenage emotional development. Turning Red fails to acknowledge this—with detrimental results.
Christopher Nolan in Three Acts - Cinema Faith
Nolan has established himself as a director adept at exploring the relationship between time, memory, and reality — as well as how these concepts can be perceived, rearranged, and distorted. But even if his feature-length oeuvre is fairly cohesive, it can still be divided into three separate acts, each of which has lasted an average of ten years (to date).
How Partisan Politics Interferes with Our Moviegoing Discernment - Christ and Pop Culture
[I]n our current highly politicized culture, the lens of partisan assumptions can distort the movie-watching experience. This lens, often operating unconsciously, can cause misinterpretations of, and inappropriate responses to, a film’s story. If we don’t cultivate careful discernment, our political biases may sweep us along in their wake, leading to confusion, anger, and maybe even a rejection of what we see and hear.
To all who continue to read my work: thank you for your support. It is a joy to be able to write, and it is a privilege to have you invest your time and energy in considering what I have to say. I am deeply grateful!
If I were to include old pieces in the mix, almost nothing but old pieces would populate the list. Thus, I’m choosing to focus only on new posts this year.