#media – Family Life Podcasts

Strong Christian Movies – Angel Studios – “Cabrini” – 3/07/24

By Family Life News | March 7, 2024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 6:04 — 8.3MB)

Angel Studios is bringing Christian entertainment to the mainstream.

Their latest production is even gathering some Oscar Buzz from film critics, even before the March 8 world premiere. Cabrini is the life story of an Italian immigrant in New York a century ago. Francesca Cabrini fought against poverty, gender and ethnic biases, and the “powers that be” of New York City to serve underprivileged children, starting an “empire of hope”.

Jared Geesey is Chief Distribution Officer for Angel Studios. In this special interview with Family Life’s Greg Gillispie, Geesey talks about the Angel Studios process of selecting only the best stories to tell, how traditional Hollywood is missing out on a huge audience by ignoring faith-centered films, and offers a preview of the Cabrini movie.

Angel Studios has run up a string of critically-acclaimed, multi-million-dollar blockbusters like The Chosen, Sound of Freedom, and Cabrini. They also produce clean stand-up comedy with Dry Bar Comedy, children’s programming like Tuttle Twins, and Bible-based dramas such as Testament and David.

Cabrini was filmed in Buffalo, New York (and Rome, Italy) starting in 2021, and in this expanded interview, Geesey also makes mention of the local scenery which was (with the magic of moviemaking) transformed into early 20th-Century New York. Cristiana Dell’Anna and John Lithgow are among the stars.

Super Bowl Sunday – A Faith-Based Vantage Point – Paul Asay – 2/09/24

By Family Life News | February 9, 2024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 10:53 — 14.9MB)

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With 70 percent of American TV households plugged in, the Super Bowl draws millions of eyeballs, adjusts peoples social schedules, and dominates public discussion throughout an early February weekend. It consistently is #1-watched TV show of the year. (Plus all that doesn’t even include the people who listen on the radio, watch through streaming, or just look up the Super Bowl ads on the internet!)

Family Life News talked with movie & television reviewer Paul Asay about how the Super Bowl broadcast has become such a huge event. We especially wanted a faith-based angle on the hype, from this editor of the Christian media site Plugged In.

Paul Asay gives his take on how massive the Super Bowl has become, including its role as one of the few broadcasts which remind us of a “monolithic culture…where people would all watch the same sitcoms and same adventure shows.” There are lessons from the Big Game weekend for Christian individuals and households, as well as for churches.

Another Family Life Interview about the Super Bowl, its commercials, and its hype aired Thursday (February 7). Hear commentary from Robert Thompson, the well-respected Television & Culture professor at Syracuse University. That conversation is available separately on the Family Life news podcasts page.

Making Sense of the Super Bowl Hype – Robert Thompson – 2/08/24

By Family Life News | February 8, 2024

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:55 — 13.6MB)

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It annually is the biggest American television program of the year. (Not even counting the global audience.)

It’s commercials are anticipated, reviewed, over-analyzed, and cost $7,000,000 for 30 seconds.

Even even non-football-fans get drawn into the hype.

Businesses and churches and groups adjust their schedules to avoid conflicting with one of the nation’s hugest non-holiday holidays.

The Super Bowl has come to have a massive influence on American society. For perspectives on how the game became so big, Family Life’s Greg Gillispie talks with Robert Thompson, an expert of television and its effects on culture. Among the topics:

How the calendar and the NFL’s creativity have moved Super Bowl Sunday to such a national festival day
What is it that makes Super Bowl commercials such a topic of conversation
Why those advertisers see enough value to make it worth paying so much to buy the ad slot and produce a “film-festival-worthy” commercial
How the Super Bowl has become one of the few “shared experiences” Americans have, in our fractured media landscape

Robert Thompson is director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. He teaches courses on the impact of media and has written five books and edited an ongoing series about television and society.

Also from Family Life’s News Podcasts: Paul Asay of “Plugged In” offers his insights on Super Bowls — including a Christian angle on the widespread popularity of the Super Bowl as a national event, how we need a few shared experiences across a wide swath of the culture, and how Christian messages like “HeGetsUs” can share the Gospel with millions in a single broadcast. Listen for that additional interview here.

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