5/25 Recap & Recs

Jack Amos Holloway

— 4 min read
5/25 Recap & Recs
Screenshot from The Tree of Life (2011)

Here's a breakdown of my four posts from this month:

“I have grown exhausted by the totalizing hegemony of Christianity.

Christianity has the world in its stranglehold. All over the planet, billions of people worship Jesus. And this has less to do with the inspiring message of the Gospel, and more to do with the omnipresence of Western imperialism.”
“The tragedy of present day America is that we continue to celebrate what is evil and neglect what is good. White Americans fight to preserve statues of genocidal racists, and we fight to hide the history behind them from our kids. The white backlash to ‘critical race theory’ and ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ is merely a refusal to confront our history and acknowledge that our actions in the past have consequences for the present.”
“Nietzsche’s philosophy is fundamentally elitist. … Nietzsche’s philosophy is sexist. … Nietzsche’s philosophy is racist. … Some are powerful, others are powerless. Some command, others obey. Some are masters, others are slaves. So it has always been, ‘and so will it always be.’ It is good and right, it is life itself, for there to be inequality, oppression, and slavery. Suffering persists for the sake of the few, for the sake of great, exceptional men, who create values, who decide for themselves what is good and bad. … It’s not the least bit surprising that Hitler was enticed by Nietzsche’s writings.”
“So if we say there is no afterlife, what then? … Let us not console ourselves with assurances that what we don’t accomplish here we will see in heaven. Let us rather challenge ourselves. How much heaven can we create right now?” 

And here are some books, movies, and music I've been into lately:

Books:

  • All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews
    This is a coming of age novel about an Indian immigrant in her 20s starting a life in Milwaukee, trying to find love, trying to find community, trying to make a living, and trying to figure out whether/how to come out to her parents. The main character is an elusive figure who keeps things to herself and has to learn to let other people in. I like the author’s sardonic, broody perspective and the way she brings her characters and their inner tensions to life.
  • Philosophers Speak of God by Charles Hartshorne and William L. Reese
    This is a valuable resource for people interested in the history of theology. It mostly centers on panentheism, the theology that says God is one with and beyond the world, but other perspectives, such as pantheism, classical theism, and even atheism, are included as well. It includes original texts from philosophers and theologians throughout history. Each text is preceded by a brief introduction and is followed by the editors’ own theological assessment. It is a one stop shop for a wide variety of theological views, while also being a foundational text for panentheists.
  • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
    It is always a good time to return to the basics. Workers of the world unite! We have nothing to lose but our chains.

Movies:

  • Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii
    My friend Nico showed me this movie in early 2020 and it became an instant favorite. It made me realize just how amazing live music is, that it is an opportunity for incredible spontaneity and synchronous creativity. Here is Pink Floyd, at the height of their powers, putting on an elaborate live show for the sake of the performance and not a crowd—and meanwhile, recording their greatest ever album, Dark Side of the Moon. The performances here are out of this world, and the shots you see of them recording at Abbey Road are very special. But before April, I had only seen the director’s cut from 2002, which includes added cutaways to badly-produced sci-fi animation. Last month, I saw a 4k restoration of the original cut on IMAX, and that was absolutely the way to see it. 
  • Wild At Heart
    From 1990, Wild At Heart is David Lynch directing Laura Dern, Nicolas Cage, and Willem Dafoe. I saw it at Syndicated in Brooklyn and it was everything I hope that combination would be. Nic is peak-Cage, Laura Dern is stunning, Willem Dafoe is creepy as hell, and the film is thoroughly Lynchian. It is over-the-top, it is surreal, it is hot, and it is the most fun I’ve had with a Lynch film.
  • The Tree of Life
    When I first saw Terence Malick’s masterpiece in 2011, I knew from the start I was watching one of the greatest films I would ever see. Complete with a creation sequence that is as visually stunning as anything from 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Tree of Life is holiness on screen. It was the culmination of Malick’s wandering, constantly-in-motion camera style, as well as his deep theological questioning. The marriage of theology and cinema has never been executed more perfectly. Exploring the depths of the cosmos, as well as the particularities of suburban childhood, patriarchy, and grief, Malick invites the viewer into an experience of wonder.

Music:

  • Playlist: Misanthropy - Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube
    Here’s a playlist for when you hate humanity. It begins with the aptly titled track, “Hatred for the Species” by Noothgrush, and closes with the eerie and singular “Woe to All (On the Day of My Wrath)” by Lingua Ignota. Also featured are Electric Wizard, Grief, Eyehategod, and Primitive Man. It’s heavy af.

Jack Holloway

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