Unemployed Theologian

I came out five years ago today.  In many ways, the world feels more dangerous for people like me now than it was five years ago. Bathroom bills, “don’t say gay'' hysterics, pundits calling for the eradication of transgenderism from public life, politicians making hay by scapegoating LGBTQ+ people at every opportunity, queer adults being called “groomers” and “pedophiles” for simply living their lives in public, or for no reason at all. Incidentally, you should check in with your gay, bi, and (especially) trans friends; they’re very likely exhausted. I know I am. I left vocational ministry because I knew it would be neither safe nor possible for an out queer man like myself to make a living in that world, especially in Springfield, Oregon. Not because I ever lost my drive or doubted my calling, but because I knew that my brothers and sisters in faith would never allow for the possibility. That I would be seen as dangerous, even predatory, for simply wanting to work with kids, d...

2022 was the first movie year since the pandemic that started to feel more like what came before. Finally, the movies being released (with one notable exception in Top Gun) weren’t holdovers from the before-times, delayed to maximize profits; rather, they were new and exciting stories, many released to theaters, and some even managed to make a little money. Overall it was a pretty-good-verging-on-great movie year, with lots to recommend, so for my honorable mentions I decided to pair movies with some thematic connection together. Then, as always, my top 25. I’ll be grateful to finally put this movie year behind me, if only so I can start catching up on what I’ve already missed in 2023! Hello Cocaine Bear! Honorable Mentions: Chip ‘n Dale/Apollo 10 ½ - Underrated animated films in a year full of great ones Not Okay/Do Revenge - Messy young women being messy She Said/Causeway - Harrowing, female-led dramas The Menu/The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - Rich people are crazy X/Pearl -...

I remember, vividly, the Sunday after Obergefell v. Hodges made marriage equality the law of the land. I remember because I worked at a conservative Evangelical church at the time, and that Sunday I overheard a dozen conversations lamenting the state of moral decay in America. Grown men swearing (in church) and on the verge of tears, incensed that our nation would deign to extend marriage rights to same sex couples. At that point I had more or less come to terms with my own orientation, but I was not out, nor could I have been while working at that church. It’s an interesting experience indeed, to have your identity so publicly and thoroughly skewered, right in front of you. They didn’t know they were talking about me, but they really told on themselves that day. I learned that I was not safe to be myself in that environment. That people like me were not welcome. The last few years have reminded me, over and over, that certain people will stick to their guns in refusing to acknowledge ...

Introduction: I don’t know what to say, y’all. 2021 was another weird one. As COVID continued to ebb and flow, the film industry floundered and box office receipts remained dismal for all but the biggest franchise tentpoles. Hollywood’s gambit to delay most of their major 2020 releases until 2021 paid off only intermittently. Dune, for example, met expectations and won itself a sequel. In the Heights, on the other hand, underperformed at the Box office despite rave reviews, while Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho proved divisive to critics and audiences alike.  Speaking of In the Heights, musicals came back in a big way last year, but they consistently underperformed at the box office when given the opportunity to do so (West Side Story, In the Heights, Dear Evan Hansen).  I think it’s safe to say the industry hasn’t quite recovered from its COVID cataclysm, but even so, there were plenty of amazing films released last year. And since the Oscars are airing tonight, I’m happy t...