By Reagan Woods Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross), a 2014 film directed by Dietrich Brüggeman and written by Anna Brüggeman, tells the story of 14-year-old Maria as she goes through her own fourteen stages of the cross. Told in only fourteen shots, this film tells the struggles of the teenager as she grows up in…

In “American Horror Story: Asylum,” the portrayal of the Catholic Church highlights issues of corruption and abuse of power within religious institutions. The Catholic Church’s teachings on sexuality and morality are portrayed as repressive and hypocritical throughout the season. Patients and staff members struggle with their sexual desires and identities, which often conflict with the…

Estelle Metz Introduction: Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, science and Catholicism have had a complex relationship. From the famous arrest of Galileo by the Catholic Church to Saint Thomas Aquinas and other Catholic scientists, the Church has both supported and hindered scientific research. When looking at the modern scientific world, nuclear research and…

The Lost Boys, a cult classic from the 80s, revolves around the struggles of adolescents in a new town and connects to the subcultures of vampires and Catholicism. The film subtly critiques the societal shift from traditional family structures, offering a complex portrayal of family dynamics. It also reflects the political climate of the Reagan era.

Fleabag is a British comedy series based on the one-woman play by Phoebe Waller-Bridge under the same name. The television show stars Waller-Bridge herself as Fleabag, an angry, confused, and grieving woman in London. Throughout two seasons, the audience watches Fleabag attempt to pull her life back together after the death of her best friend,…

Claire Farhi Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius and Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt, released as a play in 2004 and then a movie four years later, surely shrouds the audience and characters in uncertainty. Staged in 1964 at St. Nicholas Catholic School, stern Sister Aloysius and warm-hearted Sister James investigate…

Summary Macario, a 1960 film directed by Roberto Gavaldón (inspired by B. Taverns novela of the same name) follows the story of Macario, a poor indigenous laborer who struggles not only to sustain his wife and five children through his job as a woodcutter but also struggles with his own dreams and moralities, in an…

This life be over soon. Heaven lasts always   – Celie (The Color Purple 44:40-44:47)   ‘A story about two sisters, is usually the first thing you’ll see when looking up the plot of The Color Purple. But the novel turned into a movie in 1985 is so much more than just a story about two…

By Elle Ragan Violence and suffering are central to Catholicism –– from soul harvesting of the Mohawk people, the origins of the Sacred Heart, and the sex abuse crisis, suffering, pain, and violence cannot be disentangled from Catholicism. Mike Flanagan’s miniseries Midnight Mass puts this violence and suffering center stage. Ultimately, Flanagan critiques the centrality…