Watch This Way

How we watch matters at least as much as what we watch. TV and movies are more than entertainment: they teach us how to live and how to love one another, for better or worse. And they both mirror and shape our culture.
Alissa Wilkinson

Alissa Wilkinson

Alissa Wilkinson is Christianity Today's chief film critic and assistant professor of English and humanities at The King's College in New York City. She lives in Brooklyn.

First Love, Last Love: Courtship Culture and the Teen Cancer Romance
First Love, Last Love: Courtship Culture and the Teen Cancer Romance
Movies like 'A Walk to Remember,' 'Twilight,' and 'The Fault in Our Stars' have picked up on a key facet of the way we talk about teen romance.
When Art Doesn't Make Us Better People
When Art Doesn't Make Us Better People
"The Club," a disturbing film about guilt and damnation, raises questions about art that resists creating empathy.
Twenty Movies That Stuck With Me in 2015
Twenty Movies That Stuck With Me in 2015
Among the year's movies, twenty of them resonated deeply with our chief film critic.
Why We Get Religious About ‘Star Wars’
Why We Get Religious About ‘Star Wars’
What accounts for our religious devotion—and our need to shoehorn 'Star Wars' into our own theology?
Watching 'Chi-Raq' During Advent
Watching 'Chi-Raq' During Advent
Spike Lee's latest joint is here to teach us what lament really looks like.
Why The New ‘Feminist’ Rom-Com Is a Lie
Why The New ‘Feminist’ Rom-Com Is a Lie
It's no good to deny that we're both emotional and sexual beings.
Laughing At, Or Laughing With?
Laughing At, Or Laughing With?
When is it okay to laugh at characters in a documentary - and when does that laughter cross a line?
Just Try Something: A Dispatch from the New York Film Festival
Just Try Something: A Dispatch from the New York Film Festival
When it comes to movies, it might be better to try and fail than to play it too safe.
Film Festivals, Social Issues, and First World Guilt
Film Festivals, Social Issues, and First World Guilt
Films like 'Beasts of No Nation' raise our awareness of global tragedies. Is that enough?
The Long Tail: No Man Is An Island
The Long Tail: No Man Is An Island
Films (and one television show) about community you can watch at home.
'A.D. The Bible Continues' Concludes (For Now)
'A.D. The Bible Continues' Concludes (For Now)
Telling the story of the early Church in a way that speaks to modern Christians while keeping curious non-believers entertained can't be easy.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Not Every Story is a Conversion Story
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Not Every Story is a Conversion Story
The penultimate episode leaves us wondering why these writers imagine evil much more easily than good.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Who Exactly is James?
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Who Exactly is James?
There are some surprises in the tenth episode of the NBC miniseries, when the show also says goodbye to Saul.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Saul, Peter, and the Skeptics
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Saul, Peter, and the Skeptics
As the NBC miniseries continues, it makes use of some texts outside Acts—but only some.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': A Magician and a Patroness
'A.D. The Bible Continues': A Magician and a Patroness
Saul's been converted, but it's going to get worse before it gets better.
‘A.D. The Bible Continues’: Fiction and Fact
‘A.D. The Bible Continues’: Fiction and Fact
In the seventh episode, the historical fiction overwhelms the text.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Enter Saul
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Enter Saul
The NBC miniseries covers one of the most important chapters, and figures, in the book of Acts.
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Insult and Injury
'A.D. The Bible Continues': Insult and Injury
There's something strange about the Stephen in this episode of the NBC miniseries.
The Long Tail: ‘Marie’s Story,’ ‘The Nun,’ and ‘(Dis)honesty’
The Long Tail: ‘Marie’s Story,’ ‘The Nun,’ and ‘(Dis)honesty’
Two nuns, a behavioral economist, and the ninth commandment.
Biblical Epics Are Not Documentaries
Biblical Epics Are Not Documentaries
They're not journalism, either. But that's okay. They're something else.

Top Story March 19, 2024

Died: Michael Knott, Christian Alternative Musician Who Helped Launch Tooth & Nail
Died: Michael Knott, Christian Alternative Musician Who Helped Launch Tooth & Nail
Knott wrote rock operas, sang with honesty and conviction, called out hypocrites, and bucked the norms of the Christian music industry.

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