The Troubles with Snow White. Cinematic Cultural Shifts and Re-imagining the Fairytale
The importance and meanings of fairytales have been studied across a range of scholarly disciplines. According to the traditional understanding, the universal aspect of fairytales is in examining and presenting the human condition and life-lessons about the battle between good and evil and the importance of virtues in life. The question is: should contemporary, re-imagined fairytales reflect the spirit of their time, ideologies or politics? An essay by Milja Radovic
The Year of Living Dangerously – In the land of raspberries and students –
Amid deepening political crises and societal fragmentation, the student uprisings in Serbia signal a resurgence of community and political engagement, challenging both local and global forces. In this contribution, Milja Radovic explores the theological dimensions of this movement, emphasizing that „being is communion“ and that transformation occurs through faith in action and ascetic praxis. Christian thought, she argues, can offer an antidote to apathy and isolation, fostering a communal life.
St. Ignatius, the Spiritual Exercises and the social sin of racism
Roger Haight’s theology has always been in a critical dialogue with how contemporary Westerners experience reality, while giving his theology a liberationist bent. This might be the reason for his more recent interest in facing racism, one of the painful scars of US-American history. A scar that seems to be torn open again by the announced policies of the current administration.
A wicked perspective on Butler’s „Frames of War. When Is Life Grievable?“
The new contribution of Tristan Genoske engages with the movie Wicked, in particular with the often overlooked song „No one mourns the wicked“. Yet its message is among the strongest. Was a life that no one mourned ever lived? Are there mechanisms of power that prevent us from mourning the dead? Who is wicked in our society and are we grieving them? Starting with Judith Butler’s text „Frames of War. When Is Life Grievable?“, the contribution tries to answer to these questions examining what is happening in Oz.
Rapture not Rupture“Quo Vadis?” International Film Festival Report by Milja Radovic
From 7 to 10 November 2024 Iași (Romania) hosted the first International Film Festival Quo Vadis? and became for these four days one of the brightest spots of Europe.The Film Festival organised and supported by the Metropolis of Moldavia and Bukovina celebrated thirty-five years after the December Revolution in 1989, thus devoting this first edition of the Festival to the theme of freedom.
More Men, More Toxic Theology? Critical Questions on Being the Church from a Gen Z Theologian
In his article, J. J. Warren describes how the ever-increasing role of Generation Z in American society is causing fundamental shifts in the faith landscape, which also brings with it dangers for all those who are committed to an egalitarian church.
“You can leave your head on…! Reflections on Ester Strauß’s “Crowning” from a theological viewpoint
On July 1, 2024, the sculpture “Crowning, “depicting the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus, was vandalized by an unknown perpetrator. In his essay, Andreas Telser explores how this work of art can offer an understanding of “virginity” that is faithful to tradition and makes all of us born into this world by our mothers appreciate their unique labor(!). Taking “Crowning” seriously allowed the author to wrestle with his limited view of womanhood and giving birth and made him undergo a conversion.
Abundance Celebrated: Colonialism on a Plate
The controversial opening of the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris sparked an avalanche of debates on social media, as per usual. Milja Radovic comments on the „Abundance Celebrated: Colonialism on a Plate“.
The Defence and the Last Days. Ecological Uprising – The battle of Drina
A recent agreement between the Serbian government and the European Union on the extraction of rich lithium deposits in the Serbian region of Jadar has been heavily criticized by Serbian environmentalists. In her commentary, Milja Radovic shows how an ecologically and culturally rich region is about to be sacrificed to global capitalism’s hunger for resources.
