Why Christians Became Enslaved to their Feelings

Date posted: May 9, 2012

Exploring The Power of Ideas In Our Culture

Date posted: May 2, 2012

One of the most intriguing thinkers that I have discovered in the last year is BBC documentary maker Adam Curtis. Curtis makes documentaries that attempts to explore the way that ideas and theories influence our culture at a macro level. Exploring how concepts in our culture which we think are neutral actually carry worldviews. It is hard to pin down Curtis politically with both conservative and liberal thinking questioned in his documentaries.

“Most other current affairs series are as straightforward as a history lesson. Here are the facts. This is when. That is why. Curtis’s approach, by contrast, is deliberately strange and beguiling. His films contain information and analysis, of course, but they have different goals: i) to stop viewers in their tracks; ii) to make them think” - Andrew Pettie

Whilst I don’t agree with all of his conclusions, you cannot but admire his encyclopedic vision, a vision influences not just the information presented but Curtis’ visual style. Curtis buries himself in the basements at the BBC discovering archival footage which lends his documentary footage unique visual style . A visual style matched by his choice of soundtracks which can feature anything from Estonian Christian classical composer Arvo Part to electronic music pioneer Raymond Scott.

His series The Century of Self is a fascinating exploration of how Sigmund Freud and his relatives influenced our concept of self.

In All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace Curtis explores the power themes behind the ideas of networks and organic structures which are influencing many concepts of Church today.

Here is where you can watch All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace

http://archive.org/details/AdamCurtis-AllWatchedOverByMachinesOfLovingGrace

The Secret Reason Why So Many Christians Struggle To Live Lives Of Meaning: The Road Trip That Changed The World.

Date posted: May 1, 2012

What the story of the 9/11 Hijackers Says About Our Culture: The Road Trip That Changed the World Interview

Date posted: April 24, 2012

Mind Map of My New Book The Road Trip Which Changed the World

Date posted: April 10, 2012

 

No not the ranting of a madman who left his journal on the train, just some of the strange influences that went into my new book The Road Trip That Changed the World. I am absolutely fascinated with the creative process, so it is always a huge buzz once you have finished a book to look back over your note books and mind maps and try and grasp how you get from a mess of ideas to a finished bound book.

 

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