Films for Today

Is there virtue in taking the blame for something that isn't your totally fault? How easily can this slip into exploitation? Should we ever take on more burdens in an already unfair world? With the fairly release of 'The Fall Guy' this week's episode focuses on films in which a character takes the blame for something they didn't do, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. Email u...

What effect does vengeance have on feminine purity? Are avengers ever assaultive themselves? Is revenge the only response to injustice? With the release of 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga', this week's episode examines three films in which feminine characters are avenged. Contact us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

What should we be cautious of when it comes to clingyness? Are there ever broader sociocultural elements at play when someone gets clingy? Is there ever a lot at stake when someone gets clingy? As the television program 'Baby Reindeer' continues to permeate the culture, this week's episode looks at three films depicting 'clingyness'. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

In what ways is privacy appealing? At what point does coolness verge into eccentricity? How is the avoidance of philosophical dogma paradoxical? In this week's episode we contemplate the extent to which privacy, as a symbol of pure independence, can assist in our search for truth. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Can cheating be romantic? Is the fate of cheaters determined by justice or luck? Does cheating reveal anything useful about those it victimises? Building on previous episodes on infidelity, this week's episode looks at the borders, divides and connections that are illuminated in films about disloyal lovers. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Is voyeurism of the violent a sickness? How might modern society encourage psychotic behaviour? What role might emotion play in the face of conflict? Following some related conversations in recent weeks, this week's episode focuses on three depictions of capturing violence on camera. Contact us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Can the thirst for the alternative devolve into chaos? Do we ever search too far inward for bohemian values? Is there an ideal time to depart from the unconventional? Building on a brief discussion from last week, this week's episode examines the curious reoccurrence of bohemian culture being explored on screen through 'triangular' character dynamics. Contact us at contact@jimmybernasc...

What is the fate of a once great empire after it has comprehensively fallen? How do we find our bearings in places filled with all walks of life? From where is modern political power sourced? In focusing on films set in Rome, this week's episode considers the history of Western civilisation and contemplates whether it is underpinned by any timeless values. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.c...

What happens in the aftermath of our misdeeds? Do we ever have a right to revenge? How can the interconnectedness of the powerless form the roots of revolution? Focusing on street-level vigilantes, this week's episode examines how the revenge tragedy has evolved in recent decades. Email us: contact@jimmybernasconi.com

What might a lack of closure make us do to ourselves? What might a lack of closure make us do to others? What are the dangers of a society floundering in an odyssey of aimlessness? Extending beyond a similar recent conversation about cinematic depictions of kidnappers, this week's episode focuses on the symbolism of missing people. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

How do humans differ from machines? Can love emerge out of banality? Can a standard-issue humanoid assert individuality? Focusing on three cinematic instances in which a protagonist is romantically involved with a robot, this week's episode contemplates the impact of love in the changing technological landscape. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

How can we overcome a fear of the wilderness? How clearly can we understand the 'other'? How clearly do we understand reality? Focusing on three films that depict forest-dwelling monsters (of various kinds), this week's episode explores the fate of humanity in a mysterious and opaque world. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Do we ever lose hope in getting back those we have lost? How easily can our attention be kidnapped from us? Can the false imprisonment of a person have a net benefit for society at large? In exploring the metaphorical nature of kidnapping, this week's episode examines cinema's changing attitude toward the over-use of power. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Are human beings capable of biblical-level leadership? Is our thirst for compassionate global influence inevitable? What are some of the contemporary constraints on leadership? Focusing on films depicting desert warfare, this week's episode examines the concept of leadership against a backdrop of scarcity and volatility. Contact us via email at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Is the fate of the impoverished fixed? Does anyone have it all? How can we find the infinite in the finite? In focusing on three distinct cinematic depictions of scarcity, this week's episode seeks to identify the circumstances in which we might feel content with just enough. Contact us via email at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

In what ways can we be nourished by the foreign? Can encountering high culture ever reveal our brutish side? How delicate is the balance between admiring and owning? In exploring three cinematic depictions of food, this week's episode contemplates the ways in which people give themselves to and take a piece of others. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

How successful are elevated individuals at imposing their own will on the masses? How can the powerful control others through seemingly benevolent means? Can we ever transform relationships based on dominance into relationships based on fraternity? This week's episode explores the symbolism of suffocation, contemplating whether authority figures can simultaneously suffocate and be suffocated....

How do we view manufactured and real heroes differently? In what sense is the creation of an ideal self destructive? Do we ever overlook past facts in creating modern fictions? Building off past discussions about projected versions of the self, this week's episode attempts to explore the human act of creating fictional characters. Email us: contact@jimmybernasconi.com

How vulnerable are we to becoming entranced by the mundane? How sensitive are we to injustice in our ordinary lives? What does the permitting of evil look like in the everyday? This week's episode contrasts three cinematic depictions of immorality being woven through seemingly boring and banal circumstances. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Can we be free without the presence of external control? Is there more than one set of rules under which we can play? Can imprisonment ever be the means through which we liberate ourselves? Focusing on three cinematic mentor-mentee relationships, this week's episode contemplates whether the pursuit of freedom demands some degree of oppressive control. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

What does motherhood feel like on both the personal and global level? How should we view the power to give life? Is our mother a fixed thing? Focusing on three new releases, this week's episode contemplates the various ways in which the maternal is currently being depicted in contemporary cinema. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

Is it difficult to choose a life path? Is it harder to live out the life we choose? Why should we endure through relatively insignificant acts of sacrifice? Focusing on three films about WWII, this week's episode contemplates the ways in which the threat of conflict affects our sense of mortality. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

How are the horrors of reality communicated to the vulnerable? How do we escape from the aspects of ourselves that we want to ignore? Is anyone actually stopping the problems the rest of us cannot bare to confront? This week's episode examines how and why we often soften the darker aspects of existence for both the sake of others and ourselves. Email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com

In the final episode of Sacred Cinema for 2023 we're taking a look at your favourite films of the year and what they can tell us about human history's most recent chapter.

How can we affect the world from home? Is the home easy to defend? How is the home like a battleground? Christmas has come early, as we release this year's Christmas-themed episode a few sleeps before Tim Allen's arrival! Also, be sure to let us know your favourite films of 2023! Either access the link below (if listening on Spotify) or email us at contact@jimmybernasconi.com