Science Fiction University

 
            We’ve spent an entire quarter looking at the Purpose of Art. In the previous twelve essays, I took us through a solid primer on how Christians should approach the arts. If you missed an issue, I encourage you to find it online here at the 'bot. Here I conclude the series with a check sheet for your convenience of the most important points from throughout the year:

Here near the end of this quarter long study, we’ve been discussing how to experience art: how to look at paintings, sculpture, and architecture and how to read literature. This week we look at how to watch movies and television. “But don’t we already know how to watch TV? Just grab the remote and press the ‘On’ button.” And that of course is the first problem.

Content vs. Method

For eight weeks we’ve looked at the purpose of art including most recently a basic look at how to determine whether an artistic text is any good. For the last part of this series I want to spend some time talking about the “how to’s” of experiencing art. How do we read a book to get the most out of it? How do we watch a movie or listen to a song—what are the best ways to enjoy, examine, and learn from many different art forms?

Museum Art

After spending six weeks talking about the nature and purpose of the arts, we need to start asking some practical questions: How can we tell good art from bad art? How do we watch movies, listen to songs, and read books in order to get the most meaning and the most entertainment out of them? When should we ask, “Is it true?” This week we talk about what makes art good or bad.