And the Winner is…

by Pete Peterson on January 15, 2008

Theolo-vision(tm)

Well, it’s good to know I’m not alone in my Theolo-vision™, there are plenty of you out there that are just as crazy as I am. Before I announce the winner, I should point out that we had to cancel the elaborate awards show I had planned due to the writers’ strike, so you’ll have to settle for this less-than-elaborate post. Sorry. Red carpet next year, maybe. We’re trying to get Andy Gullahorn to host.

There were a lot of great entries, including some that truly stretched the interpretive muscle to the limit. Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison. I mean come on, Poison! Loved that one. Way to go, Chris.

For thinking way outside the box, I’ve got give an honorable mention to Matt for his Elder Scrolls: Oblivion entry. I didn’t see a video game coming at all. For the most part I’m still waiting for the true ‘art’ of the video game to arrive, but anyone that doubts that a game can achieve the level of ‘art’ in storytelling hasn’t played Fallout. Games that achieve that level of narrative don’t come often but I think they are going to become a major form of storytelling in the future.

Despite all the great submissions, there can only be one Theolo-visionary™ and the title has got to go to Elijah for not only stretching that interpretive muscle to the breaking point, but for doing so so many times. Look at this list of submissions:

Taxi Driver – a mohawked DeNiro as Christ? Priceless.

The Terminator – There’s an “I’ll be back” joke here somewhere.

Casablanca – Can Sam be the Holy Spirit?

The Jason Bourne movies – I actually really liked your thoughts on this one about the names. Very cool.

Peanuts – Someone please inform Randy Goodgame that it’s a black piano.

Asimov’s The Last Question- I’ve never read Asimov but now I want to. I certainly saw a lot of messianic stuff in the film version of I, Robot.

There were a few movies I really expected to see submitted and didn’t: The Village, Hellboy, Kill Bill, King Kong, The Last Samurai, Gladiator, and Titanic to name a few.

So cheers to Elijah, Thelo-visionary™ extraordinaire. The prize is one of my favorite albums, Scarce by Eric Peters. If you haven’t heard Eric’s music before, then it is my great joy to introduce you to it. He’s an amazing songwriter and an astute history buff (The Maginot Line anyone?).

Just for fun, I’m also throwing in a copy of The Transformed Man by the most preposterous person on earth, William Shatner. Listening to this album will serve as a cautionary tale of just how horribly, horribly wrong artistic interpretation can go. This album will haunt you, it will scarce you, it will make you cry and beg for mercy, it will make your ears bleed. It is everything that music was never meant to be. On the bright side, be happy I didn’t give you a copy of the Star Wars Christmas.