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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Here's a list I made on @letterboxd.social with the Table of Contents for "Theocinematics." Each chapter will feature a pairing of films: one "classic" 20th-century film and one "contemporary" 21st-century film. letterboxd.com/jmayward/lis...

letterboxd.com

Theocinematics: Film as Theology

Here is the Table of Contents for my forthcoming book, Theocinematics: Film as Theology (Fortress Press, coming August 2027), which demonstrates how film can “speak” of God in the language of moving i...

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I love how the book cover echos a shot from Dziga Vertov's MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA, a film I explore alongside Kirsten Johnson's CAMERAPERSON in a chapter on "editing as exegesis"

Book cover of Theocinematics: Film as Theology

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The Poltergeist face-melting scene. The film slipped through my conservative parents’ G- or PG-only restrictions.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

SECRETS & LIES, because it's a perfect film. But if that's too emotionally devastating, ANOTHER YEAR is a great choice.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Friends, if you've read my latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice," please leave a (hopefully positive) review on Amazon and Goodreads. And if you haven't read it yet, please do! amzn.to/4AB88fI

Book cover of "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" by Joel Mayward. Features a film reel and celluloid on a red, black, and beige cover.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

My Best TV of the 21st Century: Twin Peaks: The Return Over the Garden Wall Bluey Mad Men Gravity Falls Fleabag Arrested Development Parks and Recreation The Blue Planet/Planet Earth The Underground Railroad

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Theologian here, and while I could be wrong, I'd generally go with "Pharaoh" and not "the pharaoh," similar to "Caesar" and not "the caesar"

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Reposted by Joel Mayward

LarsenOnFilm @larsenonfilm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

New to the bookshelf. Congrats @jmayward.bsky.social!

Book cover of Religious Cinema for Non-Believers, by Joel Mayward

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In some Jewish legends, Lilith, Adam's first wife before Eve, is considered the queen of demons and drinks blood.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Never heard of it! Thanks for the recommendation

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I've still never seen it! It's been on my watchlist for so long.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In my review many years ago, I described FURY ROAD as a sort of “reversed exodus” story, the movement of a small band of liberated people who end up returning to their place of captivity in order to start afresh.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Wendell Berry and Annie Dillard dying within two weeks of one another is just so sad. RIP to two of our greatest appreciators of the natural world.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

What are non-Bible films featuring the themes of "exodus" and/or a search for a "promised land"?

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

and then you find a typo that somehow made it through 🫠

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The act itself felt pretty anticlimactic, just like when I submitted my PhD thesis: after devoting years of your life researching, writing, thinking, re-writing, editing, etc., you just *upload a PDF* while sitting in your bedroom

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Submitted my portfolio in application for tenure. 🤓

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I'm hopefully (ha!) seeing HOPE tonight, and your reactions here are encouraging.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Celebrate the opening day of TIFF and my birthday by ordering "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" amzn.to/4cAOfv7

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Look what arrived for my birthday: my author copies of "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers"

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Happy birthday to me, and to everyone else celebrating the most common birthdate in the US.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

My concern is that they're essentially the same scenario: that the attention and resources devoted to AI and the subsequent detrimental environmental effects results in speedrunning towards a climate cliff.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

My "most similar" cities are Seattle, WA and Portland, OR, so, yeah, it's pretty accurate

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is quite the merger in Christian academic & ministry publishing.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

(it should say "I expected" but I'm leaving it as is)

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I was expected groans and I got cheers. The kids are alright

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

As I've shared with students in my college classes that I'm asking them to not use AI tools to complete assignments in the course, I've also shared that I have never and will never use AI for any element in the course (grading, teaching, slideshows, etc.)—it's all me. I kid you not, they applauded

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Oh, I really liked that second movie too, just not as much as the first one.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

It's three movies in one, and each subsequent movie is not as enchanting as the previous one. But that first movie is something else!

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

The first third of THE RIVALS OF AMZIAH KING—a neo-Western musical heist film—is quite possibly my favorite movie of the year so far.

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Reposted by Joel Mayward

Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

My latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice," is now available to purchase at Amazon. Please buy it, read it, review it, share it—I hope this book finds a good home in the cinephile world amzn.to/4qGNgPE

amzn.to

Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice

Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice [Mayward, Joel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Adam Scott's visit to the Criterion Closet ends with a surprise Dardenne brothers pick youtu.be/uzH9Fjb2x4w?...

youtu.be

Adam Scott’s Closet Picks

YouTube video by CRITERION

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

One of my uni's values is "Students First," and it can be a helpful compass for making decisions that will genuinely benefit students and seek their good and promote flourishing. But it goes badly if it's seen as "the customer is always right"

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Share a horror movie title that begins with the letter “P” I'll share three

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

amzn.to

Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice

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Reposted by Joel Mayward

Abby Olcese @abbyolcese.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Happy book birthday, @jmayward.bsky.social! Go get Religious Cinema for Non-Believers! I liked it so much I blurbed it!

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Reposted by Joel Mayward

LarsenOnFilm @larsenonfilm.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Congrats Joel! My official plug: "If you’re unfamiliar with the film criticism of Joel Mayward, Religious Cinema for Non-Believers is a handy way to correct that grievous error. He’s one of those rare critics who almost, almost makes it unnecessary to watch a movie once he’s written about it."

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Just noticed an aesthetic pattern with recent faith-and-film book covers: my book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers" @abbyolcese.bsky.social "Films for All Seasons" @ginadalfonzo.bsky.social "The Screen and the Mirror" ...and then @overstreet.bsky.social "Lost and Found" breaks the mold!

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Thank you so much, Abby! 🙏 Our book covers are complementary too!

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The book's title comes from this essay I wrote on Scorsese's SILENCE for @brightwalldarkroom.com that was subsequently published at @ebertvoices.bsky.social. I'm so grateful to @chadperman.bsky.social for his support of my film criticism over the years! www.rogerebert.com/features/bri...

rogerebert.com

Bright Wall/Dark Room April 2019: Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Scorsese's Silence

An essay about Martin Scorsese's Silence, as excerpted from the latest edition of Bright Wall/Dark Room.

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"If you’re unfamiliar with the film criticism of Joel Mayward, Religious Cinema for Non-Believers is a handy way to correct that grievous error. He’s one of those rare critics who almost, almost makes it unnecessary to watch a movie once he’s written about it." – @larsenonfilm.bsky.social

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"What a gift, this book! A treasure map for casual explorers. A scholarly text I’ll assign to film-studies students ... Mayward has become an exemplar of the ‘curiosity and openness’ he admired in Roger Ebert." – @overstreet.bsky.social

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Joel Mayward @jmayward.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"These essays combine poignant personal insights and extensive knowledge of philosophy, theology, and film theory, resulting in my favorite kind of criticism: the kind that’s fun to read and leaves you feeling smarter for having read it." – @abbyolcese.bsky.social

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