Divergent (Lionsgate / Summit Entertainment)
On the month's episode of Trad Reviews, we will be discussing the recent hit movie Divergent, the classic 1970s book Small is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher, and the board game Settlers of Catan.
In what seems to be a flurry of dystopian movies coming out of Hollywood these days, we examine this movie which has gripped teens internationally in a similar way as the Hunger Games did. We will take a deep look into the problems with the movie, the subliminal and not-so-subliminal messages contained in the movie, and why this movie cannot be recommended for teens - but can be used as a tool for mature adults and parents alike to see in crystal clear focus the utter banality of the teen culture today and what message the modern world is selling to today's teenager. We see the usual players at work in these films pushing U.N. agendas on everything from equality of the sexes, to women in combat, to government controlling every aspect of one's life. We hope you find this review objective and critical at the same time.
We then move on to the book Small is Beautiful - A Study of Economics as if People Mattered by
E.F. Schumacher. There have been recent reviews swirling around the internet of this book, and we take a look at it from a Catholic perspective. In an age where the term "Catholic Economics" seems to mean anything from classical distributism to modern marxism, we look at the main thrust of the book and the principles Schumacher espouses. Keep in mind that Schumacher converted to 1970s Catholicism, so this inspired much of his work. While not offering an entirely positive view of the book, we feel it is a worthwhile read for Catholics wanting an insight into Economics from a point of view they are not used to in this global economy.
Lastly, we discuss the wildly popular "euro" board game: The Settlers of Catan. For those who are not familiar with this game, you really should be. Nicholas will lay out the basic strategy of the game and then everyone will chime in to give their impression of why this game is so fantastic. We will talk about why strategy based board games are not only great entertainment, but also provide aspects of strategy that the typical American board games do not.
We hope you enjoy this episode as host Stephen Heiner is joined by guests Nicholas Wansbutter and Justin Soeder as they give their impressions of the three topics for this month's Trad Reviews.
Original Air Date: September 26, 2014
Show Run Time: 1 hour 9 minutes
Show Guest(s): Nicholas Wansbutter, Justin Soeder
Show Host(s): Stephen Heiner
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