Ep 3 - Noah: Interesting Interpretation or Stretching Scripture?

Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree

Did rock monsters really help Noah build the ark? How about Methuselah wielding the flaming sword? We discuss the 2014 film Noah, the many extra Biblical sources it draws upon, and whether the movie is a failure of scriptural storytelling or an interesting interpretation that makes us think. (Spoilers: a little bit of both.) Apologies to Ivan, whose video was somehow corrupted and gummed up the editing works, but we hope you enjoy his animated replacement.

Our Ratings:

Content: Celestial- or Terrestrial+

Artistic Merit: 5 popcorn balls

Gospel Connections: 4 apricots

Best Books:

Liz - The Cunning Man by DJ Butler and Aaron Michael Richey - https://amzn.to/3sUKnhV

Carl - Critical Role (D&D improv show - https://critrole.com/); The Legend of Vox Machina (animated show, not recommended - https://amzn.to/364aXMT); Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins (graphic novel - https://amzn.to/3IabN8d)

Ivan - Hagakure: The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai - https://amzn.to/3IYAqG1

Links:

The Princess Bride and Philosophy: Inconceivable! - the collection with Ivan's essay about that moron, Aristotle - https://amzn.to/3vS7cot

The Ten Commandments - https://amzn.to/3vS7cot

The Chosen - https://amzn.to/3HVlnvl

Book of Enoch - an apocryphal source of some non-Biblical elements in the film - https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/book-of-enoch-ebook.html

"Strange Ships and Shining Stones" - the Hugh Nibley essay about the parallels between the Jaredite barges and Noah's ark, also found in An Approach to the Book of Mormon - https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?filename=28&article=1011&context=mi&type=additional

The Legends of the Jews - contains story about Methuselah using the flaming sword from Eden - https://amzn.to/3Kv6RvV

Articles on the film from an LDS perspective:

Deseret News - https://www.deseret.com/2014/4/3/20538777/a-noah-like-no-other-before-a-look-at-the-latest-biblical-film-from-an-lds-perspective

By Common Consent - https://bycommonconsent.com/2014/04/07/noah-the-man-the-myth-the-movie/

LDS365 - https://lds365.com/2014/04/09/noah-skip-the-movie-read-the-book/

Articles on the film from a Christian perspective:

Why I’m Recommending Christians See the Movie Noah - https://www.philcooke.com/christians-should-see-noah/

Why People of Faith Can Embrace the 'Noah' Movie - https://www.christianpost.com/news/why-people-of-faith-can-embrace-the-noah-movie-115276/

Find Us:

Liz - lizbusby.com

Carl - FB: Carl Cranney - https://www.facebook.com/carl.cranney

Ivan - ASU English Department - https://english.asu.edu/content/ivan-wolfe

Video editing by Robert Hill - https://roberthillw.wixsite.com/robert-hill

Associate Links: Links to products may be associate links, which means a small part of your purchase goes to Pop Culture on the Apricot Tree. We appreciate your support.