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First “Hebrew Idol” chosen
April 18, 2008
Last week, the first ”Hebrew Idol” award went to Dan Baker and Joshua Miller for their innovative "silent-ish" movie: "Job and YHWH, an Interpretation of the Story of Job."
And expect “Hebrew Idol 2” next year, said assistant religion professor Tony Finitsis after the competition.
“It was so much fun, everyone was laughing and so we’ll have to it again,” he said of PLU’s twist on Fox’s popular singing series “American Idol.”
“Job and YHWH” was in a close race with the second runner up, “The Office of Deuteronomic Reform Edition” by Curt Kohlwes and Kelley Walker, Finitsis said.
“There were really only two points separating them,” he said. “It was almost a tie.”
Winners received a $50 gift card to the PLU bookstore and a bottle of “Liquid Salvation Water” purchased off Amazon.
Thursday’s event stemmed from the final project in Finitsis’ “Religion and Literature of the Hebrew Bible” course. In groups, students were asked to reflect on the contemporary relevance of the Hebrew Bible and re-tell a biblical story set in modern times.
In the past, students wrote papers, created PowerPoint presentations and acted out their interpretation in class. Two years ago, three students – Charity Ridgley, Loraine Rees and Kari Liebert – opted to take the project one step further, producing a DVD of their interpretation. Now, making DVDs is the norm.
Videos in the competition pulled stories from Genesis, Judges, 2 Kings and Job. The modern interpretation takes the form of talk shows, Lego animation, soap operas and spoofs on “The Office,” “Dr. Phil” and “Judge Judy.”
The three finalists competed Thursday night in front of a panel of “celebrity judges” – members of the PLU Theological Society dressed as their favorite biblical character.
“It was so much fun, everyone was laughing and so we’ll have to it again,” he said of PLU’s twist on Fox’s popular singing series “American Idol.”
“Job and YHWH” was in a close race with the second runner up, “The Office of Deuteronomic Reform Edition” by Curt Kohlwes and Kelley Walker, Finitsis said.
“There were really only two points separating them,” he said. “It was almost a tie.”
Winners received a $50 gift card to the PLU bookstore and a bottle of “Liquid Salvation Water” purchased off Amazon.
Thursday’s event stemmed from the final project in Finitsis’ “Religion and Literature of the Hebrew Bible” course. In groups, students were asked to reflect on the contemporary relevance of the Hebrew Bible and re-tell a biblical story set in modern times.
In the past, students wrote papers, created PowerPoint presentations and acted out their interpretation in class. Two years ago, three students – Charity Ridgley, Loraine Rees and Kari Liebert – opted to take the project one step further, producing a DVD of their interpretation. Now, making DVDs is the norm.
Videos in the competition pulled stories from Genesis, Judges, 2 Kings and Job. The modern interpretation takes the form of talk shows, Lego animation, soap operas and spoofs on “The Office,” “Dr. Phil” and “Judge Judy.”
The three finalists competed Thursday night in front of a panel of “celebrity judges” – members of the PLU Theological Society dressed as their favorite biblical character.