Saturday evening I will be watching the movie "Spanglish" with some friends. We'll eat popcorn and snacks, and drink sodas and coffee - and talk theology. I am really excited for this event and plan to make it a twice per month thing.
In case you don't know, gleaning a spiritual or redemptive message from popular or meaningful movies is all the rage and cool people everywhere are doing it. (emergent wannabe)
I remember as a teen we would have people over to our house and watch movies into the weeeeeeeeee hours of the morning. Big Trouble in Little China, Caddy Shack, Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers were among my favorites. Certainly these movies were (in my sad, sad opinion) classics. None of this Gone With The Wind crap. Bill Murray is the greatest actor of all time, and frankly, he doesn't give a d***.
But the best part of these movies was laughing with my friends and later quoting movie lines in our everyday conversations. That, my friends, is fellowship.
So, what is happening at my house Saturday evening is taking that kind of fellowship one step deeper and intentionally contextualizing it with theology. "What is God saying in this movie?" "What theme connected with you?" "What does this movie say about human nature?"
I will report later on how this went.
I am interested in what movies you think would be good for my "movie & theology" club.
13 comments:
Feel free to steal our list from FilmNite.com. We got the idea from Mars Hill Church in Seattle, and have done at least three dozen films by now.
For some time, now, I've been fascinated by the idea of the one true myth. There is another name for it, and it escapes me right now, but it was popularized by C.S. Lewis - and, more recently, John Eldredge.
The basic idea is that we want to tell (and be part of) one, true story: the story of how God is redeeming creation. Elements of that story can be found in every mythology, every fairy tale, every drama, and - presumably - every movie.
I'm amazed at how well it works, when I watch a movie with this notion in mind. I can find part of the "true" story being told in almost anything - by allegory or otherwise.
Even silly movies like Napoleon Dynamite have ideas about community and redemption in them.
Maria Full of Grace
Saved!
Hotel Rwanda
Magnolia
Magdalene Sisters
Million Dollar Baby
Garden State
The Village
Amadeus
In America
In The Bedroom
Once Were Warriors
The Sweet Hereafter
Waking Ned Devine
American Beauty
The Big Kahuna
Mean Creek
...Shut up, movie nerd, shut up!
My wife is nuts about Spanglish...not sure why...but she loves it like no other movie we've ever seen. Maybe I just can't compete with Adam Sandler...
Oh this sounds like a true "Mission from God"...
I liked Spiderman 2 as far as good vs evil...
I recently quoted a line from Hitch and the new Batman in Sunday School.
Even Jerry McGuire (properly edited) could be a great testimony
Of course you have all the Star War movies lined up...right?
Hotel Rwanda!
Great story and great testimony as to what one person can do in time of crisis. Where would I be? Where would I stand and what would I do under those circumstances?
I will be interested to hear what movies you pick later. Spanglish was good!
I don't want to sound like a "holier than thou," but I think the purpose would be much better suited if you picked a movie with less language or sexual innuendo. Some of those, like "Dead Man Walking," shouldn't be seen in mixed company. I am looking at it from a Christian perspective, but maybe this is a time for non-Christians as well? I just don't see the church being edified by Adam Sandler, though in your own time, it may be fine.
I want to come.
I posted recently on movies as modern day parables. Several people responded with other movies that are begging some "God-talk."
These guys do the same sort of thing in metro Seattle with some degree of success, I think.
The Gods Must Be Crazy is one of the funniest movies of all time. Its a parable about what it means to be human. It is about making a journey. It is about civilization.
The Last Temptation of Christ is great in large part because of the soundtrack by Peter Gabriel. The music draws on catholic, orthodox, middle eastern, african, and 80's rock musical elements. It's marvelous world music. Have had the CD for 15 years and still play it often. The reviews of the soundtrack, titled Passion, over at Amazon make for very interesting reading. With regard to the movie itself, though there are many flaws in acting and such, they got a lot of the sociological details right. The movie is not meant to portray Jesus life as it really happened but to provoke thought about his two natures. It is an exploration and could be used as a starting point for some interesting christian dialogue.
I second "Dead Man Walking" and (especially) "The Sweet Hereafter." Also, I know everyone says this, but have you considered the first "Matrix" movie? It's got a lot of religious themes.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. . .It's all right there in the title.
So God's the Good and Satan's the Bad and that leaves who as the ugly?
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