Snapshots

snap·shot – a brief appraisal, summary, or profile.

Every Monday we hope to provide our readers with snapshots of films being released for the upcoming weekend. This will be a brief summary of films that will assist our readers in the area of discernment.  Instead of searching other sites and reading lengthy articles, it’s our hope to provide a concise list of all the films of the weekend in one consolidated post. If you wonder why we don’t list the MPAA ratings, please click here.

• Moneyball – The true story (we know how that goes) of Oakland A’s general manager, Billy Beane, who assembles a budgeted team based off computer analysis.  Genre – Drama; content – some strong language
• Abduction – A young man discovers that he was kidnapped as a child and also uncovers a conspiracy that may cost him his life.  Genre – Action, thriller, mystery; content – action, violence, some sexual content, and teen partying (we’re betting that Taylor Lautner takes his shirt off a couple of dozen times).
• Machine Gun Preacher – After finding God, an outlaw leaves his life behind and fights for the lives of Sudanese children (plus it has the best title of any film this year). Genre – Action, drama; content – violence, disturbing images, some drug use and sexuality.
• Killer Elite – After his friend is captured, a retired member of Britain’s Elite Special Air Service goes on a killing spree. Genre – Action, thriller; content – strong violence, bad language, and nudity.
• Dolphin Tale – A cheesy…I mean…heartwarming story of a boy who befriends a dolphin with no tale.  Genre – Drama, family; content – mild thematic elements (it does look like a touching film).

Helping Us Understand Racism

“18 people were killed in Jackson that night. 10 white and 8 black. I don’t think God has color in mind when he sets a tornado loose.” – Aibileen Clark

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” – James 2:1

Our focus yesterday was addressing a broader theme of The Help, that being, bringing the truth to light. As we said yesterday, this should be applauded by Christians and we must strive to bring the truth to light. The truth the film brings to light is the racial hatred expressed by well-to-do Jacksonians in the 1960’s. This racism was expressed in many ways throughout the film.

As racism proclaims one race being superior to another, division and superiority were constantly sought after by the majority of whites in the film. Characters from the film exclaimed that blacks carried different diseases than whites; forcing them to use separate bathrooms. There was a constant paranoia, or lack of trust, of blacks – the white characters accused them of stealing many times. Fear and inferiority were constantly fed and instilled in the black help. Not only was this instilled in the black help, but also the white children. They were raised to believe they were superior to blacks, and this was solely based on the outward appearance of man.

In Christianity we know that God looks at the heart of man, not the color [1 Sam. 16:7]. With the exception of a few in the film, the whites judged and condemned blacks because they looked different on the outside. Although most of the white characters were more educated, they proved themselves to be quite ignorant because they thought skin color showed superiority. Hilly Holbrook [Howard] even professes to be a Christian, yet won’t share “her” money (we know it’s God’s money) with her help because of skin color.

To be quite honest, there were many times in the film I was ashamed and disgusted by my own race. To see the way whites treated blacks in the 60’s was appalling. While viewing the film, both races were represented in the theater, and I watched to see reactions from both. At the conclusion of the film, I almost felt like apologizing to those present on behalf of the white race because of their unbiblical actions.

Holbrook’s racism was all the more disgusting, because she proclaimed the name of Christ. By this profession, she represented Jesus to those she came into contact with, but was acting in a manner which disgraced Christ’s name. Sadly, we dishonor the name of Christ each and every day of our lives. Even more sadly, we do so by racism. I wish we could say that racism was something we dealt with in the past, but it’s still around. The reality is, racism isn’t just something that occurred in the 60’s or something that was confined to MS. Racism is seen across the globe in every age and it is something we must continue to battle. It may manifest itself in different ways, but it is still present and something Christians need to be combating more than anyone else.

Looking to Scripture, we see the Jews believing they were superior to the Greeks. “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised [Jews] by faith and the uncircumcised [Greeks] through that same faith.” [Rom. 3:28-30].

Superiority of race is something that has always been, and sadly, will always be an issue we wrestle with. To be quite honest, and I want to be careful about communicating this, there is a superior race. This superior race is not superior because of skin color, level of education, affluence, geographical location, or anything the eyes may perceive, it is superior because of the heart. We know that the human heart is sinful and dark [Rom. 3:10-20], but the heart that has faith in Jesus Christ is seen as righteous. This righteousness is not something we have attained, rather it is a faith in the perfect righteousness Jesus accomplished for His chosen race.

In a sense, racism is right. There is a race that is superior to all. This race is a race that is not determined by tongue, or tribe, or nation, but those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We read a revelation of this in the new heavens and new earth, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” [Rev. 7:9]

Deep down (in every human being) there is a sense of a superior race. We try to recreate ourselves as superior through status, sports teams, job, who we know, body image, and color. However, this superiority is something mankind cannot attain or create on their own. Those who will be found as superior are those who have bowed the knee to the Lamb of God, who made us superior through the perfection he attained.

How The Help Should Help us All

Well I guess it’s about time for us to review The Help.  Even though this movie has been out for several weeks now, it has received great reviews and has remained the #1 movie at the box office for the past several weeks.

To be honest, part of our reluctance to review The Help is because of the extremely sensitive subject matter it exposes.  For starters, three of the bloggers on this site currently live in Jackson, MS.  However, I do feel that it is important for us to keep this film in the spotlight a little bit longer.

My wife and I were able to view The Help a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised at how much I liked it.  From an artistic standpoint, it was a well-done film.  The acting was very good by most of the main, and supporting, characters.  A film like this can sometimes drift into very clichéd and sappy drama, but the great direction, by Tate Taylor, handled the story in a very raw and truthful way that guarded from those cautions.

In today’s post I just wanted to look at one aspect of the film I enjoyed and tomorrow we will look specifically at the issue of racism.

The main aspect of The Help, both the film and the book, that I enjoyed is that it shines a light on a sin of our culture.  Yes this is a sin that is definitely seen more in the South, but it is not limited to a geographical location.  Even though this is a film that deals with racism, more generally speaking, it is a film that’s about bringing the truth to light.

Countless times in Scripture we are told of the power of light shining in darkness (John 3:20, 1 Cor. 4:5, Eph. 5:13).  There is a sense in which the darkness [sin] loses its power when it is brought into the light.  As we mentioned from an earlier post, darkness and light cannot coexist.  Once light is present, darkness is absent and visa versa.  Both Kathryn Stockett and the filmmakers, had a passion and desire to shine a light in a very dark area of our culture.  And I applaud that!

Christians are no different from the world when it comes to covering up our sin.  We, as well as unbelievers, love to conceal our sin and try to clean up on the outside.  However, if a Christian has any sense of the doctrine of sin and of Christ, we know that we’re filthy (and that’s putting it kindly) and Christ is the only one who can save us from it.

It is ultimately our pride that wants us to conceal our sin and try to appear like a nice person on the outside.  A movie like The Help, reminds us that only God is good and we live in a fallen world that needs to deal with our sin.  And the way we deal with our sin is not by concealment, but by bringing it to light.  We see this passion most clearly in Skeeter [Stone] and Aibileen [Davis], as they make great sacrifices to see that the truth is brought to light.

The boldness of those who were willing to shine a light on the sins associated with the story of The Help should be applauded by all, especially Christians.  We need to be an example to the world of humbly confessing our sins and be willing to do the courageous and expose the sins of the culture we live in as well.

Wednesday’s Weekend Poll

With the success of the movie, The Help, we will have a post this Thursday and Friday discussing racism. Since we are fallen sinful creatures, we know our hearts are dark. With that in mind, we want to know if you think that all human begins struggle with racism – in some shape or form.

What’s Another Word for Limitless?

Recently my family and I were able to get a little vacation time at the beach and stayed at a condo that offers free DVD rentals.  I really enjoy the free DVD kiosks, because you get to rent movies you might not normally rent – Limitless being one of those movies.  I have to say, this was an interesting thriller.  I’m still undecided on the ending (don’t worry, no spoilers), because it could be interpreted a few different ways but it was good.  I’m not sure if it was because of the fact that we were on vacation or if it was the fact that it was a free-kiosk-DVD, but it was enjoyable.

Limitless tells the story of a struggling writer named Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who stumbles upon a pill that gives him super human abilities.  His friend remarks, “You know how they say we can only access 20% of our brain?  This [pill] let’s you access all of it.”  Once taking the pill, Eddie recalls fleeting images that have been tucked away in his brain for many many years, some of which he never knew were there.  He also writes an excellent book in no time, and he is better equipped to interact socially because he can discuss any topic with great knowledge.  (It is important to note that he does use this in an inappropriate manner with the lady folk – like Bradley Cooper needed any help).

Another interesting aspect to this pill was that it also impacted physical abilities.  Eddie gets jumped in a subway by several men, but he’s able to recall fighting techniques from various films and television shows he viewed from his past.  This recall of knowledge allows him to incorporate these techniques, that were locked away in his brain, while in the midst of his real life confrontation.

During the entire film, one word that kept coming to mind was the word ‘omniscient’.  If you think about it, limitless is really another word for omniscience.  There were times in the film when Eddie was able to banter and debate with the best of whomever in whatever field of expertise they were in.  This caused me to think of Job 38 (one of my favorite chapters in all of Scripture) when God begins to question Job.  Job had been through extreme trials at the beginning of the book and has been answering very pointed questions/accusations from his friends, and it finally caused him to question God and boast of his own righteousness.  God, however, allows Job to question his sovereignty and knowledge, but then finally answers Job out of the whirlwind by saying, “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?  Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me.” [vs. 2 & 3]  The Lord then begins asking Job questions that reveal God’s limitless nature.  “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements – surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?” [vs. 4 & 5]

I love this chapter because it humbles Job, but it should humble every human before our omniscient God.  I heard someone once say, “God says, ‘I am. I was. I will be. You won’t.'” and Job 38 affirms that all the more.  God knows all things, because there has never been a time when he wasn’t.  He existed before time was invented and spoke everything into being.

It was impressive watching Eddie’s character in Limitless, because it helped me ponder what omniscience might look like played out.  An interesting aspect of the film was that Eddie could not handle the pill.  He was borderline crazy, because his mind couldn’t rest.  He got to a point where he didn’t know what was reality, who he could trust, he became physically ill, and was close to death many times.

This also caused me to think back to the garden when Adam and Eve thought they wanted to be like God; eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They, however, found that they could not handle it and we’ve all been paying the price ever since.

Put simply, God is God and we aren’t.  He alone is all-powerful and all-knowing and we must humbly admit that every day of our lives.  Most of us won’t wrestle with being a know-it-all to the degree of Eddie’s character in Limitless, but we do think we’re omniscient at times in our life.  When the car doesn’t start, the traffic light is a little too long, or people aren’t treating us the way we want to be treated, we think we know better.  Whenever we get frustrated or complain about these moments, we’re ultimately telling God, ‘I know what’s best for me and you don’t.’  We basically think we’re omniscient.  The reality is, our knowledge is limited, God’s is limitless, so let’s humbly bow before His awesome glory.

Snapshots

snap·shot – a brief appraisal, summary, or profile.

Every Monday we hope to provide our readers with snapshots of films being released for the upcoming weekend. This will be a brief summary of films that will assist our readers in the area of discernment.  Instead of searching other sites and reading lengthy articles, it’s our hope to provide a concise list of all the films of the weekend in one consolidated post. If you wonder why we don’t list the MPAA ratings, please click here.

• Drive – A stuntman, who’s also a getaway driver for criminals, finds himself running for his life after a job-gone-wrong.  Genre – action, crime, thriller, drama; content – strong violence, bad language, nudity.
• I Don’t Know How She Does It – A comedy centered on a finance executive who’s the breadwinner for her husband and children.  Genre – comedy; content – not sure but we’re guessing some language and sensuality.
• Straw Dogs – A screenwriter relocates to his wife’s hometown and tensions rise from a conflict with the locals.  Genre – action, thriller, drama; content – strong brutal violence, sexual content, strong language.

The Effects and CURE for Mankind’s Contagion

Yesterday we determined that every human being is designed for community, but every human being has been infected by a ‘virus’ called sin.  Let us get back to the garden to look at this a bit more closely.

Adam was created by God and God educated us that the first thing in creation which was not good was for man to be alone [Gen. 2:18].  He created Eve to be with Adam and the three of them dwelt together in perfect communion. However, Adam and Eve gave into the temptation of the serpent and lost perfect communion with God.  Instead of having perfect, immediate communion with God, it now must be mediated communion with God (Note: Tim Challies’ book The Next Story has a great chapter on this).  Our contagion put us into a quarantined (if you will) relationship from God.  But God, in his grace and faithfulness, did not leave us without a Cure.

In the movie, Dr. Leonora Orantes’ (Marion Cotillard) character is the one who attempts to find the source or origin of the virus.  The obvious hope of finding a source of the virus is also finding the cure.  Throughout the movie, paranoia begins to spread, because there are rumors about this cure.  It is said that the French and Americans have a cure, but they are keeping it to themselves.

This points us to our sin all the more.  Sin causes paranoia, fear, and hatred.  It causes all these things, because sin is smart.  It possesses a power over us. When speaking of the virus in the film, someone remarks, “It’s figuring us out faster than we’re figuring it out.”  Is this not true of our sin?  Our sin has got us pegged and owns us, in a sense.

It possesses such a power that the apostle Paul said, “I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” (Rom. 7:15, 19)

Just like the infected subjects in the film, Paul found that he too was infected with a virus that had infected his entire being.

There is no doubt that Contagion is a frightening thriller that resonates with most audiences.  However, the reality of our sin is something more alarming than anything a Hollywood screenwriter could conjure up.  Our sin infects mankind to the core and renders them capable of horrors that are only limited to the fallen human mind.

Unlike the phrase uttered in the film, “The truth is being kept from the world”, we cannot say that.  We know both the origin and the Cure of our contagion. The origin is us, we rebelled against God and ushered in sin, but he did not leave us to ourselves.  Rather, he provided a cure through his one and only Son.

The truth is not being kept from the world, rather the world has rejected the Truth.  But in the Truth of Jesus Christ, we move from a broken fellowship of fear into a communion of peace and harmony that will never be broken.

The Contagion of Community

A first glance at this premise and you might think this should be a made for TV movie. However, once you notice Academy Award winning director, Steven Soderbergh, and the Academy Award winning/nominated cast (Cotillard, Damon, Fishburne, Law, Paltrow, & Winslet), one may take more than a passing glance at Contagion. You can also throw in a screenwriter (Burns) who has played a part in The Bourne Ultimatum, The Informant, and the much-anticipated remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo, and you realize this might actually be a great picture. Maybe not Oscar material (even though there is some Oscar buzz about it…we just created some) but a well-made thriller.

Not only do the cast and filmmaker cause one to think that this film takes its craft very seriously, but the story is one that truly resonates with all audiences. The story follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. Just like several of the movies we’ve discussed on this blog, we have a story that employs the element of fear to get people into the seats.

Contagion uses a likely scenario to strike fear in our hearts but, it hits on a deeper level than that. It’s a disease that drives people into isolation, which ultimately goes against the way we are created.

As this airborne contagion is becoming more widespread, the characters of the film are attempting to remain immune, even though the origin of the virus is unknown. We hear one character remark, “Don’t talk to anyone, don’t touch anyone, stay away from other people. We may not realize this because we’re surrounded by people each and everyday, but being completely alone is terrifying.

Some people think they want to be alone and when we get moments of solitude those can be nice, but to be completely cut-off and separated from mankind is terrifying. It’s terrifying because we weren’t designed to be alone; we were created for community.

As we have said on this blog before, every human is created in the image of God – whether they recognize that or not makes no difference. We are created in the image of God and God is three Persons in One; i.e. the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit [Gen. 1:26]. These three persons dwell with each other in perfect communion and fellowship. Therefore, we too desire to have perfect communion and fellowship with one another. That’s why going to the local theater is not an individual experience, but a shared experience. Movies are typically funnier when the whole audience is laughing and they’re scarier when the whole theater is screaming. This is true because these experiences are shared.

This is why Contagion is all the more thrilling and frightful. It’s terrifying because a widespread disease is something every human realizes could become a reality. But the design of this film adds another layer to the fear by creating a virus that divides and separates human beings from one another.

The reality is, sin is our contagion. Sin divides us and wars against community. It separates and drives us into isolation. It causes paranoia and fear in each of us. Although sin spreads faster than an airborne virus and its path causes great destruction, we do have a Cure for our contagion. We will look more intently at this tomorrow.

Wednesday’s Weekend Poll

Steven Soderbergh’s, Contagion, tells the story of an airborne virus spreading chaos and fear into the lives of mankind.  Although many see this as a frightening premise because of its realism, we’re curious, is this something that frightens you?

Toy Story 3: Who owns you?

When you first watched Toy Story 3, did you think it was just a story of a maturing Andy, leaving behind his childish toys?  Or maybe a story of friendship and faithfulness?  If so, you missed an incredible gospel opportunity with your youngsters.  Go ahead, pull the movie out again, get some popcorn, and be ready to watch and talk–with your Biblical worldview glasses on!

Toy Story 3 should be subtitled: Who Owns You?  From the beginning to the end of the movie, Woody is the voice of a radical faith: He believes with all his plastic heart that he belongs to Andy FOREVER.  With his name imprinted on his boot, Woody has always lived to please Andy.  The other toys are very shaky in this belief, at best; the fear of the attic causes them to doubt Andy’s love, and then the illusion of being kicked to the curb does them in.  Suffering and pain has drained their little toy-like faith.

Enter the seduction of “the world” in the form of Sunnyside Daycare.  A place for castoff toys where, according to a Serpent-tongued strawberry bear named Lotso, “No owners means no heartbreak,” “We are masters of our own destinies,” and “We OWN OURSELVES.”  All Andy’s toys, except faith-filled Woody, is sucked into these lies.  That is, until “the world” eats their lunch.  Not being owned by ONE means being used by EVERYONE!

The toys finally realize that Andy is seeking them out.  “We’ve gotta go HOME” is their cry.  When Woody, on his own way home, realizes his friends are in a place of “ruin and despair,” he rushes in to save.  No returning to Andy for Woody without bringing salvation to his friends.  They must to stick together to get back to their true OWNER: the ONE who stamped his name on all his chosen toys!

Then there’s the climactic scene at the dump–a dramatic picture of hell, including the fire and brimstone.  Evil Lotso takes his last shot to destroy Andy’s toys, shouting the ultimate pagan lie: “You were made to be thrown away!”  On the verge of burning and destruction, saving grace comes “from above” in the form of a claw that plucks them from death.  Then, they finally make it back home to their OWNER.  And, they fully embrace his RIGHT to do with them as he pleases.  And, Andy doesn’t fail them–he provides a new, very heavenly, home for them before he goes to college!

Does any of this sound familiar?  It’s the GOSPEL packaged in an entertaining Pixar film.  Use this incredible animated film to teach your young viewers that the Lord Jesus OWNS them.  That the world and their own fearful hearts will tempt them to become their own gods and reject the one true God.  That they need to have the Spirit open their eyes to see their true OWNER and true HOME.  That they were made to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.  That it’s all about God!  That He is the potter, and we are His “plastic toys.”  That the LORD can be trusted to save, and to provide a forever home for us in Christ!