Finding God in the Movies

M. Barsotti Catherine, K. Johnston Robert

Description

You love movies. Who doesn't?In Finding God in the Movies Catherine Barsotti and Robert Johnston show you how to combine your love of movies with your desire for God. Introducing thirty-three films of faith--ranging from Tender Mercies to X-Men--the authors identify and explore key biblical themes like forgiveness, faith, and repentance. An enthusiastic guide for the individual movie lover or small group, this resource contains production notes and film synopses, relevant Scripture texts, theological reflection, recommended video clips, discussion questions, and more. It will deepen your fervor for film and for God.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity
• Film

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 août 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781585581566
• Langue: English

Extrait

© 2004 by Catherine M. Barsotti and Robert K. Johnston
Published by Baker Books a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.bakerbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-5855-8156-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked RSV is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
For Rachel, Ruth, Rebecca, and Faith
in the hope that they will find God in the midst of life
Natural things And Spiritual, who separates those two In art, in morals, or the social drift, Tears up the bond of nature and brings death, Paints futile pictures, writes unreal verse, Leads vulgar days, deals ignorantly with men, Is wrong, in short at all points.... Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries....
Not one day, in the artist’s ecstasy, But every day, feast, fast, or working day, The spiritual significance burns through The hieroglyphic of material shows, Henceforward he would pain the globe with wings, And reverence fish and fowl, the bull, the tree, And even his very body as a man.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Aurora Leigh”
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Preface
Finding God in the Movies: An Introduction
How to Use This Book
Affirming Our Humanity
1. Life Is Beautiful (d. Benigni, 1997)
2. Amistad (d. Spielberg, 1997)
3. No Man’s Land (d. Tanovic, 2001)
and
4. We Were Soldiers (d. Wallace, 2002)
Beauty, Imagination, and Creativity
5. Spirited Away (d. Miyazaki, 2002)
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (d. Lee, 2000)
Choosing Life
7. Big Night (d. Scott and Tucci, 1996)
8. Fearless (d. Weir, 1993)
Embracing Our Vocation
9. The Rookie (d. Hancock, 2002)
10. Billy Elliot (d. Daldry, 2000)
11. The Apostle (d. Duvall, 1997)
Reconciliation within Families
12. The Straight Story (d. Lynch, 1999)
13. Ulee’s Gold (d. Nunez, 1997)
14. Fly Away Home (d. Ballard, 1996)
Racial Reconciliation
15. Save the Last Dance (d. Carter, 2001)
and
16. Remember the Titans (d. Yakin, 2000)
17. X-Men (d. Singer, 2000)
and
18. The Hurricane (d. Jewison, 1999)
Forgiveness
19. Smoke Signals (d. Eyre, 1998)
20. Antwone Fisher (d. Washington, 2002)
Community and Friendship
21. About a Boy (d. Weitz and Weitz, 2002)
22. Italian for Beginners (d. Scherfig, 2001)
Faith
23. Simon Birch (d. Johnson, 1998)
24. Tender Mercies (d. Beresford, 1983)
Faith and Doubt
25. The Third Miracle (d. Holland, 1999)
26. Signs (d. Shyamalan, 2002)
and
27. K-PAX (d. Softley, 2001)
Living Our Faith
28. The Year of Living Dangerously (d. Weir, 1982)
29. Patch Adams (d. Shadyac, 1998)
Images of the Savior
30. The Spitfire Grill (d. Zlotoff, 1996)
31. The Iron Giant (d. Bird, 1999)
Renewing the Church
32. Sister Act (d. Ardolino, 1992)
33. Chocolat (d. Hallstrom, 2000)

Appendix 1: Movies Listed by Related Biblical Text
Appendix 2: Movies Listed by Topic
Notes
About the Author
Backcover
Preface
In contemporary parlance, to be “enthusiastic” is to be excited about something, even passionate. But it is interesting to note “enthusiasm” comes from two Greek words en and theos, meaning “in God.” We point this out because it is important for readers to understand at the outset our enthusiasm for movies, in both senses of this word. We enjoy watching movies; they are one of our passions. We also have found God to be present in movies; they are inspirational. The well-known director Martin Scorcese said, “My whole life has been movies and religion. That’s it. Nothing else.” This is perhaps overstating the case for us; we love our families, we enjoy the beach, our work is fulfilling, and serving others brings us joy. But we understand something of Scorcese’s statement nonetheless.
This book would not have been possible without others who share our enthusiasm, and we would like to thank them for their assistance. Jane Swanson-Nystrom, the managing editor of The Covenant Companion, was the first to ask us to write theological reflections on current movies. We have done this on a bimonthly basis for the last eight years. The initial drafts of our “Synopsis and Theological Reflection” that form the core of each movie discussion first appeared in the pages of this periodical. Doug Wysockey-Johnson, executive director of Faith at Work, has also been a strong encourager, using a selection of these same reviews in his journal, Faith@Work. During this same time period, we have hosted a movie group that meets regularly to watch and discuss films. The discussion takes place while we eat a meal together in the style of the selected film (yes, even cooking a Babette’s Feast). These friends have been our dialogue partners and coaches, helping us to understand better what we have seen. We also want to thank our students those who attend Centro Hispano de Estudios Teològicos and Fuller Theological Seminary as well as the many Young Life staff who have studied with us. Finally, we need to thank the technology support team at Fuller, especially Zachary Abbott. Just as the production of a movie is a corporate act, so our movie dialogue has been a community event.
We have written this book in the hope that our enthusiasm will increase your enthusiasm, initially for film but ultimately for God. Typically, many in the church have bracketed God out of Hollywood’s secular entertainment. Isn’t it just a mindless escape, at times even faith denying? An understanding of common grace, of the wider work of God’s Spirit throughout and within all creatures and creation, would suggest that this is not the case. God is, after all, in the midst of life all of it. This includes the movies. We hope this book will strengthen your “reel faith.”
Finding God in the Movies
An Introduction
Should the church be interested in Hollywood? In her book God-Talk in America, Phyllis Tickle makes the provocative claim that more theology is conveyed in and remembered from one hour of television than from all the sermons preached in a given weekend. [1] Perhaps this is an exaggeration, but it speaks to a truth. Solid doses of theology are present in shows such as The Simpsons, as any devotee will attest and as Mark Pinsky’s recent book, The Gospel According to the Simpsons, details so well. [2]
We wish to make a similar claim concerning popular movies. God is present in the movies for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Theology is being portrayed in and will be retained from the movies we see each week at the cineplex. Though late to recognize this fact, the church is now awakening to the idea that Hollywood is providing an important resource for its teaching, preaching, youth ministry, and outreach activities. This book is meant to help Christians find God in the movies, to use reel faith to encourage and strengthen real faith.
For some readers, the topic of finding God in the movies will be familiar territory. For others, after you have read this brief introduction to a complex and vibrant topic, you will want to read more. If so, we suggest Rob’s book, Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue . [3] It is a larger introduction to the subject of theology and film and is being used as a textbook by a number of colleges and seminaries across the country. Nevertheless, we trust this introduction will provide enough information for many purposes, including preparing to lead a film-based discussion group, rounding out one’s own view of finding God in the movies, and preaching sermons that either visually or verbally incorporate cinematic sources. Our hope is for this introduction to outline why the church should be taking movies seriously and how we might best uncover a visual story’s center of power and meaning.

Big Business
When we ask students how many movies they watch in a month, the typical answer is eight to ten, and responses have ranged as high as fifty-five! People are watching movies in record numbers. In 2002, Americans spent over $9.4 billion on movie tickets, up more than 10 percent from the previous year. Even with higher prices, actual admissions also rose, reaching their highest level in over forty-five years 1.5 billion people. But this is only part of the story. In 2002, DVD sales reached a staggering $8.7 billion, in addition to the $3.4 billion spent on VHS. To give but one example of the lure of DVDs, ticket sales for Spider Man in its first weekend at the theaters reached $ 115 million, while DVD sales on its first weekend range in excess of $190 million.
We can’t forget about rentals and cable either. Blockbuster and Hollywood chains are ubiquitous. Home rentals are a weekly ritual for many families, particularly if parents leave the kids with a babysitter. Many who ar