We'll kick things off with the prologue and opening sequence from "Godspell" both because it is so much fun and because I want to ground our exploration in a Christian worldview. It suggests that in the midst of everyday life, the call of the Lord is shared with us. Sometimes we have ears to hear, sometimes not, but the call continues to invite us deeper and is extended to everyone. My hope is that this will give us an encounter with the "still speaking" insights that will guide this series.
From "Godspell" this week, we'll move into Kieslowski's "Decalogue" next week with other serious motion pictures to be explored with the group. I am working as part of a team for this series with another clergy person; I will share the film clip and the theological and critical background notes and he will lead a group sharing discussion.
Session number one includes the following: Considering a Christian Perspective for Evaluation. We will present and discuss a few tools for evaluating movies through the lens of our Christian faith.
One set of questions
explores the tension between God’s glory and human sin:
+ God is at
work in the world and a spiritual realm is real: how is this depicted in films? Where are there examples of love, justice,
truthfulness, courage and truth in your favorite films?
+ Human sin
is real and evil exists: how is this
depicted in films? Can you think of
movies that show a loss of innocence – evil – or a conflict between what is
true and noble and what is expedient?
+ God
offers forgiveness and the possibility of redemption: where do you see this in films old or
new?
Another lens to
consider comes from the God is Still Speaking perspective:
+ Are there
spiritual implications that point to God in movies that are not explicitly
Christian?
+ What are
movies with strong villains – and why are they so appealing? What do they tell us about the nature of
evil?
+ Can you
think of movies that use images and metaphors of chaos, injustice, pain,
suffering and alienation to suggest a broken world? What does this tell us about sin?
+ Why do so
many people want only happy endings?
A third lens to
evaluate the presence of God in a film might include these considerations:
+ Does the
film promote and celebrate individualism or the common good? What values are implicit in either
perspective?
+ What does
melodrama teach us about reality?
How does this connect – or not – to the deepest Christian truths about
human nature?
+ What do
our films teach us about love of money and love of God?
And yet a fourth lens
might include the following:
+ How do
films invite us to be awake and engaged in the present moment?
+ How do
films help/hinder our ability to affirm the mystery of other people?
+ How do
films depict the transformation of conflict?
+ How do
films encourage us to search for unity?
During the first two years of this ministry I offered three different film series: 1) Chocolat for Lent (using the film "Chocolat" as a starting point); 2) The Power of Small Choices (Hilary Brand's guide to "Shawshank Redemption" and "Babette's Feast); and 3) A Quest for the Beautiful (a series including "Pay It Forward," "All Across the Universe" and "Koyaanssqatsi" among others.) Folk have been eager to return to these resources and I am excited to give it a go.Two excellent, albeit very different, resources include: In a New Light by Ron Austin and Eyes Wide Open by William Romanowski.
We'll see who might show up?
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