Tuesday, May 13, 2008

God in the Movies

My class. See me up there? At the top? The old one?

I am taking a break from homework. My summer class started yesterday and is already at full speed. Usually, they limit the number of students in online classes and now I know why. There are 20 people in my class. I am used to having 8-10. We have 5 posting assignments for the week. I am supposed to read all of the posts, responses, questions, etc. That means I will have about 1000 posts to read. This week. My computer is way too slow for this kind of activity! On the good side, I sure will get alot of different POVs this semester.


OK, Here's What I Think about God in the movies. Sometimes you read an ad or a review for a movie that says it has an underlying Christian message, or maybe just something related to God. Case in point.....The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first Narnia movie. I read things like Aslan was supposed to represent God. Yeah. OK. Maybe I can see it, but it is a stretch, and if I had not read that, that connection would have never crossed my mind. Niece 3 asked me to explain the connection and I had a hard time. Would someone explain it to me, please?


Let me introduce you to three of my favorite Christian movies and the important messages they have for all of us:

Mr. Holland's Opus. I want to be Mr. Holland. Glenn Holland is a composer with a wife and baby on the way and he decides he needs to take up a steadier career. God leads him to the local high school to become a music teacher. It takes him awhile to figure it out, but he eventually loves it. Before he learns to balance it all, he shorts his wife, his deaf son, and the symphony he knows he has inside him. He eventually learns to balance all the parts of his life and teaches high school music for 30 years. In the end, the dumb principal decides to axe all art classes and Mr Holland is without a job. He realizes that this life he never would have chosen for himself if not desperate, is the perfect life for him. On his last day, an auditorium full of his past students gives him standing ovations, and an orchestra of musicians of all ages debuts his finished symphony. What better way to go through life than to follow God's lead even if you don't necessarily think it is a good path for you. He has a life for you that has more in it than you could even dream. Mr. Holland was able to see a big room full of people who credited him for changing their lives. What more could you want in life?



The Last of the Mohicans. Daniel Day-Lewis in a breechcloth should be enough here. It is. Hmm. Hawkeye is a man living far from his home. He is a white man, taken in by the Mohican indians. In the movie, Hawkeye rescues two women from the Huron and the English (the bad guys) and does everything he can to deliver them to their father. Thus, he and his Mohican father and brother have been forced into particpating in the French and Indian war, fighting on the side of the Americans. This is not Hawkeye's war and he could easily melt into the forest to a quiet life. Oh, he wants to. But, he does the right thing, holding true to the beliefs taught him by his father. Here is our lesson; we live in a place that is not our home. We could easily hide at home where things are comfy and we don't have to get involved in other people's messes. But, God has called us to love one another and that involves getting out of the house, getting our hands dirty, and giving up some comforts. We don't have to do it in a breechcloth, but it was nice that Daniel Day-Lewis did.


Singing in the Rain. God designed us to sing and dance in every situation. In the rain. In a cake. With people we like. With people that drive us crazy. Life is a song cue. Sing it up! Dance till you drop! Plus, I just remembered that I once danced in a show with Donald O'Connor! Isn't that some kind of sign?

Tell me your favorite Christian movies!

Normal Girl

10 comments:

votemom said...

have you read TheChroniclesOfNarnia?

you should if you haven't.

p.s. are we really supposed to be able to find you in that photo?

Kim said...

Yes, I read parts. I could hardly stay awake during it. Is that bad?

VoteMom, I love the way you always believe the things I say. No, I am not in the pic, but it is a pile of kids from MSU. Maybe someone you know is in there.

votemom said...

oh!
i'm really not usually gullible. but apparently i'm dense when it comes to your blog.

i still can't even figure out the normal girl/imaginina connection.

and i'm still waiting for you to tell me the identity of the traveling writer... or at least give me more clues.

Dawn said...

i can't figure out the normal girl/imaginina connection either!!!!

katdish said...

Braveheart. Hands down. William Wallace had a purpose for his life: the free Scotland from English rule. He didn't let anything distract him from his goal. He died, incidently, before this goal was attained, but it eventually happened because he inspired his fellow Scots to follow the dream. As Christians, our goal is to get to heaven and to lead as many people as we can in the same direction. I don't know about you, but my stats on this are less than stellar! I need to watch me some more Mel!

Kim said...

Good one kat! I have never watched that movie all the way through. I usually watch movies while doing something else, so I am mainly listening. There is so little dialog in it that I could not follow. I will sit and watch it now. Thanks!

katdish said...

P.S. - if you REALLY want to know how The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe parallels the bible, go to www.sparknotes.com/lit/lion/themes.html

Basically, Aslan is Christ, he sacrifices himself in place of Edmund (so, Edmund is us), the white witch is satan or a representative of satan.

Kim said...

Thanks, I went and read that. I get all of the comparisions, they just didn't seem that obvious to me when I saw the movie. Guess I should watch the movie again now.

katdish said...

I would watch the movie again only if you want to for entertainment value. I loved the movie, but I also really loved the books. I think it's cool that you can see God's workmanship in movies where it's not intended. I like both your blog names: imaginina and normal girl. I kinda get "imaginina" because you're pretty creative and maybe your name is nina? I'm struggling with "normal girl" however. To me, normal implies average. I've looked at your other blogs and read about your mission trip this summer. I wouldn't consider you "normal". I'd have to say that you are quite extraordinary!

Kim said...

Why, thank you! hahaha

I have a set of the Narnia books tha my niece left here, what luck!