Instagram and Your Kids: Advice for Protecting Their Safety and Their Self-Image

April 30, 2013 By 2 Comments

Sarah Brooks posted about the picture-sharing phone app Instagram and her blog lit up. To date, she’s gotten 185 comments from parents and teens weighing in! I think she’s on to something! Here is her follow-up post in which she replies and explores the issue more. Look for more from Sarah in the weeks to come on other apps such as Vine and SnapChat. 

Um. Wow. I had NO idea the last post would hit such a nerve, but I’m so thankful some very important conversations have stemmed from it!

Thank you for all of your feedback, comments, suggestions, and shares. It’s humbling, to say the least.

A few things:

One resounding comment I heard was, “This topic isn’t just for middle schoolers.”

You’re absolutely right.

The topic is for everyone.

It’s human nature to always be on the lookout for someone/something to validate us; social media just happens to be our current medicine of choice. (Don’t pretend like you haven’t been disappointed when people didn’t think your status update was as funny as you thought it was.)

The difference is that we as adults should have the ability to keep it in perspective. It’s a little harder for our middle schoolers who tend to see black and white. Numbers don’t lie, right?

Some have asked, “What’s the deal with Instagram? Don’t our kids do the same on Facebook and Twitter and Tumblr and Vine?”

Yes. 100 times yes. I brought up Instagram specifically because that’s what most of our middle school kids are on, but it doesn’t matter what social site it is. The temptation and tendency to get caught up in the number game is always present.

I have to confess that as I was writing the last post I thought, “My 6th graders are going to hate me. They’re going to think I’m trying to out them to their parents.”

The reaction I got was quite the opposite.

Here’s a comment I got from a middle school girl:

“I am a 13 year old girl in 7th grade. My mom showed me the thing you wrote about instagram. I really enjoyed it and took a lot from what you said. … I think what you did was great an I hope that a lot of parents will show that to their kids because it was true and made me think about it from a whole new perspective. I will admit I am guilty of many of the things you talked about, but after I read it, it made me not care anymore. Thank you for what you did and hopefully many other teens will take stuff from it too.”

And another:

“I’m 13 years old, and I wish that other kids my age would read this. I have an Instagram, but I don’t spend a lot of time on it, because honestly, it makes me feel bad. The popular kids always have to most followers, they always have the most likes,and sometimes I think that the only reason they actually post “selfies” is for reasurance and for the comments saying things like “You’re so pretty!!” Thank you for writing this. I hope it opens up more parents eyes to what kids are posting on the internet, and the real reason they are posting these things.“

Ok and maybe one more. From my new friend, Courtney:

“im 14 and in 8th grade. I read what you wrote.. it made me realize I have part of ny identity invested in social media. not in where it should be, which is The Lord! it showed me where my priorities should actually be at. thank you so much.”

Courtney even went on to suggest a future post for me about a different social site. (!!!)

I want to repeat that last sentence about 5 times because it is the very reason I’m passionate about these conversations.

Courtney, age 14, suggested additional material for me to talk about with you, her parents.

She wants you to know, but she may not be the one to tell you. She wants you to be in the loop and understand the pressure she and her friends can feel. She wants your advice and craves your guidance, despite the 137 eye rolls.

So…how does that work?

Well, if you read the first post and got panicky, go back through and read the comments. Those mommas/dads/youth ministers have some excellent, practical advice.

In fact, can I just share a few of their thoughts with you?

Click Here to Read More.

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Protecting Kids’ Heart-Deep Identity: A Note to Parents about Instagram

April 23, 2013 By

I found this post by Sarah Brooks on her delightful blog Life as of Late. She graciously allowed us to repost it. 

To the parents of middle-schoolers on Instagram:

 

There is so much information out there about internet safety and you should definitely read up on that, but that’s not what I want to talk about.

Over the past several months, I’ve been noticing some interesting stuff on Instagram from your kids that I want to share with you.

“Hey, weirdo, why are you following my kids?” Good question, and I’ll get to that.

I am 25 years old, which is not just a fun fact, but important in the history of social media. MySpace started during my high school years, and Facebook started the year I went to college (when it was still just a site just for college students). So while my generation didn’t grow up with it, we were the first to use it. We’re bilingual, in a sense.

Your kids, on the other hand, don’t know a life without it and you’re doing your best to learn and keep up with it. So would you mind too terribly much if I acted as a bridge for a second? Give you some thinking material?

Let me back up.

My husband and I, along with our friends Kylie and Trenton, help in the youth ministry at our church. (Shoutout to the GREATEST 6TH GRADERS EVER!)

Several months ago, Kylie and I were asked to talk to the 8th graders at the middle school girls’ sleepover.

The topic was “Finding your identity in Christ“.

I would have much rather talked to them about sex or drugs or something, because those are pretty concrete topics. We’d stand up and say, “Don’t do it.” End of talk. It would be so moving we’d be asked back to speak at every event, naturally.

Instead, we were tasked with talking about something that a lot of adults I know don’t even know how to apply in their own lives.

What even is identity? And how do you talk to a group of middle school girls about finding their identity in an invisible God? And if they aren’t finding their identity in Him, where are they finding it?

After much thought and prayer, we decided to talk about something we know: social media. We talked about Instagram specifically, since a lot of these girls aren’t on Facebook yet and think Twitter is stupid.

I’m sure you’re aware of Instagram if your kids are on it, but if not, here’s a rundown of the app:

1. Your child gets an account and starts following other users.
2. In return, other users follow your child.
3. Your child posts a picture to his or her account.
4. Other users comment or “like” the picture.
5. Repeat. 87 times a day.

an example: left is my Instagram profile; right is the photo feed of all posted pictures

I love the app. It’s a lot of fun, but there are some components to it that I’m not sure we’ve thought all the way through.

Think back to when you were in junior high. How did you know you were “cool”? A popular girl probably wrote you a note and put it in your locker or asked you to sit with her at lunch, right? There were a few eyewitnesses and it was pure joy.

Do you remember back-to-school shopping? You bought the trendiest new shirts and shoes. But how did you know if your new shirt was cute? Someone told you, probably. How did you know if your new shirt was hideous? Again, someone probably told you. Or made fun of you, but luckily it was just between you and that person. Or – worst case scenario – between you and that person and their posse. Still, not life altering.

That was then.

This is now:

Your middle schooler buys a new shirt and what’s the first thing she does? Takes a selfie (self-portrait, for those out of the loop) and posts it on Instagram.

Think I’m joking?

A quick search of Instagram shows us… oh, look! – this was posted 18 minutes ago:

Ok, so not a big deal, this is how the world is. Your kids feel the need to share every single decision they ever make with the world at large. It’s just “kids these days”.

It’s true. It is “kids these days”. But does the feedback they receive on Instagram impact them? Do you think they base their identity in it?

What happens when your daughter’s new shirt picture didn’t get as many “likes” or comments as the picture her friend posted of her new shirt?

Do you think she even cares about that stuff?

Yea, I’d say so. Your sons do, too:

This guy specifically asks for comments AND a certain number of likes. 40, to be exact.

[Side note: don't forget to read what your kids post in the hashtags of their photos. (That's the # sign with a bunch of words crammed after it, like #40likesplease.) They use it as an aside comment, which, parents, is just as important to pay attention to as the photo caption.] 

We’re no longer in world of handwritten “circle yes or no” notes between two people; your kids are living social lives on a completely public forum.

This is not new information.

But, taking it a step further: have you considered that your child is given numerical valueson which to base his or her social standing? For the first time ever your children can determine their “worth” using actual numbers provided by their peers!

Let me explain…

Your daughter has 139 followers which is 23 less than Jessica, but 56 more than Beau. Your son’s photo had 38 likes which was 14 less than Travis’ photo, but 22 more than Spencer’s.

See what I mean? There’s a number attached to them. A ranking.

And if you think they don’t actually pay attention to this stuff, read the hashtags on these photos:

sorry for the ghetto circlage, but you get the point.

Do you see what’s happening? #3newfollowers, #77likes #i#am#so#popular, #morefollowersplease

They’re definitely paying attention. And it’s definitely affecting them.

It’s not just about assumed popularity anymore. It’s explicit. It’s quantifiable.

At arguably the most awkward time in their lives, a crucial time of development when they are trying to figure out who they are and where they belong, this is what they’re up against. A quantifiable popularity ranking.

So, back to the lesson we were supposed to teach. I started thinking about everything I’ve mentioned above and thought, “Maybe our girls are different. Maybe their faith buffers them from being caught up as deeply in this as their friends.”

Wrong.

In talking to our girls, I was blown away by their responses:

They know exactly – to the digit – how many followers they have (and who they follow that isn’t following them back). They get their feelings hurt when the popular kids “like” the pictures above and below theirs on the Instagram newsfeed, but not their picture. They delete pictures of themselves when they don’t get as many likes as they were hoping for. They don’t get invited to parties, but see all the fun they missed out on in every photo posted from it. They post ugly pictures of their friends to get revenge for some heinous act they committed (like saying Louis is their favorite One Direction member).

Whoa.

Before we all freak out and delete Instagram and all other social apps, may I just say (with approximately zero authority or expertise on the subject):

This is no cause for mass hysteria. My intent is not to scare you away from these sites, because I don’t think the solution is to write them off entirely. This is a part of your kids’ communication that is here to stay. (I don’t just mean Instagram – it could die tomorrow. But social media? It’s here for good, in some form or fashion.)

Remember: social media can be SO FUN. (I know you love you some Pinterest, girl.)

Plus, not all kids are the same. Some place an unhealthy amount of self worth in their social media accounts, some could care less about it. Regardless, it’s important to think about no matter where your children fall on the spectrum.

My intent is to dig a little deeper into the impact these sites can have on your kids. To start thinking about how to safeguard childrens’ hearts and minds against what appears to a 12 year old to be concrete numerical evidence about their value and popularity.

How do you regulate activity on these sites while keeping it fun for your kids? How do you talk to them about the numbers (likes, comments, followers) provided by their peers not being an accurate representation of their value and worth? How do you teach them to base their identity solely in Christ – to be confident daughters and sons of the King?

I have no idea.

I can tell you what we talked about with our 8th grade friends:

We talked about posting photos of things other than themselves, to avoid setting themselves up for insecurity about their appearance. We talked about guarding their hearts with scriptures from God’s Word and reminding themselves whose they were. We talked about inner beauty and encouraging their friends’ strengths and…a whole host of other stuff.

What we said isn’t really important. What’s important is where you come in, parents. You know your kids and you know the insecurities they face.

I hope this information is helpful for you, or at least gets you thinking. Or, if all else fails, got you to smile at my own Instagram picture of my son in his Little Tikes truck at Sonic. You know that’s cute.

I love your kids so, so much and I want them to know just how special and wonderful and unique they are. I don’t want a stupid thing like followers and likes to tell them any differently.

Check out Sarah’s blog, Life as of Late,  follow her on Twitter, or, yes, check out her Instagram account. 

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Hey Internet, Stop Piling on Reese Witherspoon for Getting Arrested

April 22, 2013 By

Hollywood golden girl Reese Witherspoon was arrested Friday morning along with her husband Jim Toth. He was arrested for DUI while Witherspoon got busted for disorderly conduct.

Apparently, she tried to use her star status to get out of the tight spot, asking him if he knew her name and telling him he would be in the national news.

Not her finest moment.

And that’s just the thing. We all have not fine moments.

Ours, thankfully, don’t make headlines.

Let’s review what we know of Reese’s life.

She started acting in 1990, landing small roles and making a name for herself.

In 1997 she met Ryan Phillippe. In late 1998 they found that she was pregnant. She was 22.

In 1998, Witherspoon had enough acting jobs to know that she potentially had a future in the business, enough critical acclaim to know she had a shot at the big time. But she had not yet made it. Legally Blonde, her big breakout role, was 2001 and Sweet Home Alabama, which cemented her fame, 2002.

Witherspoon doesn’t talk about it publicly, at least that I know of, but I’ve always thought it was a brave choice to take time to have her baby. Many established actresses do not take time to have children for fear of missing work. They also worry about their figures and the effect of childbearing on it. I always wonder what Reese Witherspoon thought she might be giving up to marry the father of her child and have her presumably unexpected baby. She had no way of knowing fame and fortune was indeed in her future. She would have only seen missed auditions and roles.

She and Ryan Phillippe had another child four years later. After another four years, she and Ryan Phillippe divorced.

There is speculation, but we do not know why. Neither party felt like discussing it with the press. We do know from court records that they treated each other fairly and did not slander, abuse, or try to gouge each other financially. We know from the paparazzi that both are actively involved with their children. As we all know, would not necessarily be the norm  with divorced couples.

Reese dated, including a fairly long term relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. And then, in 2001 she started dating a talent agent she met when he defended her from a drunk man’s advances in a bar.

After a courtship of about a year, they married in 2011 and had a son last September.

I have always respected what I know of Reese’s life: Her decision to have a child that might potentially cost her in her career. Her attempt to make her marriage work and then her respect for her ex-husband in the mature way they divorced. Her steady dating habits and joyful courtship.

She does not court the press but does not seem to resent them. She has areas in which she retains privacy but seems to appreciate the good fortune she’s been given. She seems like a good mom and a good wife.

And now, a crack in the maturity, a tarnish on the crown.

And yet, she immediately took responsibility, saying:

Out of respect for the ongoing legal situation, I cannot comment on everything that is being reported right now. But I do want to say, I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said. It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. I have nothing but respect for the police and I’m very sorry for my behavior.

That’s mature behavior as well: Apologizing and taking responsibility for one’s bad behavior. In a town in which nothing is ever too shocking, Reese is “deeply embarrassed” by mouthing off to a police officer. For Lindsay Lohan, that’s just Tuesday. For a host of others, that would be a good way to get press. But for Reese, it’s an embarrassment.

So, let’s give Reese a break, Internet. I’m still a fan. It’ll take a lot more than this one incident of bad behavior for me to give up on Reese Witherspoon.

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You Want to Honor the Boston Bombing Victims? Invite a Muslim to Dinner

April 22, 2013 By

We all want to honor those hurt in the attack on our country in Boston. We all want to honor the heroes. And we have poured out support.

We have thanked police officers. We sent money for the victims and sang Sweet Caroline. We were #BostonStrong. We #PrayedForBoston.

We learned the names Carlos Luis Arredondo and Sean Collier. We applauded their heroism.

All this is right and true and good.

But once the streets are cleared and the flags put away and the city of Boston resumes its rhythm, there is something you can do to make the world a better place and honor the memory of the Boston bombing heroes and victims.

Make friends with a Muslim.

They’re there. For most of us, they’re nearby. In the schools. Working businesses. Living and voting and worshipping alongside us.

So what’s the difficulty? Stretch a little and make a gesture. Nobody’s asking you to wear a chador. (Memo to self: Look up what a chador is.)

Invite a Muslim child to play with your children. Invite a Muslim family over for dinner.

It’s ok. (Don’t make pork. That’s easy enough.)

 

Make a little effort.

Do it because this is America and we believe in freedom. We welcome everyone. We give everyone freedom regardless of their creed, faith, ethnicity, or economic status.

We embraced English religious refugees and Catholics running from strife in Europe. We absorbed Irish and German and Norwegian and Chinese and Japanese and Vietnamese and Mexican and Laotian and Hmong and Russian and Armenian and and Salvadoran and Guatemalan and Cuban and Puerto Rican and Somalian and Ethiopian and Kenyan.

We made major mistakes, but people kept coming and America kept absorbing and learning.

Make friends with a Muslim because the only way to beat radical fundamentalist Islam is to be better than them. To reach out when they destroy. To understand plurality when they refuse to do so. To honor basic humanity when they dishonor it.

We do not hate people because they are different from us. That is America.

We do not restrict your choices to be chaste or promiscuous, to be selfish or kind, to wear a beard or not, to be Muslim or Christian or Buddhist or nothing. We do not bar you from saying what you like about a prophet or Jesus or the pope or the president. That is America.

We are fair enough and smart enough to separate the bad apples from the bulk of Islam, just as we can separate Westboro Baptist Church from the bulk of Christianity. That is America.

We can and do work and live along side Muslims, take the same subways, drive the same roads, vote at the same polls. That is America. Together, we are America.

We can cook you a hamburger or a hotdog (hold the pork) or sauté some salmon and talk to you about our kids and our jobs and whether or not a Sweet Frog shop is opening down the street. We can mix up some lemonade and put out some chips. That is America.

What do you say? Can we do some barbecue diplomacy? Can we grill for peace? Can we show that we are strong enough to overcome hate with love? Can we find understanding through potato salad?

Honor America. Honor Boston. Let’s break some bread together.

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Golden Star: Bradley Cooper Visits Boston Bombing Victim

April 19, 2013 By

Give Bradley Copper and Julian Edelman gold stars for doing a good deed on a hard day.

ABC reports: 

Bradley Cooper is in Boston filming a new movie, but it’s clear he has a connection to the city too, especially in light of this week’s tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

On Thursday, the “Silver Linings Playbook” star went to the hospital to visit Jeff Bauman Jr., the 27-year-old man who was famously shown being pushed away from Monday’s bombings in a wheelchair. Ultimately,  both of his legs were amputated below the knee.

New England Patriots player Julian Edelman tweeted a photo from Bauman’s bedside, which shows Cooper smiling and Bauman giving a thumbs up.

The Silver Linings Playbook actor also attended the interfaith memorial service.

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Amy Poehler on Boston News: I Wonder if We can Soften our Eyes, Give our Eyes a Break

April 19, 2013 By

I love this from Amy Poehler. She addresses all the disturbing images coming out of Boston and other horrible stories. Can we choose to soften what we see? Watch her honest and insightful thoughts as she struggles with bad news on our computers, TVs and smartphones.

YouTube Preview Image

How about it? Can we be ok with letting some things rest in peace?

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Next Episode April 25: Derek James

April 14, 2013 By

Chef Hopeful Derek James

Chef Mentor Walter Scheib

Devoted family man and father of three, Derek James had always dreamed of becoming a chef at the highest level, serving heads of state and dignitaries.  Instead, he was drawn into the restaurant business with his parents where he faced the harsh reality of having too many cooks in the kitchen.  After two failed restaurants and a now strained relationship with his parents, Derek chose to work in IT for job security.  At this point in his life it seemed unlikely that he’d be able to realize his dream.  Kurt introduces Derek to former White House Chef Walter Scheib, a master not only of cuisine, but of the fine art of cultural protocol, an essential ingredient needed in a chef at that level. After training with Walter, Derek will interview with a premier catering company that handles all the high profile events at the Richard M. Nixon Presidential Library.  Derek will have to sharpen his back-of-house skills to improve his cuisine, while also honing his front-of-house acumen to become an expert in protocol and international customs.

This post is part of a sponsored promotion with USA Network to highlight The Moment. 

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The Profound Mystery of ‘To The Wonder’

April 12, 2013 By

In the Bible, in the New Testament, there is a letter written from the great Christian convert and leader Paul to a church he founded in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor.  It contains a passage that is cause for much debate and angst in the church, a passage that compares a husband to Christ and the wife to the church.

Paul writes, quoting Jewish scripture:

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will be one flesh.” This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church.

This “profound mystery” lies at the heart of Terrence Malick’s exposition of love and marriage To The Wonder, or at least I think it does. With Malick films, one feels shy about making absolute statements.

Malick, reportedly a Catholic, poured his faith out in the profound The Tree of Life, a movie that moved me so much, it inspired a tattoo on my arm.

In To the Wonder, Malick weaves together the story of two marriages. They inform each other and both flow from and to the love of God, the ultimate Bridegroom. Parisian Marina (Olga Kurylenko) marries American Neil (Ben Affleck) after a weighty and confusing courtship, made more complex by an unresolved love between Neil and Jane (Rachel McAdams). The second marriage is of Marina’s priest Father Quintana (Javier Bardem) to God.

The two marriages run in roughly the same course. First, there is an undeniable, life-altering love, a love that changes everything, recasts the universe, and reshapes the people on which it falls. Before the love, life was Marina’s own, Father Quintana’s own. After the love, they must rework their lives to be with the beloved, to reflect the new reality.

Although the love changes everything, the euphoria fades. Marina is left with a man who seems distant and unreachable. Father Quintana is left with a God that seems distant and unreachable.

And that is when love is tested, when the reality of love is either believed and held or lost. The two types of love flow from the same source, “the Love that loves us,” as Marina puts it.

Terrence Malick tells his stories in unique ways. He cares much more about the cries of the heart and the whispers of the mind than everyday dialog. So the prayers and unspoken longings of the characters are told in whispered voiceovers while the details of their lives are hard to know. This makes the movie almost unbearably quiet, still, nearly silent, like a cathedral in the middle of the day, holy but ineffable.

Sometimes it works and his style delivers profound truths, but other times it just leaves the viewer feeling quietly lost. It doesn’t help that many of the voiceovers here are in French and Spanish.

Still, you get the sense that love is a real thing, more real than we often believe. And that is, paradoxically in our sex-crazed world, a message the world needs. But you don’t know what that means for life, for love, for a soul, by the end of the movie, because so little is resolved.

And a little unresolved for a Terrence Malick film is, like, WAY unresolved for a normal film.

The scenes of the priest made me weep at times, for a man who so loved his God as to dedicate his life to Him, but then loses all sense of his lover. It is beautiful, his tired faithfulness, his desperation for the God he knows is there somewhere. He knows He is there because of the love that changed everything and remains undeniable, even in the past.

And yet, I ended the film wishing there was more. This juxtaposition of marriage and relationship with Christ fascinates me. I want to see, to feel, to know how Malick’s theology reflects his ideas of love and marriage. I suspect he may be one of the few filmmakers who actually has something profound to say about it.

And yet, I felt he teed up the ball but didn’t swing. In his other films, you have to dig for truths but they’re waiting to be discovered. I felt like there was less here.

Also less was the cinemagraphic wonder. Malick chooses beautiful shots of water, nature, rocks, streams, beaches, and lingers on them. Yet, in The Tree of Life, many of his frames had theological implications in themselves. They meant something, the imagery was alive. They were dreamlike, creative, alternate realities that expressed his truth. This film doesn’t have the same level of forethought or theology in the very images.

Sometimes a stream is just a stream, I guess.

On one level, I love that Malick had the courage to address love as a profound mystery rather than a gretting card comedy we get every month or so at the theater. On the other, I wish he’d be a tad less profound and a tad more approachable.

Filed Under: Faith on Film, Featured, In Theaters, Movie Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Soft Heroism of the Jackie Robinson Story “42″

April 12, 2013 By

The Jackie Robinson biopic is rated PG-13. The only reason for the 13 part of the PG-13 is the frequent and extensive use of the n-word that refers to African-Americans.

Other than that, it is nice, soft, heroic, and inspiring.

Which is  blessing and a curse.

It is a blessing because you can take your kids to see this movie about a great American hero. The whole family can be inspired.

But it is a curse because the great American story of Jackie Robinson deserves a great movie and this isn’t it.

The story of Jackie Robinson isn’t nice. Not nice at all. That’s what makes it great.

Jackie Robinson was signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, becoming the first black man to play Major League Baseball. He integrated a sport at the very heart of America’s identity. Along with mother and apple pie, baseball defined what it meant to be American.

Until Jackie Robinson, baseball meant white players in the Major League and African-American players in the Negro League. That was the way things were, the racism forming the everyday life of every American as ubiquitous and generally unquestioned as the air they breathed.

Then, as now, you didn’t go to a baseball game to think about social injustice, poverty, or racism. You went to cheer your team on, to beg for autographs from idolized players, to track the stats and marvel over the crack that sent a ball flying over the fence.

This is exactly why integrating baseball was so important. It functioned at a deeper level than rational thought.

In the film, Dodgers executive Branch Rickey is played by Harrison Ford with guttural country colloquialisms. Partly because of his deep faith and party because, as he says, dollars aren’t black or white, but green, Rickey leads the charge to sign a black player to the Dodgers ranks. The film matter-of-factly portrays his faith and the answering faith of Robinson. Rickey picks Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) as much for his character as for his baseball skill.

The man who integrates baseball must be strong, strong enough to stand up against the rage that will come. He must be courageous. He must be level-headed. Above all, he must play the long game, passing by chances to punish his taunters in physical fights or shouting matches for the ultimate prize of beating them on the field.

With the support of his wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie), Robinson is that man. Turned away from airlines, refused a room at hotels, mocked by other players, jeered by the crowds, Robinson keeps his head down and calmly, deliberately, excellently plays baseball.

That is the beauty of the movie and the story: That one well-placed man, just doing his job, can impact the very soul of a nation.

That is why this is a movie that you can be proud to take your children to, a movie to share and discuss.

And yet, I left the film feeling dissatisfied.

Last year, Steven Spielberg brought another great American story to the big screen. Lincoln, like 42, told the story of a great man in a time that needed him.

I left Lincoln feeling not only that I knew the story, but that I knew the man. And even more that that: The movie contained questions left unanswered, a level of cinematic poetry that touched beyond its story to the core of humanity.

In the fine, very nice movie 42, you leave knowing the story and a bit about the man, but there are still depths to plumb and poetry to bring to life. We need to know more than the story. We need to know what it felt like to be denied access to a bathroom or a seat on a plane. We need to understand the unconscious ugliness of post war race relations.

And as much as I wanted it to, 42 did not reach those heights.

It’s a shame because there are no American stories greater than those of Jackie Robinson and heroes like him. Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., just to name a few, are great Americans and their stories deserve to be told every bit as well as Lincoln and his ilk.

It’s been a while since a bloom of great movies about African-Americans, since Roots mesmerized us on TV and Boyz n the Hood on the silver screen, since Malcolm X, Ray, Do the Right Thing, and Glory. We need African-American directors with the skill and passion to make us feel them, make us know, help us understand our shared history.

I liked 42, but I’d like to see it done again, perhaps not PG-13, deeper, more bothersome, richer, more true.

Filed Under: Faith on Film, Featured, In Theaters, Movie Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Who is Kurt Warner?

April 12, 2013 By

KURT WARNER

Host

Kurt Warner is the host of the new original reality series THE MOMENT, which premieres April 11, 2013.

While the football narrative of NFL quarterback Kurt Warner reads like a rags-to-riches Hollywood script, it is the story of a man filled with dignity, class and undeniable faith that captured the imagination of the sports world and beyond.  Warner continually beat the odds to quarterback two perennial doormat franchises to the Super Bowl and etched his name in the NFL record books along the way.

The first chapter of Warner’s tale was written in 1999 when he defied logic by emerging from obscurity to lead the St. Louis Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV.  In that same year, Warner was named the NFL and Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and stood out as the spiritual leader of the Championship team.   For the next two years Kurt continued to be a dominant force in the NFL as the ringleader of what became known as the “Greatest Show on Turf.”  He led the Rams to two additional playoff appearances – including another Super Bowl – and received Pro Bowl honors for three consecutive years (1999-2001).  He also was one of a few NFL players to be recognized with two NFL MVP awards, receiving his second after the 2001 season.

After suffering from injuries and watching from the sideline, Warner was released by the Rams in 2004 and signed a one year contract with the New York Giants.  In March 2005, he was signed by the Arizona Cardinals where most football experts expected him to unceremoniously end his career.  In 2007, the veteran signal caller battled through an elbow injury to begin his renaissance with a passer rating of 89.9.  In 2008, he led the Cardinals to their first ever Super Bowl berth, was voted to his fourth Pro Bowl, and surpassed several Cardinals’ franchise records including touchdowns, attempts, completions, completion percentage and passer rating.

Arguably at his best in the postseason, Warner earned several NFL career postseason records (passing yards per game, career completion percentage, yards per attempt).  Warner holds the second most career passing yards in a Super Bowl with 1,156 and notched the top three passing performances in Super Bowl history.

After a 12-year career, Warner retired from the NFL following the 2009 season with a performance that continued to establish his name in the record books.  His post-NFL career has proved anything but relaxing as he continues to impress with his football knowledge in broadcasting with the NFL Network and also a brief stint at Fox Sports.  Warner’s inspiring perspective on life captivates crowds as a motivational speaker and in 2010 he joined the cast of TV’s hottest show, Dancing with the Stars – Season 11, where he placed a respectable 5th thanks to his charm, charisma, competitive spirit, and growing fan base. In the winter of 2013, Kurt will host a new original reality series THE MOMENT on USA Network.

Kurt Warner has reached the pinnacle of success on the field. But, his gridiron accomplishments pale in comparison to the dedication he devotes to the community. In 2001, Kurt and his wife Brenda established the First Things First Foundation, a non-profit public charity dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values, sharing experiences and providing opportunities to encourage everyone that all things are possible when people seek to put first things first.

First Things First has compiled an impressive philanthropic resume blessing countless children and families through the diverse programs of the foundation. A small sampling of First Things First’s outreach includes: hosting annual week-long trips to Disney World for children suffering from serious illnesses and their families; rewarding hard-working single mothers who achieve the dream of homeownership; raising over $875,000 for rebuilding efforts after the 2008 Midwest floods; collecting and distributing more than 150,000 coats from an annual coat drive in greater St. Louis; stuffing and personally delivering more than 80 stockings for a Christmas Day surprise for foster children, including the delivery of 10 tons of snow to the foster agency to build snowmen and enjoy a traditional snowball fight; providing Mission: Possible! Scholarships to youth groups doing service-based mission trips; and fostering an attitude of inclusion for children and adults with special needs thru the CHEER program. (www.kurtwarner.org)

Some of Warner’s more recent accolades include the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, The Good Guy Award from the Pro Football Writers Association, USA WEEKEND’s Most Caring Athlete, ABC World News Person of the Week, Forbes Magazine-America’s Most-Like Sports Figure, Sports Illustrated-Best Role Model, and the Bart Starr Award.

Kurt Warner lives in Arizona with his wife Brenda and seven children Zachary, Jesse Jo, Kade, Jada Jo, Elijah, and twins Sienna and Sierra.

This post is part of a sponsored promotion with USA Network to highlight The Moment. 

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