{"id":37262,"date":"2008-07-03T15:35:34","date_gmt":"2008-07-03T22:35:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.wordpress.com\/?p=3644"},"modified":"2013-03-18T22:02:56","modified_gmt":"2013-03-19T04:02:56","slug":"i-just-watched-my-kid-could-paint-that-on-dvd-three-days-in-a-row-its-that-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2008\/07\/i-just-watched-my-kid-could-paint-that-on-dvd-three-days-in-a-row-its-that-good\/","title":{"rendered":"“My Kid Could Paint That” … Three Days in a Row. (It’s that good.)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I always take Ken Morefield<\/a>\u2018s recommendations seriously.<\/p>\n

So, when I saw My Kid Could Paint That<\/em><\/strong> had arrived at my local video store, I started looking for an opportunity to rent it. Then, Tuesday night, I found it sitting on the DVD shelf of my local public library, and I snatched it up.<\/p>\n

Anne and I watched it late Tuesday night. We were riveted. I lay awake in bed thinking about it.<\/p>\n

I showed it to some friends on Wednesday. I thought about it all afternoon. Later, I made significant alterations to my Favorite Films of 2007 list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, I showed it to others, including my good friend, Seattle Pacific University professor Luke Reinsma.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now Reinsma\u2019s considering showing it to his classes next year. Good for him! I can\u2019t think of a better film to get students thinking and arguing about the definition of art; the power of the media to represent and distort; and the easy ways that the media can deceive us.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so important that all of us learn about the power of storytelling to build up, and the power of storytelling to tear down. <\/em>It\u2019s so important to learn to doubt with discernment<\/em>, so that our faith becomes something more than blind adherence to what we hope is true. Faith in anything \u201a\u00c4\u00ee God, a church, a political party, a presidential candidate, a religious leader, or a story \u201a\u00c4\u00ee can be brave and redemptive, or it can be an exercise in folly and ignorance. This is one of those films that teaches us to be very, very careful about what we accept as true; very careful about who we trust; and vigilant in our discernment. Because our decisions will have real consequences that affect everyone around us.<\/p>\n

This little documentary was a tale that grew in the telling, becoming more and more complicated until even the filmmaker himself was distraught at the ferocious questions gnawing at his conscience.<\/p>\n

When Amir Bar-Lev decided to make a documentary about a 4-year-old finger-painter who made a splash at a local coffee shop with an art exhibit, he had no idea what he was getting into. He filmed little Marla Olmstead playing with paint and a canvas. He interviewed her parents, Mark and Laura, who invited him into their home and trusted him. He interviewed the journalist who broke the story. He followed Marla\u2019s s rise to fame and fortune in the art world, and he stumbled into an intriguing mystery about her work.<\/p>\n

But he also found himself entangled in sticky questions:<\/p>\n