‘The Giver’ Keeps Giving

Over at my blog at Christianity Today, I published a guest post from my colleague Elissa Cooper, who is an assistant editor at CT. She saw an advance screening of The Giver and wrote about how the film’s story keeps giving, and the danger of not facing truth as children:

Four and a half years ago, as an intern for CT, I visited a home that provided aftercare for trafficked teenage girls. Between interviews, I participated in their daily lives: We ate meals together, went shopping, and just sat and talked. One night, some workers talked about how one of the hardest challenges involved hearing the girls’ stories.

“Jordan”’s past experiences were pretty horrific. Nightmares plagued her. She shared her memories with the others so she could talk through issues and pray and try to alleviate the pain. But in hearing Jordan’s memories, others had nightmares and struggled with the pain and evilness of it all.

When we reached a break in the conversation, I asked, “Have you ever read The Giver?”

It sounds like a strange question. Why think of a secular juvenile book that has absolutely nothing to do with sex trafficking?

But I had my reasons for not suggesting a Christian story. First, the Christian workers already had theology and spirituality texts at their disposal—they even wrote some of the books. Second, not all the residents claimed a Christian faith, so this provided another outlet for reaching the girls. But most importantly, The Giver—the book and its subsequent companions in the Giver Quartet as well as the recent film—makes a strong case for the importance of sharing memory, both for the individual and the community. As a result, it also dips into spiritual matters. And the film goes even deeper.

Read the whole thing here.