Today’s post was actually inspired by a meme I saw from a Pokemon page I followed on Facebook back in high school. The post read, “To me, God will always be the guy who could have created Pokemon but instead decided, ‘Nah, malaria …'” The meme was made and shared by someone who was presumably outside of and unsympathetic to the faith. This itself didn’t bother me except for the unnecessary snideness toward God. After all, religion factors very little... Read more
In the first chapter of this series, I made a comment about Andy’s unusual role as the film’s protagonist. Andy is the central character, sure, but it isn’t really his story. Andy overcomes the trials presented to him, but he doesn’t really grow. In that way, The Shawshank Redemption isn’t really the story of Andy. It is the story of Red, Andy’s best friend. Red is the one with the character flaw at the start of the film, and he’s... Read more
It’s a somewhat dispiriting notion for the religious viewer that the most explicitly religious references within a film like The Shawshank Redemption come from the bad guy. On Andy’s first night in Shawshank, he tells the new inmates, “I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you’ll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your a** belongs to me.” But despite Norton invoking God’s authority, his intentions are far from holy. Not only does he launder money... Read more
What’s true of The Shawshank Redemption is really true of most of the movies I discuss here: though my pieces tend to focus on a specific reading, there are infinite potential applications. Again, I usually just focus on one to keep my writing somewhat coherent, but with The Shawshank Redemption there’s just too much on the plate to ignore. And so, we’re going to spread this out over the course of a few meals. Consider this the first in a... Read more
If applicable, think of the first person who growing up inspired you to lifelong religious living. Maybe a parent or a youth/congregation leader? How did it feel when you realized this person was flawed? Perhaps deeply so? How did this affect your attitude toward the church you were a part of. I guess the idea of flawed role models has been on my mind a lot recently, what with last week’s musings on The Boy and the Beast and me... Read more
Going to church would be much easier without all the people getting in the way, right? Goodness, life would be much easier if we never had to interact with anyone who challenged us. I’m reminded of a film that knows exactly how aggravating it can be to be saddled with someone who just grinds your gears. But the film also recognizes how much two imperfect souls need each other. My favorite anime film, Mamoru Hosada’s The Boy and the Beast,... Read more
Superhero movies tend to come with ready-to-order religious applicability. Stories with supremely virtuous protagonists who redeem mankind with their selfless actions inevitably recall the life of the Savior. But what about when your hero is far from Christlike? With Marvel’s Thor being a remix of the eponymous figure from Norse mythology, a literal god, the film invokes naturally invokes celestial imagery. You see this with the heavenly Asgard and Odin as a close shadow of God the Father. What I... Read more
Throwback to the film that made Marvel want to rope Brie Larson into their squad. Room follows a mother and her five-year-old son who live in a shed little more than a hundred square feet. The story is told from the perspective of the son, Jack, who has lived in “Room” all his life. Jack does not realize that “Ma” was victim to a sexual predator’s ploy to trap her in this shed years ago and that there is a... Read more
Alright. We’re fresh off of Disney and Alfred Hitchcock on my docket of spotlighted movies. It’s time to highlight the more secret corners of the film library. Robert Ellis Miller’s 1968 film “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” is adapted from Carson McCuller’s 1940 novel of the same name. The film follows the deaf-mute John Singer (played by Alan Arkin) who takes up an ad for boarding in the house of the young Margeret “Mick” Kelly. Like everyone else in... Read more
And now presenting, the one movie in which James Stewart is the guy you DON’T want to emulate. In terms of films you don’t want spoiled before a first viewing, “Vertigo” is a little ahead of “Charade” and a few steps below “Arrival.” Proceed with caution. The film follows a private investigator, “Scottie,” who is traumatized after his acrophobia costs the life of his colleague. Scottie’s old coworker offers him easy work: observe his wife, the hauntingly beautiful Madeleine, to... Read more
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