{"id":4047,"date":"2019-06-19T10:14:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/watchinggod\/?p=4047"},"modified":"2019-06-19T10:15:56","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T16:15:56","slug":"why-are-we-here-a-spork-has-some-thoughts-about-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/watchinggod\/2019\/06\/why-are-we-here-a-spork-has-some-thoughts-about-that\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are We Here? A Spork Has Some Thoughts About That."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>
Forky from Toy Story 4, photo courtesy Disney and Pixar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Toy Story 4<\/em> is an odd duck.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Buzz, Ducky and Bunny in Toy Story 4. Photo courtesy Disney and Pixar<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m not speaking of the literal odd duck in the movie that (with an equally odd blue rabbit) hangs out at a local carnival.\u00a0 No, the movie itself\u2014in addition to being funny and bittersweet and thoughtful and everything we\u2019ve come to expect from Pixar\u2019s Toy Story<\/em> franchise\u2014is just \u2026 odd. While it\u2019s not the strongest film in the Toy Story<\/em> canon, that oddness makes it the most daring. That\u2019s because the film hones its narrative guns on one of life\u2019s most difficult and, inherently spiritual, questions: Why are we here<\/em>?<\/p>\n

In some sense, this has long been the overarching theme of all the Toy Story<\/em> films. Why are we here?<\/em> Toys ask themselves in every chapter. Answer: To love and be loved. To belong to someone.<\/em> The message is both simple and profound. It affirms community and family and, I think, a very Christian sense of servanthood, but it doesn\u2019t delve that deeply into the matter.<\/p>\n

But Toy Story 4<\/em> doesn\u2019t settle for that. No, really<\/em>, it asks. WHY ARE WE HERE?! Why were we created? What if something went wrong? What happens if what should be our purpose doesn\u2019t \u2026 work out? <\/em><\/p>\n

If the other Toy Story<\/em> movies offered, on some level, an actionable plan for life and purpose, Toy Story 4<\/em> dares to ask what happens if the plan goes wrong.<\/p>\n

But to avoid drizzling out any spoilers, let\u2019s turn our attention to the movie\u2019s best new character\u2014a little guy named Forky who\u2019s having a very different sort of existential crisis. When he asks himself why he\u2019s here, he\u2019s not looking for everyday meaning. He\u2019s looking at the meaning of cosmic design. Because that very design ruined his own plan.<\/p>\n

A Spork in the Road<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Forky was once just a bunch of unconnected bits of trash. Then, during kindergarten orientation, Bonnie takes these stray pieces of garbage\u2014a spork, a pipe cleaner, a broken popsicle stick\u2014puts them together and scrawls her name on the bottom of the thing\u2019s popsicle-stick feet. And somehow in the process, a new, very confused creation becomes aware of the world around him.<\/p>\n

For Christians, this could read as an echo of our own creation story pulled straight from Genesis. According to the story, we were made, literally, from dirt. And if we were essentially ground down to those earthy elements again, we might be worth a buck<\/a>. But somehow, God took our raw ingredients and breathed life into them, making us into what He considers to be priceless sentient treasures.<\/p>\n

Just like Forky, really. Immediately, the ugly little thing becomes Bonnie\u2019s favorite toy\u2014valued beyond measure.<\/p>\n

But Forky doesn\u2019t see himself that way. He still sees himself as, literally, trash. It makes for some of the funniest scenes in the movie\u2019s opening act\u2014Forky desperately trying to return to the garbage heap from whence he came. He\u2019s the most adorable nihilist in cinematic history.<\/p>\n

But he also reflects a deep uncertainty that, honestly, many of us feel\u2014and increasingly so in our more scientific, cynical and often anxious era.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Zendaya from Euphoria, photo courtesy HBO<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Studies suggest that many folks don\u2019t quite know why they\u2019re here\u2014and aren\u2019t very pleased that they are. Suicide rates among teens are the highest on record<\/a>. Deaths from drugs and alcohol have hit an all-time high<\/a>, as well. HBO\u2019s new and wildly problematic Euphoria<\/em>, for all its issues, addresses the age\u2019s bleak sensibilities. People are \u201creaching for something meaningful,\u201d narrator Rue says. Her own personal high seems to be akin to oblivion: She remembers when she stopped breathing, and the comforting feeling of nothingness wrapped her in its numb embrace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never asked to be born,\u201d a young adult recently told me. In that moment, his whole existence felt maybe a lot like Forky\u2019s at first: He was on the planet without his permission, and in a world he didn\u2019t really understand. Forky spoke of the trash being warm and comfortable. A life of sentient toydom holds little appeal for him. Some know just how he feels.<\/p>\n

But Woody tells him that sense of warmth and comfort is the very same thing that Bonnie feels when she takes Forky up in her tiny arms. And suddenly, Forky understands.<\/p>\n

The Toy Story<\/em> franchise has always been about love and sacrifice, and so it returns again to that theme. We never get the sense that Forky forgets the curious joys of being trash. But he realizes now that he was made for a greater purpose. To love, and be loved by, his creator. He comes to understand that there\u2019s an inherent beauty and joy in accepting that love, and to love others in return. You only need to take a Forky-sized step to bring that into a beautiful spiritual message: Sure, life can be difficult and confusing. Sometimes we can feel like the trash. But to be loved by our<\/em> Creator? And to love Him\u2014and others\u2014in return? We find meaning in the mess.<\/p>\n

As noted, Toy Story 4 takes us beyond Forky\u2019s understanding of the meaning of life. Lots of toys are dealing with existential crises here, especially Woody. After being the top of the toy totem pole when he was Andy\u2019s favorite plaything, Woody finds that he\u2019s more and more an afterthought in the life of his new child, Bonnie.<\/p>\n

And as he grapples with his issues, we adults hear echoes of our own. I just got let go from my dream job; what next? My kids are grown. What do I do now?<\/em> Very early on in our own lives, we dream big and plan for who and where we\u2019ll be. But our lives take detours. Sometimes we get lost. Honestly, I think dealing with disappointment is a huge part of adulthood, and Woody\u2019s dealing with lots of it here.<\/p>\n

But that gets us into spoilers. And Woody\u2019s journey here deserves its own post.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toy Story 4 is an odd duck. I\u2019m not speaking of the literal odd duck in the movie that (with an equally odd blue rabbit) hangs out at a local carnival.\u00a0 No, the movie itself\u2014in addition to being funny and bittersweet and thoughtful and everything we\u2019ve come to expect from Pixar\u2019s Toy Story franchise\u2014is just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2036,"featured_media":4056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[365,3],"tags":[73,48,810,216,807],"class_list":["post-4047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editors-choice","category-movies","tag-disney","tag-hope","tag-meaning","tag-pixar","tag-toy-story"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Are We Here? 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