The Purpose of Movies
In the summer one of my favorite things to do is watch movies. When I can be outside playing baseball or basketball, I much prefer to go to the theater. So far this summer I saw Indiana Jones 4, Hancock, and The Dark Knight. Hopefully in a week or so I will enjoy seeing the 4th Mummy.
One thing on my mind recently during this cinematic season is the purpose of movies. There are genres of all shapes and sizes. Last summer I was introduced to independent movies through my roommate and the movie rental store in the back of the Crazy Mocha. Honestly I am not of fan of many genres, and I end up asking myself why I do not like this movie or an entire category like horror. I believe that movies are an art form. Something to be celebrated and created. The men and women who write the scripts purposefully, or not, write a story that echoes our own lives. At the end of the movie, or scene, many in the audience can identify with what is going on. That is a major function/purpose of stories.
Movies also touch our emotions. One of my favorite movies We Were Soldiers makes my eyes tear up. (So do Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and many others.) Other movies tap into our fear, for me it depends on what level this happens. I once saw a movie where a man almost lost his family. That is scary and is the worst kind of fear. But there is a current trend in Hollywood to produce films that glorify violence and gore. I think of the Saw series where a madman kidnaps people, but allowing only one way of escape through the mutilation of the kidnaps body and tremendous pain. Then you have certain romance films which makes you love your wife even more, then others that raise sinful desires like lust. It is evident where discernment comes in for the Christian. What are films that will build up and not tear down? It is not wrong to be pierced and convicted by movies. The proper response is an emotional one. Seeing men sacrifice so much for their band of brothers in war movies is a sword for me.
Aside from the two previous purposes for films, another is a desire for a better world. Because this world is messy, if I need to unpack I will, we want something more. We all want a Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, a place where people are not divided by ethnicities, or the manmade category of race. A world where love, joy, justice and peace is celebrated, not warped as it is. A world of forgiveness and full of redemption, not bitterness and lost. On many levels movies reflect this dynamic (Star Wars, Harry Potter, etc.)
Robbie, I’m actually curious about something. What’d you think about Dark Knight? I saw it as well, and I think unlike the rest of America, I actually really disliked it. (Haha, don’t worry, I’ll explain.) I thought that, in terms of production and such, it was VERY well done, deserving in its accolades there.
But I couldn’t get over The Joker. To me, his evil was something completely unexpected and completely over-the-top. His willingness to just throw away lives, to force people to mentally & physically suffer, it reminded me much more of a Saw movie than Batman or an action movie.
I’m going VERY roundabout in terms of asking this question… but do you think such pure evil like The Joker seems to represent should be presented in movies? I also think movies are an artform, and (perhaps because of my stubbornness) feel that there are lines in which movies, and any other artform, should not touch. And to me, the pure evil (movies like Saw) should not even be approached.
What do you think about this? Did ya like Dark Knight? Haha, for the record, I know I could very well be wrong here. My dad LOVED the movie, and feels that art is a special medium in which subjects like this CAN be broached, so that we can recognize it, also recognizing its existence in the world.
Chris,
Before responding I had to think about it a bit. And still, 3 weeks later, I unsure what I think about The Dark Knight. It was a darker portrayal of my favorite comic book hero. At the same time, it was a fantastic reflection of contemporary moral values. Allow me to back up.
Great movie in terms of plot; though sometimes it was a slow burner. Plenty of twists and turns with respect to the Joker and Two Face… it certainly kept you on your feet. Good casting and great acting. Ledger did a good job playing the joker, if his performance was worth a grammy I do not know.
The director, producer, and screenwriters wanted to break the mold of the joker and try something new. Going for a sadistic joker certainly accomplished that. I have memories of watching the TV show Batman, in which the joker was hilarious, not sadistic.
But considering the overall truth is relative notion of Gotham City the Joker is the only sane one. If truth is relative then anarchy and chaos are viable options. If no one can condemn, judge, etc, then why not do a “magic trick” with a pencil, or fool the hero into who he is going to save. But deeper than that… in this postmodern movie, truth is relative, is the conflict of “good” vs. evil. When Dent becomes two-face, at the movie is killed, Batman says to the commissioner… no one must know about this… i will become the hero this city needs…. if people find out about this, the Joker won…. if Dent could turn… then anyone can turn… he was the best of us…. The conflict is not within a person, instead it is outside the person. Yet, even though it is outside you, it does influence and inform you.
But should we like the Joker? No. Finding fun in killing, torture, manipulating people, and causing them to fall (turning Dent into 2-face), is nothing we should celebrate, instead is something we should condemn. Saying this though, does this mean we cannot, as Christians, watch these movies? Not at all. Use and encourage discernment rooted in the word.