My brother and I have a little inside joke about movies and coffee. It goes like this...
If there's a movie that has a rated and an unrated version, the rated is like decaffeinated coffee, in that it has less than potential, less to it. An unrated movie has extra stuff in it, making it better. When I think about it, I realize I've been living a rated life as a Christian whereas so many immensely faithful people in the Bible didn't care who was looking nor how they'd react- they lived an unrated style with an unrated love for God. They made people's jaws dropped. They infuriated the religious (rated) elite. So what's wrong with me? Routines can often times bring me to become rated (*yawn*) when I want to do so much more.
I've come to realize that, in this day and age, words with specific meanings have become loose terms that people have forgotten the original meanings for. In example, "unrated" brings to people's minds horrific horror movies with even more guts and blood, plenty more swearing, and this junk and that crap. For me, it should mean more substance.
I've noticed this about unrated movies, there are two kinds- the kind that has extra content that would've been too graphic for theaters (if it were released in theaters), and the kind with extra stuff that makes the story itself (and maybe even the characters) much stronger.
A good example of this is Kingdom of Heaven. Yeah, it's a politically correct film about the Crusades that show Christians in a bad light, but skipping over that detail, the Director's Cut has extra scenes that provide extra information about the main hero as well as provides support for someone who was a secondary character in the theatrical version, making her integral to the story alongside the hero, not just a living prop.
So? Living unrated helps people see that life can be about so much more than a few flimsy words in a day, helping someone or cursing someone, eat, sleep, do nothing, wait for the day you die then that's that. If that were true, Christianity wouldn't be needed because life would have no leniency in its existence to allow the thought of a Creative Creator with ironic wit have any part of us (no matter how lowly we make ourselves to be, no matter how much of a blessing He tells us we are).
So I don't feel like living the first kind of unrated, the world has enough problems with people doing things like that. I want to live like the other unrated- be a living example of extra content, let God be my Director, who doesn't make deleted scenes, but keeps moving the scenes forward.
I want to be like King David, who danced in the temple (and I imagine the Pharisees were like today's churches, seeing dancing as the 8th Deadly Sin) for the glory of GOD, not man. I want to be like Jesus, who flatly told off the cheats at the temple (after whipping tables and knocking them over) to never do it again then give a very forward reason without beating around the bush. I want to be like the Apostle Peter, who told off the status quo when they questioned his antics (thought him drunk and he told them it wasn't even the right time of the day to be drunk!) and tell religiously suppressing government that they can't stop him from telling the truth about how he sees life with the Christ.
Those are just the better known examples of people pulling off unrated lives that shocked everyone because they broke the social rules, gave living a new meaning, set an example for others to consider, rather than go through a bland living (think Halloweentown's version of the mortal life).
How do you want to live your life? Bring on the unratings, and get ready for the special fatures.
Showing posts with label movie-spiritual comparison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie-spiritual comparison. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Volunteering for your life
I'll admit something no shame. As a human being... I was born with tear ducts. Big whoop. Actually, yeah, it is. It comes in use with emotions, something of a taboo word for us guys and men (never understood why). Whenever I watch the trailer for The Hunger Games (the trailer convinced me to check the book out, glad I did), right when Katniss volunteers for her sister, it's not just that she cries it out... it's that she's giving up the possibility of living after one round of an extremely corrupt and manipulative, hyperviolent game. She volunteers to take the place of her own sister to ensure that Primrose will live another year. The reason it gives me chills every single time is because, I'm convinced of this, of the culture I live in.
What do I mean by that? Everyone knows how to speak, but not everyone knows all them fancy edumucated words (the ones that are at least 3 syllables- like that one I just used). This society we live in no longer is based on the Biblical tenets of our Founding Fathers, it now has a foundation of what's called hedonism: "All for me and none else." We're literally taught in nearly every way of everyday life to be selfish. Live longer at the expense of others. Make money for yourself and do what you can to forsake others. Or if you have to take care of others, try to look out for yourself first and take care of "problems" later. I've had issues with the basic tenets of this society for such a long time, that I was glad to find a trailer of a movie where someone selflessly volunteered to take the place of someone else for the possibility of death.
In fact, Katniss volunteering seems to have a Messianic resonation in her character. She loves her sister deeply. Immensely. She encourages her sister to keep living on. When the dreaded Hunger Games celebration chooses her (randomly) to be the tribute for District 12, her sister immediately takes her place. That, in itself, is rebellion in the eyes of the government of Panem. Still, they got someone. Only who they've got turns out to be someone who's a new level rebellion and will eventually become the symbol of a new type of rebellion. Sound familiar?
When most think of Jesus, they think of peace-talks, a couple pep rallies, and hardly anything else beyond his death. Still, people chose him to be the advocate replacement for a well-known criminal named Barnabas. The people chose the tribute, yet he went along with it anyway, to take the place of all others. The Hunger Ga- I mean crucifixion was a suffocatingly deadly torture/death sentence that, along with its notoriety was also called the Shameful Death because you were elvated and (this part is NEVER revealed in all the paintings nor movies) naked. Total humiliation, pain, and shame. Simply seeing it was a way to keep rebellion under control. Yet it still wasn't easy. People had their own ideas of rebellion. Different styles, different angles. Even the patriot Judas of Kerioth (you know him as Iscariot) had a few ideas of how to committ illegal rebellion against this blasphemous Roman Empire, yet didn't act upon it. Jesus had what one could call a polar opposite style- he was open about what he would do, yet he never had a pep rally to strike the government down. It was more gradual. Very subtle. And, as leader of a whole new kind of rebellion that was unheard of in literally every way at the time, he had t be forced under control. The people chose crucifixion, something that the emperor was opposed of doing in the first place (wanted the second opinion of the Egyption Pharoah Herod, successor of Jesus' first attemptive murderer when he was a young child), and the Pharisees forced the Romans' hand to do it. I've heard churches say "If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would die for you many times." Like once wasn't enough? Maybe it's because I'm terrible at math, but to claim that Jesus would die OVER and OVER and OVER makes no sense when he only had to do it once.
He volunteered ONCE for you in all of history. That Hunger Games record is still not erased from history. Why should his volunteering for you ever be forgotten? Whether you're a guy or not, you're his sister. He's Katniss. He's volunteering for your place as tribute. And, in this "game", he plans on winning for you all the way using all the resources available. You going to be his sponsor for him being your tribute? Or bet on some miscellaneous legend like Gilgamesh (who went for treasure, personal gain) or Thor (becoming a god like his father and beating his brother, Loki)?
What do I mean by that? Everyone knows how to speak, but not everyone knows all them fancy edumucated words (the ones that are at least 3 syllables- like that one I just used). This society we live in no longer is based on the Biblical tenets of our Founding Fathers, it now has a foundation of what's called hedonism: "All for me and none else." We're literally taught in nearly every way of everyday life to be selfish. Live longer at the expense of others. Make money for yourself and do what you can to forsake others. Or if you have to take care of others, try to look out for yourself first and take care of "problems" later. I've had issues with the basic tenets of this society for such a long time, that I was glad to find a trailer of a movie where someone selflessly volunteered to take the place of someone else for the possibility of death.
In fact, Katniss volunteering seems to have a Messianic resonation in her character. She loves her sister deeply. Immensely. She encourages her sister to keep living on. When the dreaded Hunger Games celebration chooses her (randomly) to be the tribute for District 12, her sister immediately takes her place. That, in itself, is rebellion in the eyes of the government of Panem. Still, they got someone. Only who they've got turns out to be someone who's a new level rebellion and will eventually become the symbol of a new type of rebellion. Sound familiar?
When most think of Jesus, they think of peace-talks, a couple pep rallies, and hardly anything else beyond his death. Still, people chose him to be the advocate replacement for a well-known criminal named Barnabas. The people chose the tribute, yet he went along with it anyway, to take the place of all others. The Hunger Ga- I mean crucifixion was a suffocatingly deadly torture/death sentence that, along with its notoriety was also called the Shameful Death because you were elvated and (this part is NEVER revealed in all the paintings nor movies) naked. Total humiliation, pain, and shame. Simply seeing it was a way to keep rebellion under control. Yet it still wasn't easy. People had their own ideas of rebellion. Different styles, different angles. Even the patriot Judas of Kerioth (you know him as Iscariot) had a few ideas of how to committ illegal rebellion against this blasphemous Roman Empire, yet didn't act upon it. Jesus had what one could call a polar opposite style- he was open about what he would do, yet he never had a pep rally to strike the government down. It was more gradual. Very subtle. And, as leader of a whole new kind of rebellion that was unheard of in literally every way at the time, he had t be forced under control. The people chose crucifixion, something that the emperor was opposed of doing in the first place (wanted the second opinion of the Egyption Pharoah Herod, successor of Jesus' first attemptive murderer when he was a young child), and the Pharisees forced the Romans' hand to do it. I've heard churches say "If you were the only person on earth, Jesus would die for you many times." Like once wasn't enough? Maybe it's because I'm terrible at math, but to claim that Jesus would die OVER and OVER and OVER makes no sense when he only had to do it once.
He volunteered ONCE for you in all of history. That Hunger Games record is still not erased from history. Why should his volunteering for you ever be forgotten? Whether you're a guy or not, you're his sister. He's Katniss. He's volunteering for your place as tribute. And, in this "game", he plans on winning for you all the way using all the resources available. You going to be his sponsor for him being your tribute? Or bet on some miscellaneous legend like Gilgamesh (who went for treasure, personal gain) or Thor (becoming a god like his father and beating his brother, Loki)?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)