Film Clip Friday, Christmas Edition: ‘A Christmas Story’

It’s film clip Friday again…and also Christmas Day.  Who says you can’t kill two birds — or maybe we should say two turtledoves — with one stone?

Enjoy 🙂

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Charles Dickens, Charlie Lovett, and the Philosophy of Christmas

I know, I know — there are only two days left until Christmas.  But if you’re looking for a nice little holiday read that can be easily begun and finished in one sitting, you might consider Charlie Lovett’s The Further Adventures of Ebenezer Scrooge.

Set 20 years after the events of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Lovett’s novel introduces us to a Scrooge who still puts people off, but because of his indefatigable enthusiasm rather than because of his miserly cruelty.  We find him annoying the denizens of London

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Film Clip Friday: ‘The Godfather’

I’ve kind of veered from my original intent of talking about movies a lot on this blog, so here is the first in what I hope will be a series (not necessarily weekly) of posts featuring some of my favorite film scenes.  And, of course, what better film to start with than The Godfather?

Enjoy 🙂

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My Top Five Christmas Movies

Here they are, in no particular order.  Feel free to share yours in the comment section! (And yes, Die Hard does count)

1. Disney’s A Christmas Carol

2. Home Alone

3. Elf

4. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

…and, of course…

5. It’s a Wonderful Life

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‘Frozen’ and Elsa the Scapegoat — Part 4

For parts one through three, click here

Remember the “name game” we played in Part 2?  Well, I’ll ask you to grant me just a little further indulgence in this.

I said that the name Elsa was a variant of Elizabeth, hence a connection with St. Elizabeth.  Well, Anna, as I also mentioned, is a variant of the name Hannah.  Hannah, in the Old Testament, is the mother of the prophet Samuel.  As a young woman, her situation is almost identical with that of St. Elizabeth.  Both suffer from barrenness.

But, as with Elizabeth, Hannah is graciously granted a child.

Hence Hannah and Elizabeth are in parallel circumstances in the Bible.  So, in fact, are Anna and Elsa in “Frozen.”

Both, you will recall, bear some mark of the scapegoat — Elsa in her strange powers, Anna in the streak of gray in her hair.  Furthermore, a mutual salvation occurs between them at the end; both are saved from “frozen hearts” (though in different ways).

Contrast that with Prince Hans, whose way of relating to Elsa (and Anna as well, though in diluted form) shows all of the characteristic signs of scapegoating.  Recall Anna’s comment at the end to the effect that he is the only one with a “frozen heart” in Arendelle.

“Michelangelo Sündenfall” by Michelangelo Buonarroti – http://www.heiligenlexikon.de/Fotos/Eva2.jpgTransferred from de.wikipedia to Commons by Roberta F. using CommonsHelper., 9 September 2007 (original upload date), Original uploader was Nitramtrebla at de.wikipedia. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_S%C3%BCndenfall.jpg#/media/File:Michelangelo_S%C3%BCndenfall.jpg

“Frozenness” is very much an effect of the Fall of our first parents.  Consequent upon their initial transgression in the Garden, Adam and Eve’s relationship goes from one of honor and love to one of blame (Gen. 3: 12) and use (Gen. 3: 16).  And of course, blame and use are the sole “stuff” of people’s relationships with their scapegoats.  The latter are blamed for the ills of society, and they are at the same time used for the maintenance of order.

But with “a little bit of love,” as the Trolls would say, this can change.  People go from scapegoats to “fixer-uppers,” and we come to see that in fact “everyone is little bit of a fixer-upper” (emphasis mine).

We haven’t really spoken much about Elsa’s perspective, so I’ll say this: There are basically two different ways of being that result from the “frozenness” of the Fall, both of which have some foundation in fear and self-preservation.  There is, of course, outright selfishness and ego-assertion, as is the case with scapegoaters.  But there is also the self-centered condition of despair, and this can cause people not only to accept, but to cling to the scapegoat position.

And something like this, unfortunately, happens to Elsa.  She is so discouraged by her “different-ness” that she will not allow herself to be loved…or to love, except in the form of isolating herself against those she fears she may hurt.

But Jesus Christ and His angels bring the world this striking message: “Be not afraid.”

Jesus Christ comes to reveal God to us, but He also comes to reveal to us the mystery of the human person.  Consider the Holy Wounds in His hands, feet, and side; He enters into our woundedness, and shines the light of divine mercy upon it.

Thus the God-Man makes it possible for us to see two things: 1) We are all wounded, all “marked” in some way…not just a few isolated “scapegoats”; 2) We do not need to be afraid of this.  God is love and mercy itself, and by His grace, we can find hope and healing — and this will often come through touching others in their woundedness, and making ourselves vulnerable to them in ours.

In her own way, Princess Anna got that…and so should we.

Another way of saying “to end something” is to “let it go,” correct?  I think I’ll let this commentary go with “Let It Go”:

Divine Mercy image from Wikipedia; remaining images obtained through a Google image search

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‘Frozen’ and Elsa the Scapegoat — Part 3.5

Working on the fourth and final installment of my commentary on Disney’s “Frozen.”  I hadn’t intended for it to take this long, of course — but what with the holidays, the more time-sensitive “Advent, Waiting, and Preparation” posts, and the details of professional and personal life, I have had to stretch the series out a bit.

Like I said, I’m working on it — just want to make sure I do it right.

In the meantime, I thought to myself: “Self, why not do a quickie on an aspect of the film that stood out in your mind, but would not have fit very comfortably into the overall analysis?”

The “aspect” in question is actually Olaf the Snowman (voiced by Josh Gad).  Fans of the movie will undoubtedly recall the endearing dance number that summarizes this quite literally “cool” little guy’s dream of seeing summer.

Olaf’s desire is actually not that different from the deepest desire of the human heart: The desire for God.

We are made for eternal friendship with God — indeed, for nothing less than the very vision of God as He is.  We may not all realize this explicitly, but we know that we desire perfection and unlimited goodness and beauty, whatever that may mean.

But this is something well beyond our natural capacity as creatures, and all the more unattainable by our own powers on account of our fallen nature.  If any one of us were to attempt to approach this destiny in its fullness in our current state, it would destroy us (just as it would destroy us if we were to walk right up to the sun, were such a thing possible).

Sound vaguely familiar with regard to “Frozen”?  Olaf’s desire for summer is laudable, but tragically incompatible with his physical make-up.

Yet by way of a gift from Elsa at the end of the film, he is made able to partake of summer without melting.  In a similar way, God wills to bestow upon all of us, in His Son Jesus Christ, the grace to be fit for and to partake in His joy, His life.

How’s that for a “warm hug?”  Thanks for reading 🙂

Movie poster from Wikipedia; remaining images obtained through a Google image search

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Clarice Tells Rudolph About Modern Navigational Technology…

Image courtesy of memegenerator.net

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Spiritual Lessons from ‘E.T.’ — Part Two

For part one, click here

We took a look at E.T. as a healer, as well as at how he must suffer in order to heal others, in part one.  Now let’s take that a step further by pointing out that his stay on earth involves, at one and the same time, suffering and identification.

It is particularly in the case of Elliott that we see the latter.  By way of some strange psychic connection that develops between them, Elliott feels what E.T. feels, experiences what he experiences.  And we may reasonably suppose that the reverse is also true, though this is never made explicit in the film.

Another vital aspect of Jesus and His mission now comes into the purview of our exploration.  Jesus became a human being, like us in all things except sin.  He didn’t just “put on a body;” He became one of us, identifying Himself with each and every person.

For that reason, I think it is very important that E.T.’s suffering and identification coincide.  After all, Christ’s identification with us includes identification with our sufferings — physical, psychological, emotional, and even spiritual (though again, without sin or its attendant disorders).

Then there is the film’s most famous phrase: “E.T. phone home” (I apologize that I could not find a picture of the phone scene).  E.T.’s yearning to contact the kin who left him behind, to return to his home planet, forms the central dramatic drive of the film.

Here we see yet another Christ-analogy.  While Jesus never gave any hint of wanting to “escape” this world or betrayed any “homesickness,” He did constantly make reference to His Father in Heaven, in Whose Bosom He had rested in perfect bliss from all eternity.  At various points throughout the Gospels, you can see Him seeking solitude and spending long periods of time in prayer, communing with the Father.

We may not see anything of E.T.’s plight in these examples; but the closer Our Lord gets to Calvary, the greater the resemblance grows.  A key moment occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Matthew 26: 36-46, Luke 22: 39-46), where the Author of Life begins to experience the desolation, pain, and darkness of death.  He Who had known only infinite goodness and life from all eternity was about to be plunged into our deepest darkness, our deepest pain, our deepest fear.  He Who was from all eternity the Only-Begotten was about to experience alienation from the Father on Calvary.

Not to knock E.T., but he doesn’t hold a candle to Christ on this one.  What is more, it is worth considering that E.T. gets stuck on this planet by accident, with no specific intentions with regard to humanity.  Jesus Christ knew what He was doing, and He did it for us — that’s how much, how profoundly, how unreservedly He loves each one of us.

And I think this is a good place for another break.  Thanks for reading.

Image from Wikipedia

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Spiritual Lessons from ‘E.T.’ — Part One

It is never a bad time to talk about the classics.  But especially around Halloween, it seems appropriate to touch on Steven Spielberg’s moving and timeless alien/family tale, “E.T. — The Extraterrestrial.”

It would not be fair to call “E.T.” a Christian parable.  It came, after all, from the imaginations of a Jewish director and a screenwriter (Melissa Mathison) who, if I’m not mistaken, leans more toward Buddhist spirituality (someone please correct me if I’m wrong about that).  But I think the very solid analogies you can find nonetheless demonstrate two things, both of which are far more interesting and significant than any explicit allegory:

1. Jesus Christ has insinuated Himself irreversibly into the thoughts and imaginations of Western culture, so that even the secularist age in which we are living cannot entirely expunge His influence;
2. Jesus is the Eternal Word, who speaks to the depths of all men’s hearts and, at times, even causes them to say something of Him in spite of themselves.

Okay, so let’s get started:

First, what do we think of when we hear any variant of the phrase “aliens come to earth?”

We think of an attack.  We think of monstrous or tyrannical beings who far surpass us in power and come to take over our lives and our world.

And yet when Elliott (Henry Thomas) and his family meet E.T., what do they find?  A gentle, vulnerable creature no bigger than a child, and with an abundantly kind heart.

In just such a way, the Divine came into the world.  Many of the pagan cultures of the ancient world generally believed that the gods were fierce, capricious, and cruel.  Even many Jewish people were expecting God’s Messiah to come as a mighty, avenging warrior who would destroy the enemies of Israel.

But when the Messiah — who was none other than God in the flesh — finally did come into the world, it was as a little baby — too weak even to lift His own head, and born into obscurity and poverty.  And ultimately, He was to reveal Himself as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

From there, we’ll go a step further and look at E.T. in his role as healer.  At numerous points throughout the film, we see him applying strange healing powers to things such as cuts and bruises, and even reviving a dying plant at one point.

What we notice, however, is that this seems to take something out of E.T. each time he does it.  He becomes weaker, sicker…almost as if he were drawing from the store of his own life to restore the health of other creatures.

If we read the Gospels carefully, we will notice something similar in Christ’s healing ministry.  When we read of Him performing healing miracles, we also read that “the power went out of Him” (cf. Luke 8:46).  This indicates that when He cured illnesses, gave sight to the blind, drove demons out of people, etc., it cost Him something.  We can well imagine His disciples seeing this become more and more apparent as His ministry progressed, just as Elliott and his siblings see it progressively take hold of E.T.

Let’s take a break, and return to this exploration shortly.

Movie stills obtained through a Google image search; movie poster and other images obtained from Wikipedia

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Beethoven and the Saving Potential of Art

This is Valentina Lisitsa playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, Movements 1, 2, 3.

Keep in mind that Beethoven was considering suicide at the time during which he wrote this song.  Facing his slowly approaching deafness, he sank into despair and depression.  He later credited his music for preventing his suicide.

Indeed, the power of art — both for the artist who pours his/her soul into it, and for the recipient whose soul it touches — can be inestimable.

By the way, if you have about an hour and a half — or would like to listen over time, in pieces — here is a great audio presentation on the nature and history of the imagination (which embraces art, music, literature, etc.):

http://www.peterkreeft.com/audio/22_cslewis_imagination.htm

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