Besides Sharpening the Pencils…What to Do?
Whether your children are taught at home or in a public, private or Christian school, about now you’re probably gearing up again for the annual academic adventure. So what should you be doing as a parent to help your student(s) prep for the year to come?
1) Prayer – As our kids become teens and a giant filter seems to descend between our mouths and their ears, we may begin to wonder how much of an impact we can have in their lives. Don’t worry, they still hear you. But if we really want to help our kids, we’ll direct more of what we say to God. Pray not just for your son or daughter, but also for their friends, their teachers and the school administration. (Colossians 1:9)
2) Supplies – Check school letters and websites for supply lists, but realize that some teachers will tack in extras after the year begins. (Doubt the son who says “The school is supplying most stuff. We just need to buy rubber bands and paper clips.” He’s just quoting Bart Simpson.)
3) Clothes – Good time to discuss “Needs vs. Wants”, “Materialism”, “Why We Don’t Have to Keep Up With the Joneses” and “Modesty”. Also get to know the school dress code before hitting the stores.
4) Financial Plan for the Year – There will be all kinds of financial decisions that come up during the year, such as the plain yearbook versus the yearbook with 3-D Holographic Projections, banquets and student trips. Discuss now what you’ll help with financially and what you won’t.
5) Sleep – If your kids have settled into a midnight to noon sleep schedule, it might be good to break it now. Do a little research on the average sleep requirements for different ages, but you probably know better than anyone how much your son or daughter needs, not just to get by, but to thrive.
6) Academic Schedule – Find out from school counselors and colleges what classes are required for graduation as well as college admission.
7) Daily Homework Plan – Talk with your student before the school year about your expectations for study time. If you will be asking your student regularly about homework and checking it, let ‘em know now – then follow through.
8) Faith Challenges – If your kids are going to public school, there will be challenges to their beliefs in the classroom. Discuss this before the school year begins and find resources that will help student deal with the attacks on Christianity that may come in biology, English, history or even an art class.
9) Moral Challenges – Even if your kids go to a Christian school, there will be more pressure in the year to come from other students to cheat on tests, party, experiment sexually and some special surprise temptations. Academics are important, but shouldn’t as a rule take priority over church, youth group and personal and family devotions. Your student needs all of those resources to meet the challenges to come.
10) Prayer. Yeah, I said it before. It’s that important.
TEN WAYS TO SHAKE UP THE NEW SCHOOL YEAR
The new school year is starting and though you’re looking forward to seeing friends, you’re dreading the same old, same old. How can you avoid boredom for the next nine months? Perhaps you can follow these simple steps to a more interesting school year.
1) TRY OUT FOR A NEW SPORT OR ACTIVITY – Haven’t ever gone out for a school sport? You might not make the basketball or soccer team, but what’s the big deal if get cut? Maybe you’ve always done sports. So how about the school newspaper or yearbook? A school play or musical? Perhaps even a community service group, like key club? More stuff looks good on the college resume. But more important, it could be fun.
2) WRITE ABOUT JESUS IN A SCHOOL PAPER – Maybe in a “What I Did Last Summer” paper, you can write about a church mission trip. If you get a choice for a history paper, you could write about the Apostle Paul or Martin Luther or the Azusa Street Revival (look it up.) Get bold in a speech class and tell about how you became a Christian.
3) SIT IN A DIFFERENT PLACE FOR LUNCH – Do you sit at the same table or by the same tree every day at lunch? And with the same people? Get a friend and seek out someone who has no one. Or have lunch on top of the school sign. Whatever.
4) CHEER AT A LOW ATTENDANCE SPORTING EVENT – No, I’m not talking football. When I wrestled in high school, we didn’t exactly fill up the stands. The same might be true for your school’s bat mitten team. Get some friends someday, go to a game and cheer like crazy. Especially if no one else is doing it.
5) FIND A FRIEND THAT WILL KEEP YOU IN LINE – I don’t know what your temptations will be this year. Maybe to party. Maybe to cheat. Maybe it’s sexual temptation. Find a Christian friend that you can talk to about your temptation and agree that you will tell him or her when you’re tempted to give in.
6) IF THERE IS A CHRISTIAN CLUB AT YOUR SCHOOL: GO – Of course, if there’s not one, you could start one. If you go to a Christian school, maybe you could start a missions club. (A good time to start might be September 24th, when there is the national “See You At the Pole” event. Go to www.syatp.com to find out more.)
7) FIND A TIME TO SPEND WITH GOD EVERY DAY – It might be morning when you talk to God about the day to come. It might be at night when you read a chapter of the Bible before you go to bed.
8) PRAY FOR YOUR TEACHER(S) – In Matthew 5:44 Jesus said, “Pray for those who persecute you”. Who persecutes us more than teachers? So pray for God to bless ‘em, and you’ll be amazed by what God does.
9) BRING A SNACK – Some day bake a pie and pass it around at lunch. Or check to see whether you can order a pizza for class. Surprise people.
10) CHANGE SOMEONE’S LIFE – Yeah, this year, make someone’s life better. You can do it. And your life will be better, too. And this year will be anything but dull.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Batman on Wire
While police sirens whine far below, this man looks from a towering skyscraper down at Gotham as he prepares to step into the abyss. He knows that what he will do is not legal, but thinks that it will benefit others. Even more, he is drawn -- by his very nature -- to act.
If you think I’m writing about Batman in The Dark Knight, well, I’m not (at least not just yet). I’m writing about Man on Wire, a documentary about tight rope walker and proto performance artist Philippe Petit, who wire walked between the tops of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in August of 1974.
Director James Marsh uses a combination of vintage footage, contemporary interviews and dramatic recreations to tell the story of how Petit dreamed up his mad scheme, recruited his motley band of helpers and circumvented security to bring his dangerous plan to fruition. In some ways, the film works as a caper or heist film wherein in a team is gathered to steal the jewels or break out of prison.
There is no mystery about whether he will be successful. After all, Petit is interviewed in the present day (so we know he lives), and no one would make a film about someone who wasn’t able to pull off an elaborate stunt over thirty years ago. The fun is watching how it was done. But it can be a bit unsettling to watch as blueprints for the World Trade Centers are laid out to plot a stunt, when we know that in the years after 1974 the blueprints for the buildings will be studied for much more malignant reasons.
But as a Christian, it is odd to be put in a place of rooting for someone who’s breaking the law. In Romans 13: 1 & 2 the apostle Paul wrote “1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Petit’s comrades argue that since he has no ill intent, it doesn’t matter if he breaks the law. In the film we are shown some of Petite’s stunts prior to the WTC, tightrope walking between the towers of the Norte Dame Cathedral and the towers of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. After being arrested in Sydney, Petit swipes the watch of one of the policemen who arrests him.
I think when we’re young we all have an impulse to break or at least bend the law. (I know as a kid and a teen, I might not have always strictly followed laws scrupulously concerning trespassing when with a friend off-roading or toilet papering houses or…the traffic laws or… how much of this do I want my kids to read?) And part of the fun of watching movies is seeing characters do what we would never do. But this is a real person committing a real crime that could have not only cost him his own life, but the lives of onlookers and the police called to bring him in.
And yet watching a man walk back and forth between those massive structures is captivating and at times quite beautiful. Can we become too obsessed with following legalities?
Jesus certainly was not always a stickler for the law. The Pharisaic law said that one should not do any work on the Sabbath, including healing. But we have this story about Jesus from Matthew 12 – “9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.”
But there is a difference. When Jesus broke the law, it was always clearly for the glory of God, the benefit of others and the furtherance of the Kingdom. It wasn’t just on a lark or for self glorification.
So back to Batman. Yes, I did see some similarities between these films. One of the most fascinating things in The Dark Knight (directed by Chris Nolan) is Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) wrestling with the outlaw nature of his work as a vigilante. He sees his work as necessary to protect the lives of others, but he would rather be able to live within the law. But he finds he can’t.
In The Dark Knight, Wayne uses all the tools at his disposal to fight a war against crime and terrorism (as personified by the Mob and the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger). But he comes to realize there will be a cost to such a battle not just for himself, but for those who join him in the battle. And he agonizes over the potential costs in the lives of others. (Petit in Man on Wire rarely seems concerned by the costs paid by those who join him in his quest.)
These moral quandaries, never fully answered, are what make The Dark Knight a little more thoughtful that the average summer superhero epic. And it was odd to find that the fictional blockbuster was more serious on a moral level than the documentary from the BBC and Discovery Films.
Man on Wire is rated PG-13 for language, nudity and sexuality.
The Dark Knight is rated PG-13 for language and violence, but the violence probably should have earned it an R rating.
If you think I’m writing about Batman in The Dark Knight, well, I’m not (at least not just yet). I’m writing about Man on Wire, a documentary about tight rope walker and proto performance artist Philippe Petit, who wire walked between the tops of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in August of 1974.
Director James Marsh uses a combination of vintage footage, contemporary interviews and dramatic recreations to tell the story of how Petit dreamed up his mad scheme, recruited his motley band of helpers and circumvented security to bring his dangerous plan to fruition. In some ways, the film works as a caper or heist film wherein in a team is gathered to steal the jewels or break out of prison.
There is no mystery about whether he will be successful. After all, Petit is interviewed in the present day (so we know he lives), and no one would make a film about someone who wasn’t able to pull off an elaborate stunt over thirty years ago. The fun is watching how it was done. But it can be a bit unsettling to watch as blueprints for the World Trade Centers are laid out to plot a stunt, when we know that in the years after 1974 the blueprints for the buildings will be studied for much more malignant reasons.
But as a Christian, it is odd to be put in a place of rooting for someone who’s breaking the law. In Romans 13: 1 & 2 the apostle Paul wrote “1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Petit’s comrades argue that since he has no ill intent, it doesn’t matter if he breaks the law. In the film we are shown some of Petite’s stunts prior to the WTC, tightrope walking between the towers of the Norte Dame Cathedral and the towers of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. After being arrested in Sydney, Petit swipes the watch of one of the policemen who arrests him.
I think when we’re young we all have an impulse to break or at least bend the law. (I know as a kid and a teen, I might not have always strictly followed laws scrupulously concerning trespassing when with a friend off-roading or toilet papering houses or…the traffic laws or… how much of this do I want my kids to read?) And part of the fun of watching movies is seeing characters do what we would never do. But this is a real person committing a real crime that could have not only cost him his own life, but the lives of onlookers and the police called to bring him in.
And yet watching a man walk back and forth between those massive structures is captivating and at times quite beautiful. Can we become too obsessed with following legalities?
Jesus certainly was not always a stickler for the law. The Pharisaic law said that one should not do any work on the Sabbath, including healing. But we have this story about Jesus from Matthew 12 – “9Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"
11He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other.”
But there is a difference. When Jesus broke the law, it was always clearly for the glory of God, the benefit of others and the furtherance of the Kingdom. It wasn’t just on a lark or for self glorification.
So back to Batman. Yes, I did see some similarities between these films. One of the most fascinating things in The Dark Knight (directed by Chris Nolan) is Bruce Wayne (played by Christian Bale) wrestling with the outlaw nature of his work as a vigilante. He sees his work as necessary to protect the lives of others, but he would rather be able to live within the law. But he finds he can’t.
In The Dark Knight, Wayne uses all the tools at his disposal to fight a war against crime and terrorism (as personified by the Mob and the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger). But he comes to realize there will be a cost to such a battle not just for himself, but for those who join him in the battle. And he agonizes over the potential costs in the lives of others. (Petit in Man on Wire rarely seems concerned by the costs paid by those who join him in his quest.)
These moral quandaries, never fully answered, are what make The Dark Knight a little more thoughtful that the average summer superhero epic. And it was odd to find that the fictional blockbuster was more serious on a moral level than the documentary from the BBC and Discovery Films.
Man on Wire is rated PG-13 for language, nudity and sexuality.
The Dark Knight is rated PG-13 for language and violence, but the violence probably should have earned it an R rating.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
In Honor of "Hellboy II", An Old Review I Did
Pan’s Labyrinth
Fairies, an evil step-father, a faun
Guns, explosions, Fascists vs. the resistance, torture
Forbidden fruit, eternal life, blood atonement, sacrifice
So you have a fairy tale, a war movie and a Christian parable, all to be found in Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish language film -- elements that will certainly attract and repel viewers in equal numbers.
Lovers of fantasy may be lost when they learn of the graphic scenes of shootings, stabbings and battlefield surgery in Pan’s Labyrinth (or El Laberinto del Faurn). Enthusiasts of World War II might not be pleased to learn that the central character of the film is a little girl, given three tasks to prove that she is the princess of an underground kingdom. And I read critics who were not pleased that with the film’s Christian imagery.
The film is an adult fairy tale, and the criticism that fairy tales are for children is addressed within the film itself. Ofelia, the heroine of the story, is told by her mother and stepfather that she is too old for fairy tales. And yet she finds within her fantasies wisdom to live in a difficult and dangerous world. The moral clarity found in such tales is occasionally scoffed at by some grown-ups as simplistic. They argue the world never has any clear heroes or villains, black or white, only shades of grey. They would also argue that only the material world exists and it is foolish to believe in anything outside of what we can perceive through our senses.
I would argue that the stark contrasts between good and evil found in fairy tales can at times be found in the real world. In the Old Testament battles, God was on the good side in many of the battles between Israel and evil foes. During our Civil War, ultimately the side defending slavery was in the wrong. And in World War II, one side definitely could be defined as right and the other as wrong.
And those who believe that there is nothing beyond ourselves and what we can see and hear, touch and taste and smell, they have bought into a lie much darker and devoid of truth than any story Disney ever animated.
We are given a grim picture of what it was like to live under the repressive regime of Franco’s Spain during World War II. The government kept the people dependant on itself for foods and goods. One scene shows soldiers dispersing bread to citizens, and as they do they announce that the daily bread comes through the beneficence of the government. God’s providence is given no place in such a dictatorship.
The very worst of the government is personified through Ofelia’s stepfather, Capitan Vidal, a sadist shown torturing captives and casually killing the innocent. Those who would say such violence has no place in fairy tales just don’t know how grim the Brothers Grimm could be.
I found the most interesting aspect of the film was introduction of the theme of blood atonement. To avoid spoilers, I can’t tell too much about how this theme is used in the film, but it is there, with great Biblical resonance.
Hebrews 9: 22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.” This essential Biblical doctrine at times seems like an outdated piece of myth and legend. But by placing this theme in the midst of a war, a time when the shedding of blood is a daily transaction, we are reminded of its truth.
We tend to think of sin as a petty offense that should be cleared up as one would pay for a parking ticket. The film reminds us that when dealing with issues such as life and death, war and sin, is not child’s play, but we do need childlike faith.
Fairies, an evil step-father, a faun
Guns, explosions, Fascists vs. the resistance, torture
Forbidden fruit, eternal life, blood atonement, sacrifice
So you have a fairy tale, a war movie and a Christian parable, all to be found in Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish language film -- elements that will certainly attract and repel viewers in equal numbers.
Lovers of fantasy may be lost when they learn of the graphic scenes of shootings, stabbings and battlefield surgery in Pan’s Labyrinth (or El Laberinto del Faurn). Enthusiasts of World War II might not be pleased to learn that the central character of the film is a little girl, given three tasks to prove that she is the princess of an underground kingdom. And I read critics who were not pleased that with the film’s Christian imagery.
The film is an adult fairy tale, and the criticism that fairy tales are for children is addressed within the film itself. Ofelia, the heroine of the story, is told by her mother and stepfather that she is too old for fairy tales. And yet she finds within her fantasies wisdom to live in a difficult and dangerous world. The moral clarity found in such tales is occasionally scoffed at by some grown-ups as simplistic. They argue the world never has any clear heroes or villains, black or white, only shades of grey. They would also argue that only the material world exists and it is foolish to believe in anything outside of what we can perceive through our senses.
I would argue that the stark contrasts between good and evil found in fairy tales can at times be found in the real world. In the Old Testament battles, God was on the good side in many of the battles between Israel and evil foes. During our Civil War, ultimately the side defending slavery was in the wrong. And in World War II, one side definitely could be defined as right and the other as wrong.
And those who believe that there is nothing beyond ourselves and what we can see and hear, touch and taste and smell, they have bought into a lie much darker and devoid of truth than any story Disney ever animated.
We are given a grim picture of what it was like to live under the repressive regime of Franco’s Spain during World War II. The government kept the people dependant on itself for foods and goods. One scene shows soldiers dispersing bread to citizens, and as they do they announce that the daily bread comes through the beneficence of the government. God’s providence is given no place in such a dictatorship.
The very worst of the government is personified through Ofelia’s stepfather, Capitan Vidal, a sadist shown torturing captives and casually killing the innocent. Those who would say such violence has no place in fairy tales just don’t know how grim the Brothers Grimm could be.
I found the most interesting aspect of the film was introduction of the theme of blood atonement. To avoid spoilers, I can’t tell too much about how this theme is used in the film, but it is there, with great Biblical resonance.
Hebrews 9: 22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.” This essential Biblical doctrine at times seems like an outdated piece of myth and legend. But by placing this theme in the midst of a war, a time when the shedding of blood is a daily transaction, we are reminded of its truth.
We tend to think of sin as a petty offense that should be cleared up as one would pay for a parking ticket. The film reminds us that when dealing with issues such as life and death, war and sin, is not child’s play, but we do need childlike faith.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Spoiling in a Good Way
I want to warn you now that this article is full of spoilers.
What? Some of you are unclear on the term “spoilers”? You haven’t been reading your internet movie reviews. At a variety of movie sites you can read reviews of movies that are seen before the films are released. Sometimes you can read reviews of scripts before a film is even produced. Often the reviewers will warn *minor spoilers* or *major spoilers*, depending on whether they plan on giving away minor plot details or every twist and turn in the story.
Some people like spoilers, some don’t.
I prefer not to know what’s going to happen in the movies I watch and the books I read; I want to be surprised. On the other hand, my wife Mindy often reads the ends of novels before deciding if she wants to go on reading. She does this with mysteries. This is a mystery to me.
Some people like spoilers, some don’t.
*Major Spoilers*! I plan on giving away the whole plot of a certain film, and not only that, but some major spoilers about life itself.
So if you were planning on rushing out to rent F.W. Murau’s silent German Expressionist classic The Last Laugh, and you don’t want to know how it ends, quit reading now!
Emil Jannings plays the doorman (or porter) of an elite German hotel. He is proud of his job and especially proud of his gaudy uniform. When he returns from work to his dilapidated tenement, his neighbors treat him with deference and respect because of his big lapels and shiny buttons.
But the doorman is getting on in years, and when the manager of the hotel sees him take a long break after struggling with heavy luggage, the manager demotes him to restroom attendant.
The new job does not have the status of doorman and does not have a uniform.
So the former doorman decides to steal a uniform so he can still wear it when he’s back in his neighborhood. But when a neighbor spies him at work in the restroom, he becomes the laughing stock of the neighborhood.
The man breaks down in tears when he returns the uniform to the hotel security guard. And then the film makers show one of the most amazing title cards in silent films.
I’m paraphrasing a bit, but the card says something like this: “In real life, the porter would have little to look forward to, except his own death. However, the writer took pity upon the man and added this unexpected epilogue.”
The film then shows guests in the hotel laughing as they read a newspaper article. The article tells about a millionaire who died in the arms of a hotel restroom attendant. The millionaire’s last will and testament specified that his entire fortune would go to the person who held him as he died.
The final minutes of the film show the former doorman of the hotel enjoying the hotel’s luxuries, along with his friend the security guard. The film ends with the new millionaire tipping all of the bell staff before riding off in a convertible.
The title card that changes the doorman’s fortune is a classic “Deus ex machine” device (or ‘God from the machine’). This is a phrase that originated in Greek drama, when the writer would paint his characters into such a difficult situation that the only solution was an arbitrary plot intervention by one of the many Greek gods.
It is usually quite an annoying device in a play, book or film.
If an ordinary Western story concludes with a UFO blasting the bad guy with lasers in the climatic gun fight or a parent’s objection to the love match in a Victorian romance resolved by having Dr. Phil enter in and give counsel, the audience is understandably upset.
But somehow, this device works in The Last Laugh, because the film makers are so transparent about its use. A (slightly) more recent use of blatant “Deus ex machine” is found in Wayne’s World. The film appears to be ending with our hero Wayne losing the girl and the villain triumphant. But Wayne speaks to the camera and suggests a different ending. They first try the Scooby Doo ending (“I would have succeeded, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids”) and then finish with the mega-happy ending.
I think the “God from the machine” device works because there is an acknowledgement of a creator outside of the fictional world. Of course, we get ourselves into impossible situations. Particularly, we’ve got the problem of sin (Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death”), and we need help to get us out of our predicament.
Fortunately, help did come from out of our world, when Jesus came to save us (John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling with us.”)
I don’t mind that “Deus ex machine” at all. And when I said before that I don’t like spoilers -- well, Jesus perhaps gave away the biggest spoiler of all when He said in John 14:3, “I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
I don’t mind that spoiler at all.
The Last Laugh (1924) (original German title, Der Letzte Mann) directed by F.W. Murau, written by Carl Mayer, starring Emil Jannings. No objectionable content.
Wayne’s World (1992) directed by Penelope Spheeris, written and starring Mike Myers. Some offensive language and humor, and a gratuitous sex scene clearly marked with subtitles as “GRATUITOUS SEX SCENE”
What? Some of you are unclear on the term “spoilers”? You haven’t been reading your internet movie reviews. At a variety of movie sites you can read reviews of movies that are seen before the films are released. Sometimes you can read reviews of scripts before a film is even produced. Often the reviewers will warn *minor spoilers* or *major spoilers*, depending on whether they plan on giving away minor plot details or every twist and turn in the story.
Some people like spoilers, some don’t.
I prefer not to know what’s going to happen in the movies I watch and the books I read; I want to be surprised. On the other hand, my wife Mindy often reads the ends of novels before deciding if she wants to go on reading. She does this with mysteries. This is a mystery to me.
Some people like spoilers, some don’t.
*Major Spoilers*! I plan on giving away the whole plot of a certain film, and not only that, but some major spoilers about life itself.
So if you were planning on rushing out to rent F.W. Murau’s silent German Expressionist classic The Last Laugh, and you don’t want to know how it ends, quit reading now!
Emil Jannings plays the doorman (or porter) of an elite German hotel. He is proud of his job and especially proud of his gaudy uniform. When he returns from work to his dilapidated tenement, his neighbors treat him with deference and respect because of his big lapels and shiny buttons.
But the doorman is getting on in years, and when the manager of the hotel sees him take a long break after struggling with heavy luggage, the manager demotes him to restroom attendant.
The new job does not have the status of doorman and does not have a uniform.
So the former doorman decides to steal a uniform so he can still wear it when he’s back in his neighborhood. But when a neighbor spies him at work in the restroom, he becomes the laughing stock of the neighborhood.
The man breaks down in tears when he returns the uniform to the hotel security guard. And then the film makers show one of the most amazing title cards in silent films.
I’m paraphrasing a bit, but the card says something like this: “In real life, the porter would have little to look forward to, except his own death. However, the writer took pity upon the man and added this unexpected epilogue.”
The film then shows guests in the hotel laughing as they read a newspaper article. The article tells about a millionaire who died in the arms of a hotel restroom attendant. The millionaire’s last will and testament specified that his entire fortune would go to the person who held him as he died.
The final minutes of the film show the former doorman of the hotel enjoying the hotel’s luxuries, along with his friend the security guard. The film ends with the new millionaire tipping all of the bell staff before riding off in a convertible.
The title card that changes the doorman’s fortune is a classic “Deus ex machine” device (or ‘God from the machine’). This is a phrase that originated in Greek drama, when the writer would paint his characters into such a difficult situation that the only solution was an arbitrary plot intervention by one of the many Greek gods.
It is usually quite an annoying device in a play, book or film.
If an ordinary Western story concludes with a UFO blasting the bad guy with lasers in the climatic gun fight or a parent’s objection to the love match in a Victorian romance resolved by having Dr. Phil enter in and give counsel, the audience is understandably upset.
But somehow, this device works in The Last Laugh, because the film makers are so transparent about its use. A (slightly) more recent use of blatant “Deus ex machine” is found in Wayne’s World. The film appears to be ending with our hero Wayne losing the girl and the villain triumphant. But Wayne speaks to the camera and suggests a different ending. They first try the Scooby Doo ending (“I would have succeeded, too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids”) and then finish with the mega-happy ending.
I think the “God from the machine” device works because there is an acknowledgement of a creator outside of the fictional world. Of course, we get ourselves into impossible situations. Particularly, we’ve got the problem of sin (Romans 6:23 – “The wages of sin is death”), and we need help to get us out of our predicament.
Fortunately, help did come from out of our world, when Jesus came to save us (John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling with us.”)
I don’t mind that “Deus ex machine” at all. And when I said before that I don’t like spoilers -- well, Jesus perhaps gave away the biggest spoiler of all when He said in John 14:3, “I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
I don’t mind that spoiler at all.
The Last Laugh (1924) (original German title, Der Letzte Mann) directed by F.W. Murau, written by Carl Mayer, starring Emil Jannings. No objectionable content.
Wayne’s World (1992) directed by Penelope Spheeris, written and starring Mike Myers. Some offensive language and humor, and a gratuitous sex scene clearly marked with subtitles as “GRATUITOUS SEX SCENE”
Monday, June 30, 2008
Post below on line
The "Baby/Puppy" article below in on the Assembly of God site, On Course now. It has been editted and gussied up some:
http://oncourse.ag.org/features/index.cfm?targetBay=06d52a80-8681-49b2-871b-a4e5dc1c7708&ModID=2&Process=DisplayArticle&RSS_RSSContentID=7201&RSS_OriginatingChannelID=1202&RSS_OriginatingRSSFeedID=3459&RSS_Source=
http://oncourse.ag.org/features/index.cfm?targetBay=06d52a80-8681-49b2-871b-a4e5dc1c7708&ModID=2&Process=DisplayArticle&RSS_RSSContentID=7201&RSS_OriginatingChannelID=1202&RSS_OriginatingRSSFeedID=3459&RSS_Source=
New Collection of Christmas plays
"I Spy Christmas" from CSS is out now, http://www.amazon.com/Spy-Christmas-Three-Candlelight-Service/dp/0788025511 . I have three plays in the book. "I Spy Christmas" is about kids exploring the cloak and dagger aspects of Yuletime. "Taking Jesus" is about a kid who steals the main prop from his church's Christmas program. "Open Audition" is about a Christmas program behind schedule who presents the audition rather than the program to his church.
The book also includes a Candlelight service by Rod Tkach.
The book also includes a Candlelight service by Rod Tkach.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
What is Best for the Puppy? What is Best for the Kid?
A three year old boy asks his parents for a puppy. When asked who will care for the dog, the boy assures his parents he will train the dog, feed the dog and take it for walks. Do you believe that kid? I think you’re smarter than that.
Many parents give in to their child’s big eyes and cute pleas for a puppy. Those parents have gone to the pound and brought home that poodle or Labrador retriever or St. Bernard and, soon found themselves taking care of that dog because doggie care is beyond the capacities of your average three year old.
I’m thinking of those three year olds as I watch the NBC reality TV show The Baby Borrowers. The show entrusts teenaged couples with babies, then infants and then children. In the interviews in the first episode, some of the girls speak with assurance that they can handle the challenge of parenthood.
Just as that three year old has no understanding of all that is involved in caring for a dog, these teenagers have no idea of all that is involved in caring for a child. I know this is true, because I was 28 years old when my wife and I had our first child, and we had no idea all that was involved in raising a child. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for us with a decade less of life experience.
I find it even harder to imagine what it would have been like to take care of a child alone.
But many young women find themselves alone, taking on the challenge of a child because it sounds “fun.” Just like that dog sounds “fun” to a three year old. As one of the actual mothers on the television show said, “Once you become a mother, you need to realize it is no longer about you anymore, it’s about the baby.”
Recently there was a news story about a group of teenaged girls in Gloucester that, according to initial reports, had made a pact to get pregnant together. The truthfulness of the report was then brought into question when some of the girls said that the pact was actually made by a group of pregnant girls to help each other out.
One of the children was fathered by a twenty-four year old homeless man who obviously was not going to play a part in the child’s life. Another of the children was parented by a couple that was practicing birth control. (An interesting word “practicing.” They obviously hadn’t got it right yet.)
Whatever the truth of the story of the “pact,” at the heart of the story is a group of 24 single teen girls bringing children into the world without the resources of a stable family with a mother and father, of education and income. Not every child is going to have those advantages. But studies show kids are much better off with a father as well as a mother to care for them.
It would be wise for those girls to consider letting their children be adopted by stable families.
Throughout Scripture, the importance of fathers is stressed. Proverbs 1:8 says “Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.” The child benefits from the teaching of both parents.
The importance of fathers in Scripture can be seen in the fact that God is called our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12 says “God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? …How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”
Share wisdom and holiness with your child. Sex can wait for marriage. Parenthood should be saved for marriage. (You might even want to wait on that puppy.)
Many parents give in to their child’s big eyes and cute pleas for a puppy. Those parents have gone to the pound and brought home that poodle or Labrador retriever or St. Bernard and, soon found themselves taking care of that dog because doggie care is beyond the capacities of your average three year old.
I’m thinking of those three year olds as I watch the NBC reality TV show The Baby Borrowers. The show entrusts teenaged couples with babies, then infants and then children. In the interviews in the first episode, some of the girls speak with assurance that they can handle the challenge of parenthood.
Just as that three year old has no understanding of all that is involved in caring for a dog, these teenagers have no idea of all that is involved in caring for a child. I know this is true, because I was 28 years old when my wife and I had our first child, and we had no idea all that was involved in raising a child. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for us with a decade less of life experience.
I find it even harder to imagine what it would have been like to take care of a child alone.
But many young women find themselves alone, taking on the challenge of a child because it sounds “fun.” Just like that dog sounds “fun” to a three year old. As one of the actual mothers on the television show said, “Once you become a mother, you need to realize it is no longer about you anymore, it’s about the baby.”
Recently there was a news story about a group of teenaged girls in Gloucester that, according to initial reports, had made a pact to get pregnant together. The truthfulness of the report was then brought into question when some of the girls said that the pact was actually made by a group of pregnant girls to help each other out.
One of the children was fathered by a twenty-four year old homeless man who obviously was not going to play a part in the child’s life. Another of the children was parented by a couple that was practicing birth control. (An interesting word “practicing.” They obviously hadn’t got it right yet.)
Whatever the truth of the story of the “pact,” at the heart of the story is a group of 24 single teen girls bringing children into the world without the resources of a stable family with a mother and father, of education and income. Not every child is going to have those advantages. But studies show kids are much better off with a father as well as a mother to care for them.
It would be wise for those girls to consider letting their children be adopted by stable families.
Throughout Scripture, the importance of fathers is stressed. Proverbs 1:8 says “Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.” The child benefits from the teaching of both parents.
The importance of fathers in Scripture can be seen in the fact that God is called our Heavenly Father. Hebrews 12 says “God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? …How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.”
Share wisdom and holiness with your child. Sex can wait for marriage. Parenthood should be saved for marriage. (You might even want to wait on that puppy.)
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