Beyond Entertainment
How Hollywood Educates the Masses
Chuck Edwards
When our girls, Michelle and Kim, were in high school, we
would occasionally watch a movie together on Saturday night. Afterwards, I'd
initiate a discussion on the message of the movie. The girls would say, "Oh,
Dad, do we have to talk about it. That ruins it!" My response was, "Girls, if
the screenwriter, director and producer are simply out to entertain
you, then you can sit back, relax and allow your emotions to be moved. However,
if they are also out to educate you, than we have to engage our minds
in the process."
And as it turns out, Hollywood screenwriters, directors,
and producers are out to educate us. How do I know that? They tell us!
For example, George Lucas clearly understands his role as
a film writer and director as he revealed in an interview: "I've always tried to
be aware of what I say in my films because all of us who make motion pictures
are teachers … teachers with very loud voices."[1]
Or take David Franzoni, the main writer and producer of
both Gladiator, as well as King Arthur. He said in an
interview, "That's the whole point of writing to me: to change the world through
your art." What is Franzoni's vision for the world? He goes on to explain that
Gladiator "… is about a hero who has morality, but that morality is a
secular morality that transcends conventional religious morality …"[2]
According to Franzoni, Christian morality is out, "secular" morality is in,
meaning a morality that is not derived from the God of the Bible. And the theme
of both films made this clear.
As it turns out, these men know exactly what they are
doing. They are in the education business! Now, obviously, as artists
and craftsmen, they also are concerned with their medium of expression — film —
and they take great strides to present their ideas in an entertaining way;
otherwise, no one would pay to see what they have produced. Thus, while money is
the bottom line when it comes to major motion pictures, it's not the only line,
and we must not forget the central place of the worldview message that is the
basis for the story being presented. Filmmakers are first and foremost
storytellers.
Worldview Thinking Begins With God
To drive home the point that watching movies is a
worldview matter, take one more example. By writing and directing The Matrix
trilogy, Larry and Andy Wachowski captured the imagination of this generation.
In a 1999 Time magazine interview, the brothers reveal why they write
stories for film:
We're interested in mythology, theology, and to a
certain extent, higher level mathematics. All the ways human beings try to
answer bigger questions, as well as The Big Question … If you are going to do
epic stories you should concern yourself with those issues. People might not
understand all the allusions in the movie, but they understand the important
ideas. We wanted to make people think, engage their minds a bit.[3]
The Wachowski brothers want people to think about "the big
question," which is which is the foundational worldview question, "What about
God?" This is the starting point for everyone's worldview, and how that question
is answered has implications for every other area of life.
To see how this works, consider how the question of God is
central to The Truman Show, the 1998 hit comedy directed by Peter Weir
and starring Jim Carey and Ed Harris. Truman, played by Carey, is a man who has
lived his entire life confined within an enormous Hollywood studio, never
realizing his every move was seen live by millions of television viewers around
the world, 24/7. Everyone in his life is an actor, playing the part of wife,
neighbors, and friends, yet Truman was playing himself. Talk about the ultimate
reality show! But Truman begins to suspect all is not as it appears on his
soundstage world, and he determines to walk off the set.
In the final scene, Truman makes his way in a boat to the
edge of the "ocean" and locates a set of stairs leading to an exit door.[4]
As Truman opens the door, the voice of the show's director, Christof (Ed
Harris), comes booming down from the clouds. Being startled at this strange
event, Truman asks three questions. The first is, "Who are you?" The clear
implication is, "Who are you … God?" How do we know this is the message? In
addition to the visual clue of the camera angle pointing up into the clouds, the
viewer is led to conclude Truman is referring to God by the way Christof
answers, "I'm the creator (and he pauses for a half-second for emphasis before
continuing) of a television show that gives happiness and meaning to millions."
There is no getting around it, this scene leads the audience to understand that
Christof is playing "God" in the life of Truman.
Truman next asks, "Then who am I?" (the question of
psychology). After pondering Christof's response, Truman inquires, "Was nothing
real?" (a key philosophical question). As it turns out, everyone on the planet
is interested in the answers to Truman's questions. That's because these
questions are foundational to understanding the meaning of life. Added to these
central questions are (at least) seven others that, taken together, form the
majority of one's total world and life view. These questions divide among ten
major disciplines of study. Here is a list of the ten disciplines and key
question(s) associated with each one:
- Theology: Is God real and what is God like?
- Philosophy: What is the nature of reality and how do we
know what is true?
- Biology: What is the origin of life?
- Psychology: What is the nature of man?
- Ethics: What is morally right and wrong?
- Sociology: How should society be structured?
- Law: How should we maintain justice?
- Politics: How should government should be structured?
- Economics: How should we steward the resources that God
has given us?
- History: What can we learn from the past and where is
history headed?
As the Wachowski brothers affirm, if these are the issues
that give life meaning, then any good story will revolve around one or more of
them. In order to understand today's generation and effectively communicate to
their spiritual needs, the discerning disciple of Jesus Christ will consider the
answers provided in the story as it is presented on the silver screen.
Resources
Engaging Popular Culture: Worldviews in Movies and
Music is an entertaining and educational multi-media presentation
featuring clips from award winning movies and lyrics from popular songs
revealing significant themes that shape our culture. It also discusses biblical
guidelines for encouraging Christians to be more discerning when it comes to
their entertainment choices. Presented by Chuck Edwards, popular speaker for
Summit Ministries, the set contains four DVD's. You may order this resource from
Summit's online bookstore at www.summit.org.
Hollywood Worldviews, By Brian Godawa (InterVarsity,
2002)
Endnotes
-
www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/lucas_g.html
- Quoted in John Soriano, "WGA.ORG's Exclusive Interview
with David Franzoni," WGA, www.wga.org/craft/interviews/franzoni2001.html.
- "Popular Metaphysics," by Richard Corliss, Time
(April 19, 1999).
- By the way, here's the world's shortest lesson in Film
Appreciation 101 at no extra charge. Everything in a movie is done for a
certain effect. For example, at the end of this scene, when Truman opens
the exit door we see only darkness on the other side. This was done on
purpose. Think about it for a minute. The screenwriter could have written this
scene any way he wanted to. On the other side of the door, there could be
bright sunshine, tall trees, green grass, chirping birds, guys going by on
skate boards! Instead, the doorway was dark. What does darkness represent?
While darkness can symbolize several things, such as evil (the bad guys wear
black hats!), in this scene it signifies the unknown. Since Truman has never
experienced the "real" world, the screenwriter visually reinforces this idea
by having him step into darkness. Every detail of the movie is significant:
what is said and how it is said, the camera angle, the set design, the choice
of color used for the set and costumes, the lighting, even what's on the other
side of a doorway. Therefore, the discerning viewer must pay close attention
to the details to understand the message of the movie. [I think this footnote
is an overstatement. As everyone knows, in the film version of The Fellowship
of the King, there is a scene when a car passes in the distance. If we are to
apply the logic here, we should ask, "What effect was the director going for
when he had that car pass in the distance? I'm not sure how to tone down this
footnote, but if we can't, my vote is to take it out all together.]
From Summit Ministries- 9/19/05.
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