My wife and I love movies. Our subscription to Blockbuster’s movie service is one piece of sanity for us in the midst of life with three kids and churchwork. So we watch quite a few movies, including some that may be a little edgier. I do that for quite a few reasons.
One we recently watched was called, “Snow Angels“. It’s one of those you watch and you’re not quite sure how to react when it’s done. It was definitely on the darker side of things. It’s about characters caught in turmoil of disintegrating relationships. There’s also one burgeoning teenage relationship portrayed. The movie ends basically in tragedy.
So how do we react to movies like these? Would Jesus digg them? It’s hard for me to say. I do watch some of these movies because I believe they accurately portray elements of our world. I think they give me insights into the human psyche. At the same time, some of these movies seem so dark, I wonder if they’re simply a negative influence, if they drag a person down. And some dark movies seem dedicated to doing so with little real social commentary. These are ones I don’t think Jesus would digg. (I’ve had debates with people about such movies, e.g. the recent Academy Award Winner, “No Country for Old Men”) For me to want to watch a movie on this darker side of the spectrum, I want something in the movie to make me think harder, to help me learn something. Some dark movies may be captivating, but if it doesn’t offer hope or insight, I’m not sure it’s helpful.
I think Snow Angels gave me some new insights. It certainly says some interesting things about relationships, especially the effects of broken marriages and how the consequences can cause things to spin out of control affecting many different people, even beyond the immediate family (E.g. when one person’s marriage breaks, are they then tempted to hurt someone else’s marriage as in this movie). Of course there are some elements I don’t like in this movie too (e.g. how teen sexuality is oftentimes portrayed as such a wonderful thing without real social and emotional consequences).
Where do you come out on such movies? Do they help you understand our culture better? Do you want to do so even? Is it worth it?
Tags: dark movies, faith, Snow Angels
At my age (old) I’ve probably experienced most relationships, either with spouse, children or friends. With time and work they all turn out well. Now when I watch a movie I don’t want a deep message, just fun entertainment. I want to smile when the movie is over. I’ll leave it to you young ones to find “new insight” in the movies. Anita
I think it’s worthwhile to watch these types of movies as long as you’re willing to put the work into actually thinking about the movie. I read a book last year (I can’t remember the title at the moment) which discussed the importance of thinking about the worldview portrayed in every movie we watch. It’s amazing how much more there is to a movie (good and bad) that we may think is purely for entertainment but is giving us messages about the world. Messages about hope, right and wrong, etc. are present in every movie. I think that’s in large part because every movie is a story that someone is telling, and that story comes from someone’s worldview.
Just found the title. Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films With Wisdom & Discernment by Brian Godawa
I’m going to have to check that book out. Movies (and tv for that matter) are so much one of the languages spoken amongst people today. I like being able to engage people when they mention movies and what they thought of them. It’s almost another one of those issues where you can dislike it if you want, but you’re hardly going to change it. The question is largely- how are we going to use our influence and how are we going to leverage things?