Principles: Engaging with film
Whether we’re watching a light-hearted farcical comedy, a serious historical drama, a science fiction thriller, or any other kind of film, and whether the film operates by portraying the reality of Beauty or the reality of ugliness, we should engage with film in ways that seek to move our hearts to better love the things God loves. Some films may move us directly, while with others we may not quite “get it” until we spend time reflecting on, even studying the film.
Engaging well with film is like a habit that we develop, not a checklist or set of rules that we follow. We needn’t take every film we see and run it through the wringer of heavyweight, detailed analysis. In learning to engage well with film, we are not chemists following a formula, we are more like piano students building muscle memory as we practice playing. Muscle memory is only the foundation — the real Beauty in playing piano comes when the pianist achieves an intuitive grasp of musical expression. There are important principles to understand about engaging well with film, but the idea is to become fluent in the basic skills, so that we might attain the real Beauty of seeking, finding, and being enriched, enlivened, and strengthened by the heart of a film.
There are two parts to engaging with film. First, we must get ourselves out of the way and do our best to receive and hear what the film itself is saying. Second, we move on to the more active phase of exploring to find the heart of the film, and then discerning how that heart should affect us. Principles for engaginng with film include:
Receiving what the film itself is doing
If film is to be a channel for Christian growth, then engaging with film must be about more than us simply escaping to the theater for two hours of serving our own self-centered likes and dislikes. If during a film, we’re merely judging it based on our own desires, prejudices, and fantasy worlds, we will be much less likely to take anything but pleasure (or disdain) away from the film — it won’t be able to reach our hearts or change us. Instead, we must open ourselves to where the film would take us. To open an receive a film:
- Don’t expect a single film to bear the full weight of all truth. A common criticism is that a film left something out, and thus the “message” it delivered was incomplete. Consider this: A single book of the Bible is not sufficient to communicate all of God’s truth, so why should we expect a single film to do so? We should listen first for what the film is saying, not for what it’s not saying. If we think a truth is missing from a film, we should hold this merely as an observation for potential later consideration. Then we might assess what it has left out in relation to what the film itself is doing. It will be a credit to the film if we can say, “It presented something true, insofar as it goes, and there are other truths that we should consider along with it.”
- Take the film on its own terms — release, and go where the film takes you. The first step toward understanding what a film is trying to do is to enter the world of the film. Let its operating principles take over. In both the broad overview and in the details, ask what the film is focusing on. How is it asking you to suspend disbelief or go with the flow of shortcuts it may take? Rather than demanding that the film present a typical situation, let it present an unusual or strange situation. Let the film ask, “What if?” Let it go beyond the normal and give us a perspective from the outside looking in. If we watch a film and don’t understand where it’s going, it is better for us as viewers to remain confused, saying, “I don’t know what the film was trying to do” rather than to judge the film based on our own prejudices and expectations.
- Stay in the story; stay in the film. A film tells one story, not all stories for all people. There are a huge variety of people in the world, and one film cannot portray them all. There are average people; there are very strange people. There are people with unique skills; there are stereotypical people. There are multiple ways that a film might use stereotypes to create effects. Maybe there’s a ditzy woman, or jerk of a guy, or a crazed military officer, or whatever — don’t assume the film is saying that all such people are like that. Perhaps the film is trying to catch us in our own stereotyped attitudes. Treat the characters as individuals, not archetypes. Connect with how these particular people live out these particular situations. On the other hand, some films intend to deal in archetypes, but we should look for evidence in the film that this is intended and to what degree.
- Go beyond face value — context can change anything. Just because you see an ugly thing on the surface of a film, don’t assume that is the heart of the film. It is the context of and relationships between the elements in the film that point to the heart of the film. Objectionable surface elements may be simply presenting the details of reality as it truly is. Juxtapositions are more important than positions. It is certainly possible that negative aspects are overdone in the film, but 1) discerning this is less important than getting to the real heart of the film, 2) whether it’s overdone depends on what the film is trying to do, which may include helping us to feel the pain of ugly things, and 3) these are matters of degree and discernment, upon which reasonable and godly people may disagree, and therefore places to exercise grace and forbearance.
- Observe and feel how it all adds up. Approach the film first with your heart, and having entered the film’s world, aim to understand the core emotions of the film. Observe how you feel at various points in the film, which is different than how you feel about the film — that comes later. Approach the film holistically; observe before judging. If you dislike individual aspects of the film, if some things don’t seem to fit, try viewing them from the point of view of the film’s core emotions. How do characters or actions or juxtapositions in the film contribute to or contrast with the film’s core emotions? Put together the whole and feel where the heart of the film is — and it may be a multifaceted heart. The film may be doing multiple things at the same time. Emotions are the primary mode in which a film should operate and, guided by the goodness and truth of God’s ways, emotions are the source of heart-level transformation that we seek as greatest commandment Christians. The danger of emotional manipulation is not a reason to avoid films; it is merely a reason to learn to be wiser in our discernment and engagement with them.
Finding the film’s heart and discerning its impact
The foundation for discernment with film is, of course, God’s Word. It is our primary source for rational input for the Way, the Truth, and the Life — for understanding what God loves as Good, True, and Beautiful. The Bible also, in its artistic modes of poetry and story, provides a primary source of non-rational input. We seek to guide and correct our emotional responses to a film by aligning them with what God loves. Yet we must be humble enough to realize that, although the Bible is fully True, our understanding of it is not. When we put a film and the Word together, it can go two ways: The Bible can help us to process and understand what we see in film, but also film can give us perspectives from which to process and correct our understanding of the Bible. In discernment with a film, we should:
- Be charitable. Start by assuming that there is something in the film through which God’s heart can reach you, if you can only look closely enough to find it. Everyone’s a critic, and it’s easy to find something wrong, but if we look for the good in the film, we are in a stronger posture to hear the Spirit speaking. This is not to say we shouldn’t do critical evaluation of a film, but rather that critical evaluation is a poor path to the heart — our hearts can be reached even if the quality of a film is not the highest. If something doesn’t work in the plot, or in an actor’s stiffness, or in the pacing of the film, or something else, try to look past it to the heart of the film. If the film dwells on ugliness, remember that the good in a film may come in reverse, as it were, and look for how your heart might be strengthened in despising ugliness. Our charity toward a film is, in essence, charity toward the filmmakers. Approach it as if you had just watched a film made by a neighbor of yours — because it was created by a neighbor of yours.
- Listen to the little things and the small voice. A film that deeply explores complex questions is often not simple to process. It may not give us clear, direct statements of where its heart is. We have to listen very carefully to little details and nuances in the film. Likely enough, good will be hidden inside ugliness — and ugliness will be hidden inside good. The little things are often the clues that guide us — both little things we see in the film and the little nagging questions that stick in our hearts and minds. A film may present itself as a conundrum, a mystery, a paradox that we’re not really sure how to unravel. It is often a small key that unlocks a big paradox, and we must overcome our tendency to overlook the small things. In minor themes and minor characters, in subplots and in set details, we may find small aspects of the film that put large aspects of the film into perspective. As we slow down and reflect on small things, aiming to take in the whole film, rather than only the main parts, we give the Spirit an opportunity to bring to us feelings and thoughts that lead us toward the heart of God.
- Ask questions about the film. First impressions are tricky, especially with film. Too often we are quick to jump to conclusions. Even if our off-hand judgments about a film are ultimately proven correct, quick conclusions cheat us out of the richer and deeper development of our hearts that God might do if we spend time wrestling with a film. By asking questions about the film, perhaps even questions that seem to have obvious answers, we give more opportunity for the Spirit to bring us to connections and perspectives that we may not have caught. In a spirit of charity toward the film, ask questions aimed to bring out the good in the film. When something doesn’t seem to work, ask what view it would take to make it work, then try out that point of view for a while. In the end, the answers to charitable questions may still expose weaknesses in the film. We should be honest about such weaknesses — but honest and loving at the same time, just as we would be toward a new found friend. When asking about biblical themes in the film, look first for how the film provides embodiments of Scripture. For example, we want to see, in concrete terms, what “husbands love your wives” looks like — especially in difficult situations. Be slow to artificially lay a Scriptural parallel on top of the film — it may be your own pious projections on to the film, using the film to make some unrelated spiritual point, but not really part of the film itself.
- Experience the film’s Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Questions are important because they help us to tune in to things we might not otherwise see. We must, however, take care so that academic and rational analysis doesn’t derail us from the truest impact that comes when our hearts connect with how the film embodies Goodness, Truth, and Beauty (even when the embodiment is in the negative, through their opposites). We want our hearts to “get it” as to why something was good (or not). We want our hearts to feel more deeply the beauty (or ugliness) in the characters’ hearts and choices and actions. Where was the turn of heart, the point of learning, the heart transformation that allowed the husband to (or prevented him from) loving the wife in a Beautiful way? Precisely what was it that made something a loving action? What change would have made it non-loving? We might be able to answer these questions academically, but we want more: We want the answers to resonate in our hearts. We want to experience, albeit vicariously, the forks in the road that take the characters down paths toward Beauty or paths toward ugliness so that we might better recognize similar forks in our own paths.
- Fit the film to your (God’s) worldview. To guard against deception, Christians often respond to film with worldview bazookas, ready to blast a film and call it bad because it portrays a worldview not consistent with Christian principles. We do not need to be afraid of the worldviews of other belief systems; though we walk in the shadows, our God walks with us. When we are truly seeking Him, He is always there to guide us, to protect us, and to teach us. We need to learn other worldviews. If we understand only a Christian worldview, we can speak only from a Christian worldview, and it will be harder to find common ground with those who don’t know what a Christian worldview is like. To find common ground with those of other belief systems — and sometimes even to understand what they are saying — we need to understand something of how other worldviews work. Besides, other worldviews are not all bad — we can learn from other views. But there’s something more: We endanger ourselves if we attempt to live entirely secluded inside a Christian worldview, because lies can subtly enter even our own worldviews. If we are truly seeking God’s heart, living in community with others seeking God’s heart, and trusting Him and His Spirit, we can see an ugly worldview in a film, understand it, even learn from it, and not be taken in.
- Ask: “Where am I in this?” Having experienced the film’s Goodness, Truth, and Beauty and adjusted the film’s content and worldview to fit within ours (God’s), personalize and drive home the film’s impact by asking where you are in relation to the film and the characters in the film. But there’s a particular way in which this works best. While you may find a character that you like or with whom you relate directly, you’re likely to gain more by asking how you might find yourself in a character you don’t like. But the way to ask the question is not to wonder whether you are just like the character, it’s how much or when are you like the character? Are you a little bit like the character? Do you only sometimes do something like what the character did? Or is it a bit worse than that — or a lot worse? It is easy to identify with characters and actions that you like; it is hard to lean into the pain of discovering our ugly sides, but that’s what it takes to grow.
- Take in Beauty — turn from non-Beauty. Open your heart enough to be moved. Receive into your heart the Beauty of laughter and love and kindness and grace. Let them infuse and mold and change your heart. Let them reinforce the Beauty God has already written on your heart. Keep them as memories that may come to mind to draw you toward Beauty in your daily thoughts and actions. By contrast, let ugliness reverse-mold your heart, as it were, like the way you would run from a skunk. Let your heart’s feeling of repulsion be strengthened by meanness, impatience, pride, self-centeredness, and all other manner of ugliness. We don’t want to wallow in ugliness in the name of “entertainment” nor do we need a film to show us ugliness just to be reminded that it exists. What we do need is to better understand the roots of ugliness, pull them from the soil of our hearts, and let God write Beauty there instead.
RSS
Atom