My good buddy Hank and I went to a movie on Friday night... Hank and I get together for a bite to eat and a movie every so often, and I usually try to pick movies that are more towards the softer and gentler side.
We went to see Bridge to Terabithia, which I knew very little about at the time though I have now learned that it is a movie based on a very popular kids book of the same name by Katherine Patterson. I was just going by the fact that it was a solid "B" pick by critics and yahoo readers, and seemed a much less graphic pic than, oh, say "300" which was debuting as well.
The movie's rough plotline follows "An 11-year-old boy has his life changed forever when he befriends the class outsider, a girl. Together they create the world of Terabithia, an imaginary kingdom filled with giants, trolls and other magical."
I loved the imagination of the movie, and it really was a fun film. Yet, it also takes these insidious jabs at Christianity. Though not falling into the usual categories of disapproval, aka sex, violence, etc, the film paints Christianity as a religion based on artificial fear-mongering that must be overcome with the "purity of one's imagination..." Secular characters are presented as free-thinking, free-expressing, and likable. Christian characters are dull, plodding, and uninspiring.
Ahh, the foolishness of this world, to keep selling this lie that "everyone is good on the inside just the way they are..." It really just motivates me to try and live more openly before a watching world. Christians need to show the world that yes, we are serious about sin, but only in the sense that you don't have much appreciation for grace if you haven't first considered sin. Grace only becomes amazing when you realize that it is offered to you, a sinner, who doesn't deserve it but so desperately needs it...
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3 comments:
i've always considered myself dull, plodding and uninspiring. in fact, that's what i like most about Jesus. he never surprises, always acting the same, drudging through life condemning the poor and distraught with the same 10 lectures that white-beard brought down from the mountain. if i ever feel happy and want to be depressed again i simply read the bible and feel downtrodden. or maybe it's the other way around.
Your interpretation is interesting. But have you considered that this wasn't meant as a commentary on religion, but as an analysis of children's imagination and ability to cope with difficult - and eventually tragic - situations?
The book was based on the son of Katherine Paterson, whose best friend was killed by lightning when they were 8.
Symbolism can bridge the gap of ANY two desultory topics. That doesn't mean that they were ever intended to be connected. The Bible and Narnia, yes. But Terabithia and modern Christianity? I don't think so.
Great background, and neat to understand more about the author...
Don't know about the book, but the movie brings about a not-so-subtle theme of dissatisfaction with the christian ideal of salvation.
Thanks for the post!
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