Naomi, I Think I Love You.

I was listening to random country/punk/ska songs the other day and I discovered Less Than Jake’s rendition of I Think I Love You. I still remember the day that I first realized I was in love with my wife. Well, she wasn’t actually my wife then. She was just a really good friend. I thought that she like somebody else so i didn’t want her to know that I loved her. Anyway, the few lines that I quoted below the video are totally me.

So this song’s for you Naomi! I really love you and I hope you get better soon.

I hold my pillow to my head and spring up in my bed
Screaming out the words I dread,

I think I love you

This morning I woke up with this feeling
I didn’t know how to deal with
And so I just decided to myself I’d hide it to myself
And never talk about it
And didn’t I go and shout it when you walked into the room,

I think I love you

Shhh! We’re Trying to Watch the Movie.

Everybody knows how to watch a movie but not everybody knows how to watch a movie well. There is a difference between simply watching movies for entertainment and watching a movie to really interact with it.

It occurred to me a few years ago that people probably don’t make movies so that audiences can be mindlessly entertained. I think that there are a variety of ways in which movies are meant to interact with us. Some movies capture our imaginations and make us wish that we could enter their world. We follow the cast on a wild journey and kinda wish that we too could get swept up into something beyond the daily grind.

Some movies help us to confront the horrors that litter the landscapes of history. These are usually war movies about real people or tales of superheroes from other planets. The Band of Brothers, Spiderman, Superman, Transformers, and Saving Private Ryan all help us to confront and perhaps even battle the forces of evil, if only on the silver screen.

There are other movies though, that are not grand adventures and they do not portray cosmic battles between good and evil. They are movies that remind us about everyday life and yet somehow they still manage to capture our imaginations and maybe even our hearts, if only for an hour and a half. Here I have in mind movies such as Reign Over Me, Little Miss Sunshine and Juno. They are movies about real people; you probably know these characters in real life. There is something about these movies that we can all connect with. These stories star dysfunctional families and half-hearted friendships. The characters are always a little naive and make fools of themselves. They’re a little like us. In these characters we see the effects of the tragedies of life. If we were smart we’d stop and reflect and realize there is something to be learned from these characters. Out of tragedy often comes unity. A real unity among the characters that would not have been there if tragedy had not shook them out of their routine.

I think that one thing that stops Christians from watching movies well is that we are too easily offended and too quick to ignore things that seem sinful. We bypass movies that have bad language because they make us uncomfortable, but by doing this I think we’re throwing the baby out with the bath water. I mentioned Reign Over Me, Little Miss Sunshine and Juno. These movies are full of bad language. They probably rank among the worst movies for language that I have seen. But interestingly enough, I think the bad language was fitting, I think it was needed. In one way or another these movies are about real people. Sure, they’re a little rough around the edges but then so are you.

The real world is full of people that use bad language. Christians are called to be a light to the world and to interact with the world and show the way to God. Are we going to ignore people who use bad language? Of course not. So why ignore the movies? These movies can help us to reflect on life. They can teach us something about sympathizing with those who face tragedy. The filthy language forces us to consider just how bad the situation is for them.

Don’t get me wrong. I think that there are many movies that just have no taste. I don’t particularly enjoy movies that are full of senseless violence and sensational language and themes. Sometimes bad language is necessary because bad language is real. Sex is real. War is real. Inner struggles are real. Life doesn’t come with a mute button or an R rating, you never know what you’re going to get. I think good movies wrestle with the perplexities of life. But I think a good movie ought to remind us of the way life could be, the way life should be and the way life was meant to be.

I’ve included a couple video clips from a radio show called Stand to Reason. The host, Greg Koukl, spends some time talking about watching movies in general and also discusses Juno and Prince Caspian. I think we could learn a thing or two from him when it comes to watching movies. Check out these clips especially if you’ve seen the movies.