Pretty much the best movie of the year. I would even take the sacriligeous leap and say that it’s better than Revenge of the Sith. My analysis will come after the completion of my finals. Until then, for all of you chaps who have an easy time, go watch this movie at least 3 or 4 more times, and read the books a few dozen times too.

This title’s a bit deceiving, I’ll admit. I apologize for the delay in updating – there have been many thing I have wanted to discuss and ruminate, but alas, not enough time to put it all into writing.

So what’s the meaning of this title? Well, I just finished watching M. Night Shyamalan’s movie, The Village. It tells the story of a quiet village whose inhabitants hold an uneasy truce with dangerous mythical creatures living in the forest around them. Imprisoned by fear, they are unwilling to go beyond the borders of their village, not even to save the lives of their loved ones. Unfortunately, I can’t say much more for fear of giving the whole story away, but what was really interesting was not so much the plot but as much M. Night Shyamalan’s ability to weave the spiritual into his theatrical masterpieces. The Village is no exception. What is even more uncanny is the knowledge that M. Night Shyamalan professes not to be a Christian. For someone who doesn’t identify with Christ, the themes of his movies certainly carry quite a bit of spiritual significance.

Without revealing anything from the movie, I’ll just say that I found at least two major truths from Scripture that were illuminated by the film. First, the film illustrated in a very real way that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The village, though having every appearance of being completely innocent, still has its share of fear and evil. I think it’s really neat to see the honesty that Shyamalan injects into the movie, that the evil we face most is not always outside, but inside. Jesus Himself said that “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matthew 15:18-19).

Secondly, the movie “briefly” touches on love. One of the characters says, “The world moves for love. It kneels before it in awe.” Counter that with the words of John: “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16, emphasis mine). When the world considers pure, true, agape love, it is astonished, because everything about agape runs contrary to the way the world views things. One of the characters in the movie bravely volunteers to travel beyond the borders of the village in order that they might save the life of someone they love. Love gives us the courage to face the fears that trouble us. John actually continues on in verse 18: “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” I think this movie demonstrates the power of love, that it is strong enough to illuminate the darkness that fear brings.

And for the last point I want to make, here is one of my favorite lines, delivered by one of the men of the village: “Why can you not stop saying what is in yours? Why must you lead, when I want to lead? If I want to dance I will ask you to dance. If I want to speak I will open my mouth and speak. Everyone is forever plaguing me to speak further. Why? What good is it to tell you you are in my every thought from the time I wake? What good can come from my saying that I sometimes cannot think clearly or do my work properly? What gain can rise of my telling you the only time I feel fear as others do is when I think of you in harm?”

Throughout the movie, the young women seem to desire the attention of the young men of the village. Yet, instead of waiting for the men to lead and initiate the relationships, the women place themselves forward – often leading to heartbreaking consequences. Such is the course of life even now. Society tells women that it’s okay for them to initiate, to “take the lead when others follow.” Yet, as this man blurts out, this often comes to aggrieve men who desire to be strong and to lead as God intended. Time after time, whenever women become so impatient with men’s laziness that they choose to take matters into their own hands, the men let them. And the frustration is compounded, because instead of fulfilling the roles ingrained into our purest essence, both men and women end up losing the identities they desired to have the most. That quote made me want to cheer with that character, because I’ve seen women who mean well initiate because they thought the men were working too slowly, and become frustrated because the men won’t do anything. I’d better get off this soap box before I slip and break something.

Anyways, there are my thoughts on the movie. An excellent film, though the twist at the end was not nearly as dramatic as I thought (but that’s because I had already guessed what was going on before it was said). Yeah, I know, I’m a nerd. Well, until next time!

In the wake of all of these new “modern” translations of the Bible, I pose this question. What if the Bible was “paraphrased” with the Star Wars fan in mind? Perhaps there would be quotes like this (some of these ideas courtesy of Danny):

• Jesus’ reply to Peter’s confession of Christ (Matthew 16:13-20): “Great, kid. Don’t get cocky!”


• Jesus to Peter after Peter cuts off the servant’s ear (Mark 6:1-6): “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”


• About Zacchaeus the Tax Collector (Luke 19:1-10): “Aren’t you a little short for a tax collector?”


• When Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26): “I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur.”


• What Herod might have said to the Magi when they were looking for the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12): “Looking? Found someone I would say, hmmm??? Hehehehehehehehe!!!”


• Jesus’ claim to be God (John 10:30, in context v. 22-42): “I am your Father.”


• A description of Christ (Colossians 1:17): “He surrounds us and penetrates us, and binds the universe together.”


• Paul talks about our new spiritual state in Christ (Romans 8:10, 1 Corinthians 6:19): “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”

And now for some hypothetical situations:

• Jacob’s reaction to hearing about Joseph in Egypt: “A ranking official in Egypt? Gee, I’m out of it for a while and everyone gets delusions of grandeur!”


• Satan to Jesus in the wilderness: “If you will not be turned, then you will be destroyed!”


• Possible exchange between Jonathan and David: “Together again.” “Wouldn’t miss it.” “How we doin’?” “Same as always.” “That bad, huh?”


• God to Elijah in the desert after the incident at Mt. Carmel: “You cannot hide forever.”


• The priests on Mt. Carmel: “We’re doomed.”


• Ackbar at Kidron: “It’s a trap!”


• When Paul preached to the Bereans, he might have said something like this - “Search the Scriptures; you know it to be true.”

I got to watch The Incredibles last night with some fun friends of mine. It was definitely an incredible movie. Computer graphics have really improved over the last 15 years or so. I was really excited to see the concepts I learned in my Computer Graphics fleshed out on screen (no pun intended). The lighting was excellent, the resolution was amazing, and real-time interaction engines for all of the different elements in each scene blew me away. If God were to point me in a direction other than medicine, I would hope that He sends me in the direction of graphics.

As far as the actual content of the movie, I must say that I haven’t laughed that hard in a while. Pixar/Disney has a talent for creating funny movies. Of course, being the overanalyzer I am, I proceeded to break down the motifs and themes I saw in the movie on the trip back to the dorms (sorry, Mitch). I also thought about applications I could make to real life (good and bad).

1. We were created for something incredible. Each of us can sense that there is a greater purpose for our lives than mediocrity and anonymity. While I wouldn’t say that we’re super-heroes, but there really is something within us that resonates with the frustration of Bob Parr. For men, at least, we long to fight the battles, live dangerously, and use our strengths to help people. Being forced to sit at a boring desk job with no outlet for our God-given masculinity is frustrating. For similar thoughts, read books such as Wild At Heart and Waking The Dead, or any other books by John Eldredge.


2. Men and women are different. While this is not a surprise to me or many others, I think you can see this played out in how Bob and Helen handle situations. Bob, as the leader and protector of his family, believes that he needs to shoulder the burden of protection alone. I remember hearing something from a Men’s Frat session about how post-WWII men knew a great deal about sacrifice and protection, but very little about leading within a family. Bob was doing the best he could to provide for his family and protect them from evil. However, there was a clear rift between him and the children, because he was so preoccupied with work and protection that he didn’t relate to them. Helen then was forced to be the administration at home, having her advice and ideas usurped whenever the kids appealed to their dad. From this style of leadership came a great deal of disunity. Later, as Bob began to open up to his family and they see his weaknesses, they are able to work together as a team. On Helen’s side, she was a very capable heroine in her own right, before she married Bob. She’s strong, resilient, and flexible (I confess, that’s a stretch…okay, okay, enough of the puns). Seriously though, switching roles from being super hero to full-time mom was a challenge she willingly accepted. As a wife, she wanted to support and help her husband in any way she could. For all of the heart she had placed in her family, she was often trampled, contradicted, and disregarded by Bob and the children. Yet, her persistence and faithfulness to her family helped keep the family together. This one’s getting a bit long, so I’ll move on.


3. “I never look back, darling. It distracts me from the now.” C. S. Lewis wrote something similar to this in his book, The Screwtape Letters. If our thoughts are constantly stuck in the past, we will never fully appreciate the present. Since we only live in the present, the past is part of the Enemy’s arsenal of weapons to keep us from “making the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5). For more reading, see Isaiah 43:18 and Philippians 3.


4. “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders…” (Colossians 4:5). Mr. Incredible wouldn’t have had to deal with Syndrome if he had treated Syndrome’s younger self with greater respect and grace. Sure, Syndrome was a bit annoying, and got in the way of what needed to be done, but Mr. Incredible could have also seen the incredible influence he had on this kid (pun intended). Since it’s only a movie, I won’t analyze this one more, but it does make me wonder, are there younger people who consider me their role model? How do I treat them? How can I challenge them to “follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1)?


5. Idol worship is bad. Hero worship is the same thing. We see this all the time in society – kids are enamored of celebrities and the “heroes” in their lives. Somewhere along the line, they become disillusioned because like every other person, these heroes and celebrities fall and show their human side. Honestly, I’m not sure how I’d explain this to my kids (assuming I have some when I grow up). I do know one thing: Jesus Christ should be center of all of our worship and affection. Only our perfect and righteous God will never disappoint us.