Most people don’t know how to digest the information they get in a news article, let alone a movie or television show. When we read the news, we often miss how the news story relates to other news stories, the whole of current events, and what the news reporter believes about the news they reported. We get guided to believe something about the news without using our thought processes to digest the information, but we should. Likewise, as a great culture study exercise, we ought to methodically deduce the meaning and significance of entertainment. Contemplate movies with the following simple rules of thought.
Watch a film without context
The first time you watch a film, don’t assume there is a hidden message or agenda. Go ahead and see if one jumps out at you, but don’t assume there is one. The better the filmmakers, the better they will craft the intended meanings into the story, and you may want to come away agreeing with them entirely in their view of the world.
Then again, you may not discern their intended meaning, but relate the the story in a film all in your own unique way. In so doing, you get something that no one else appreciates till you tell others what you got from the film. But if you are inclined to do so, be careful that you are clear in communicating the subtleties you gathered from the film.
Watch the film again in context
Consider the film director and his perspective on good and evil. If you can know something about the writers, get their view of the world as well. If the film was first a book, compare the two. If the film was meant to be a summer blockbuster, or a thoughtful/compelling off-month art-house film, take this into consideration. Is the movie a remake? Is the movie dependent on the stars in the film to attract your attention? Is the script well written? Is the film more about distracting you from life with cheap vignettes of stereotypical humor? What is the quality of the film?
View the content through a Biblical filter
Is there a moral ambiguity that cannot be reconciled with God’s absolute truth? Are the heroes misleading? Are the villains too appealing? Is God’s world debunked and humanism extolled? In the end of the film, are any of these dangerous values reversed to be redemptive with the real world and God’s reality?
If the truth is set free in the movie, will anyone watching it get the point? Is the truth obscured? Are the values of the characters and their actions all a pack of lies? Does any character appreciate or acknowledge the finer qualities of life, the creation, or God’s handiwork? Even if there are multiple worldviews in the story, which there almost always are, do the various view of the world point to their legitimacy or their folly, and the success of a biblical lifestyle?
Don’t take the film too seriously
Not to get too wrapped up in this one piece of art. take a step back from the film and think about something else for a while. See if the film is talked about by others. Does anyone care about the movie? Has it made an impression? Do you, or others you know, want to own it or see it again after the first watch? Why would anyone like the film, honestly? Is it all superficial entertainment value, or is there something at the core of this film that taps into our deep needs to answer the mysteries of life? Even if it does the latter, will this film make any difference 20 years from now? Probably not.
Take the film seriously
But maybe it should make a difference 20 years from now. Maybe you should spread the word about it to others that haven’t heard of it. Do you recognize a moral fable in the film that your close friends would appreciate? Do you see the film positively impacting your life or others? Tell the world that the film should be watched and why. Encourage people to think it through.
The point of it all
Pay attention the end of the last conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. What is the ultimate, definitive, statement the villain argues with the hero, and what is the rebuttal of the protagonist in return? If there isn’t a point in the film this happens (9 out of 10 times in the climax) then does any character contradict the protagonist at the end, and what does the protagonist say in return? That one small piece of dialogue is what the whole movie is about to the writers and directors, and you should take it into careful consideration above all other aspects (good traits and flaws) of the rest of the movie.
