Movies
I can remember my first trip to the movies. My family was vacationing in the south west of England and the weather turned royally nasty. We sought shelter and distraction in the cinema and enjoyed a Disney double feature: The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin and The Jungle Book. I was transported into the Wild West in the former and into an animated tropical habitat populated by singing animals in the latter. I can’t recall much of Roddy McDowall’s heroics but I can recite The Bare Necessities!
I grew up in a conservative religious subculture where movie going was frowned upon. My early forays into film going were as a result, sporadic at best. The occasional Disney flick was kosher but James Bond was bad news. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang got the seal of approval and we attended as a family with my aunt and uncle. Watching Zeppelin required a covert operation. With the growing freedom of adolescence, I ventured off on my own incurring disapproval as I watched Tommy, Towering Inferno or the instantly forgettable, Slade in Fame.
At times, my movie going has been a visceral encounter. I wept as Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro) experienced a metamorphosis in The Mission. I swelled with nationalistic pride, as an exiled Scot ,when William Wallace ( Mel Gibson) energized the Scots hemorrhaging from the battle field with the "Sons of Scotland” speech and defiantly declared ,”Freedom!” at his execution. I was incensed and infuriated by the rape scene in Rob Roy when Mary MacGregor (Jessica Lange) is violated. I was agitated by Oscar Romero’s’ (Raul Julia) prophetic stance against the El Salvadorian repression and sobbed at his martyrdom. My afternoon viewing of Hotel Rwanda had me reflecting on what I had seen and heard later that evening. I Have Never Forgotten You, a documentary exploring the life and legacy of Simon Wiesenthal was both sobering and inspiring.
We could fruitfully chat and correspond about movies that have moved us. We could explore together why we were impacted .The issue we grappled with at our inaugural Kindlings Canada West LIVE event was watching movies thoughtfully. Os Guinness remarked that we must watch television “worldviewishly”. The same can be said of film. Check out our podcast, “Movies and Meaning” and enjoy!
