LongDistanceConversations
Last night I was trying to make a list of my favorite movies, and the common thread (thematically) for most of them seemed to be characters finding their humanity (typically their manhood) by fighting the accepted or developing definitions in their culture at large. Two such examples are Fight Club and Good Will Hunting.
In both of these movies there is a degree of frustration with normative manliness that is dealt with violently. But interestingly enough I don't see the acts of violence themselves (whether it's Will lashing out at a former schoolmate who "kicked the shit out of me.." or the brutality of the fight clubs) as carrying any expectation of vicory over the world around theses men. The violence portrayed in Good Will Hunting looks like pent-up anger toward life that gets the best of Will. This despite, maybe even because of, his daunting intelligence. In Fight Club the violence is aimed at a goal, but it is not direcly related to toppling the consumer culture that has de-humanized western culture.
In the end the answer seems to be a letting go. Will needs to realease his guilt and fear of failure. For Jack (Edward Norton in Fight Club), and his entire generation, it's necessary to release the ideal to be perfect. In essence these two movies are very similar thematically. And I think that the themes are best summed up by Tyler (Brad Pitt in Fight Club) "I say, let's evolve. Chips fall where they may."
It's time to move on from the desire to be refined and perfect. Maybe humanity needs to have a few crags and crevaces, lending rough edges to our lives and interaction. The picture painted of intended humanity in the Bible may be care-free, but I think much of that stems from the lack of polish applied to YHWH's image (i.e. humanity).
If this post seems, in any way, disjointed, I apologize sincerely. I was really just brainstorming. But it would be slightly more than ironic were I to polish this particular post too much.
Grace and Peace,
Jared
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Share the well
So, here I am in Manta, Ecuador for the next couple of months. When I flew here we stopped for a night in Quito. And as I looked out the windows of my hotel room at the mountains that surround this frenetic city, I was reminded of the words to a Caedmon's Call song:
High above the Valley of Quito
An old man and his bride grow roses
Red and yellow, white and golden
And to him they are precious as children
Their daughter, she moved to America
One more brick in the tower of Babel
She has a son they've never seen at all
And they're praying they raised her well
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
A man, his bride, his children, and his roses
Planted in faith and watered in tears
Honey, that's all they have, and they're happier here
Than any of my friends back home
They've met Jesus and they really know Him
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
Now I'm back at home, all alone, and trying to find my thoughts
About that old man, so inspiring, but the TV's always on
And the phone, it won't stop ringing, and these bills, they keep on screaming
To pay for all the things that we have never really needed
And I wonder what he's doing right now
Maybe walking through his simple field and thinking about how
God has blessed him so
A man, his bride, his children, and his roses
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
I've thought about those lyrics before coming to this country. But somehow, staring out of a window, with the thin air barely filling my lungs, wondering if I'm looking at that old man's home hit me with all the reality I'd missed before. It makes me think aobut the nature of our experiences, in the (post)modern, 21st century US. We leach on to movies, music, books and TV as our own knowledge and understanding. And in turn we alienate oursleves from actually experiancing. I want to go find that man and his wife. I want to smell his roses and look down at the valley. I don't know if I ever will, but the idea is inspiring.
Grace and Peace,
Jared
High above the Valley of Quito
An old man and his bride grow roses
Red and yellow, white and golden
And to him they are precious as children
Their daughter, she moved to America
One more brick in the tower of Babel
She has a son they've never seen at all
And they're praying they raised her well
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
A man, his bride, his children, and his roses
Planted in faith and watered in tears
Honey, that's all they have, and they're happier here
Than any of my friends back home
They've met Jesus and they really know Him
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
Now I'm back at home, all alone, and trying to find my thoughts
About that old man, so inspiring, but the TV's always on
And the phone, it won't stop ringing, and these bills, they keep on screaming
To pay for all the things that we have never really needed
And I wonder what he's doing right now
Maybe walking through his simple field and thinking about how
God has blessed him so
A man, his bride, his children, and his roses
On the mountain high
They will live and die
As time just slips away
And the children grow
In the God they know
As time just slips away
I've thought about those lyrics before coming to this country. But somehow, staring out of a window, with the thin air barely filling my lungs, wondering if I'm looking at that old man's home hit me with all the reality I'd missed before. It makes me think aobut the nature of our experiences, in the (post)modern, 21st century US. We leach on to movies, music, books and TV as our own knowledge and understanding. And in turn we alienate oursleves from actually experiancing. I want to go find that man and his wife. I want to smell his roses and look down at the valley. I don't know if I ever will, but the idea is inspiring.
Grace and Peace,
Jared
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