Meditation – Are there any worthwhile action movies to watch? (Part 2)
by Isaac Overton
The following is part of a correspondence with a friend, who asked the question: are there any worthwhile movies to watch?
Dear George,
I expressed my hope to be in touch with you sooner when last I wrote, but - alas! - I may have tripled the waiting period. I hope that this is still a conversation that you are interested in having! At any rate, it has been on my mind for some time to continue our conversation, and I have a moment now - so I shall take it!
In my last email, I made a basic distinction when it comes to recommending movies. On the one hand, there is the quality of the movie itself and, on the other hand, there is the discernment of the one watching the movie. Both need to be taken into consideration, and if either is missed it can be easy to recommend or chose movies that will not be beneficial. I thought that I might take a little time to talk about the second of those two issues first: the discernment of the one watching the movie. I think that the value and benefit of focusing on this first is that if one is discerning, one will be much better positioned to determine whether a movie is beneficial or not for one's self! Additionally, the range of movies one might recommend to another would be more limited if that other person is not a very discerning person. So let's start here and see where it takes us.
In Titus 1:15, we find a very interesting statement: "To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled." I sometimes wondered what that meant when I was younger, but I think in recent times I'm beginning to understand. What this is talking about, I think, is that the essential value of a thing lies as much in our inner-spiritual response to that thing as it does in the thing itself. As one writer pointed out, when King David saw Bathsheba bathing, his inner response was one of lust which gave birth to sin (2 Sam 11). When Phinehas was confronted with a similarly suggestive sight, he picked up his spear, ran the adulterers through, and thus saved his nation from judgment (Num 25:6-9). Both David and Phinehas were confronted with a “sexually explicit” sight, what made the difference was how each man responded in his heart.
When it comes to movies, I think that a similar principle applies – the inner response is very significant. I can remember sitting in the cinema once watching a movie, and there was a very poignant reflective moment that I found quite touching. In the midst of my reverie, an uncouth young man loudly spoke up in the theatre with some vulgar comment not worth repeating. I was astounded that his reaction could be so different from what I was experiencing in that moment. It shocked me. But it illustrates the point well: perhaps the most significant thing about watching a movie is the way in which we find ourselves responding to it in our inner man.
One must always be asking one's self questions like: How am I responding to this? Is this tempting me to sin? Is this hindering me in my love for Christ? Is this beneficial for me in my walk with God and my service to him? What good is this doing me? The answers to those questions will help guide you in determining whether watching the movie has been beneficial or not. Probably doing that process repeatedly will also be a means of training you in discernment. It may also mean hitting the off button mid-movie at times!
But there is something else I think we can say here. Since our response is such a big part of whether or not a movie or a book will be of benefit to us, it's important that we are constantly seeking to improve our level of discernment. In improving our character, our discernment will grow, and we will be better positioned to respond well to the movies that we watch. As Mortimer Adler expresses it in his excellent book "How to Read a Book", reading (or watching in our case) is like catching a ball. The author pitches the book, as it were, but if we don't know how to catch, we're not going to benefit. Movies are similar, we need to be well trained in "catching" them, which means understanding them, analysing them well, and benefiting from them. By the way, I strongly recommend that you read Adler's book!
The question that follows from all of this is: How do we go about improving ourselves? The answer to that is very straight forward! What is most needed is the renewing of our mind and character, and the means God has given us for this renewal is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit as he ministers the Word of God to our inner man (see Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 2). As we remain under the hearing of God's Word (in preaching, our own reading and study of scripture, in fellowship with other believers, in the singing and memorising of scripture, in family worship, and in all other ways), God is pleased to work through his Word by His Spirit to renew our hearts and minds.
What this ultimately means is that, as the Lord said, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". The Word of God has a life-giving, transformative effect upon us, and that is something that no book or movie can do (except to a lesser extent inasmuch as it faithfully mediates God's Word to us). The practical implication of this is that we ought to be far more invested in God's word and in public worship than we are in the theatre or our movie collection.
As we are more and more transformed by the Word of God, we will be more and more purified. And as we are more and more purified by the work of the Holy Spirit, so we shall more and more find that "to the pure all things are pure." There will be certain movies that simply hold no attraction for us because there is little of worth in them (Gal 5:16). In the event that we are confronted with that which is impure and filthy, perhaps like Phinehas we will see that it is fit only for destruction (there are many movies in this category!). There will be some movies with greater or lesser flaws from which we may glean value, and there will be some few that are eminently praise worthy as well (my hope and prayer is that the number of these will increase!).
I think that will have to do for now. I won't commit to writing soon, otherwise it will be three years away! But I do look forward to writing (soon) when I have the opportunity to do so. Next time it would perhaps be good to talk more about some of the qualities that make a movie good in and of itself. In the meantime, as the Apostle Paul said to Timothy: "devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." Likewise the Apostle Peter: "we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts".
If you would like a book that may prove useful to aid in reading the scriptures, perhaps I might recommend: "The Drama of Scripture" by Goheen and Bartholomew to get started (there are many, many others beyond this!). To get your thoughts ticking on what makes a movie good, let me recommend an episode from N.D.Wilson's "Stories are Soulfood" podcast: https://stories-are-soulfood.castos.com/podcasts/37657/episodes/63-how-to-watch-amovie
As a general rule, listening to all the available episodes of that podcast will likely prove helpful in the exercise of growing in movie-watching discernment! https://storiesaresoulfood.com/
Your older brother in Christ,
Isaac