Faith & Film: The Oscars Recap
I love movies. And even though since having kids it seems like I’m way more likely to catch a film on DVD or streaming rather than actually seeing one at the theaters, I still enjoy not just movies but also that grand celebration of film we call the Academy Awards (particularly when Billy Crystal is hosting!).
It was a fun show. Billy was great, and I found the short clips with actors talking about the effect movies have on them particularly interesting. While I was a tad disappointed in the major winners – as Mark mentioned in the comments it seemed like Hollywood was in a self-congratulatory mood in giving so many awards to two films about, well, films (Hugo and The Artist) – it was still a great fun.
As were your comments and emails! Overall, I’d have to say that the films receiving the most “nominations” were The Tree of Life for its portrayal of the two ways of life, the way of nature (dominated by competition) and the way of grace (infused by love), and The Descendants for its tender portrayal of the complexity not just of family life but of relationships in general and the mixture of love, anger, sadness, judgment, and hope that is intermixed in all of our lives.
What struck me again and again, in both the insights you shared as well as while watching the show, is that art at its best – whether film, book, dance, theater painting, or really any other artistic medium – tells us the truth about ourselves. Art, I think, is our best mirror for looking at what it means to be caught up in this crazy thing we call life. Precisely because art doesn’t strive for perfect representation but always comes at issues “sideways” through metaphor and allusion, art pierces through many of the defenses and illusions we hold to surprise us with tender yet often painful glimpses of what it means to be human. And, at times, it points beyond itself toward that which we cannot create, but only hope for. (Is that, by the way, why the best sermons don’t simply tell us things – explaining the passage – but both show us things – more image than information- and at the same time leave some things unresolved – making room for us to participate by doing some of the imaginative work ourselves? Just wondering. 🙂 )
Thanks for coming along for the ride. I hope to write more about specific films soon and will look forward to your comments and suggestions.
David
I on the other hand was very disappointed by Billy Crystal and his hosting, starting off with the really weird and inappropriate piece with him in blackface—I thought we had moved beyond that. In addition, it seemed that almost all his joke and references were to a few of the white men in the audience, leaving out white women and men and women of color. He also was inappropriate when talking about the elderly nominees.
By the way—while it doesn’t sound like it, I do have a sense of humor—-and I did enjoy the film clips very much.
Your thoughts on the art drawing on the reflection of humanity at its best or worst has particular relevance for me today, so thank you! I’m currently reading some Connie Neal stuff for a class that wants to talk about Harry Potter and theology and I’ve only gotten far enough to read about the image of myth, storytelling, and creativity being an inward reflection of the Great Writer who tells a wonderful, creative story in us. It has made me shift the way I’m even starting to see movies like Shrek on TV last night. The simple twist to my thought process has taken me from ‘what were the underlying aims/themes?” to something more akin to “Where do I connect in this story?”… and I’ve found it to be the same question I try to address and leave others to ponder in my own sermon-writing. Connect, challenge, perhaps entertain, and leave questions to talk about afterwards… no wonder I like using movies in my sermons so much. Thanks for the thoughts, they continue to help me bridge the everyday God to everyday life. Cheers!