Because You're All Wondering

...why I didn't include Peter T. Chattaway's review of Thunderbirds in today's Christianity Today Film Forum, well... it's because I'm sloppy and forgetful, and because this week's forum took twice as long to assemble due to a suddenly flurry of new review-activity online.

So, I enthusiastically do hereby present unto you the link...Read more


ClearPlay: A Very Bad Idea

[This article was originally published at Christianity Today on June 1, 2004.]

When I was in the sixth grade, some of our school library books had words crossed out with black markers—words that teachers thought would harm children who read them. Even Mark Twain received this treatment. To me, it seemed somehow unholy to stain the pages of someone's story in that way, to delete words the author had chosen. Those black bars were an eyesore, and they distracted me from the story.

The teachers thought they were doing me a favor, but they were taking away from my experience of a worthy work of art. Worse, those black bars only threw fuel on my childish curiosity; I was preoccupied with exposing what had been inked out.

Now we have the ClearPlay DVD player, which lets the user edit certain content from films. It's intended to provide concerned viewers—especially parents—with alternate versions of movies that have been made "safe" and "clean." But I believe it'll only make kids morepreoccupied with those certain elements of movies that parents are hoping to eliminate. If you cover up part of a painting, you increase the allure of the section you're covering up. So it's best to keep kids from seeing that painting at all, until they're mature enough to deal with it responsibly.

Why should we show children movies that weren't intended for them? There is a lifetime of good family movies available; let families spend time with those rather than settling for sorely compromised versions of movies that were intended for a different audience.

If you start chopping up movies meant for grownups and showing them to children, you'll succeed in shielding them from excessive elements, but you'll also deprive them of the experience of art the way it was meant to be seen.

Ultimately, I think the CleanPlay idea is flawed on three fundamental levels:

1. It suggests that only certain "corrupting elements" are inappropriate for young viewers.
Specifically, it signifies a preoccupation with eliminating sex, violence, and bad language, as if those were somehow "special" offenses. If we are corrupted by these three unholy behaviors, are we not also corrupted by hearing a character lie? What about jealousy? Pride? Self-righteousness? Covetousness? Idolatry? Personally, I'm far more distraught by seeing a character deceive another character than I am by hearing somebody call somebody else a bad name. But ClearPlay has no setting for "Deceit."

Many movies include excessive misbehavior, sometimes even glorifying it. Such movies should be ignored, not altered. There are goodmovies that portray sex, violence, and foul language too. If such elements are a meaningful part of the story—for biblical examples, look no further than David and Bathsheba, the Song of Solomon, the death of John the Baptist, or Christ calling the Pharisees names—theyshould be part of the final work. To cut misbehavior would render the stories pointless. One of art's primary functions is to reflect the world, goodness and bad, in a context that invites us to consider, interpret, accept, or reject its presentations.

2. It suggests that a work of art is open for customization by the individual viewer.
Artists have reasons for making their work a certain way. To have someone else snip up the work disrespects their efforts. Such censorship interrupts the intended "flow" of the film. It eliminates vital details. Confusion may result. The theme may lose its potency.

If ClearPlay proves popular and successful, we'll soon see variations that exclude other "offensive" elements—like prayer, mentions of God, the name of Jesus. We might end up seeing the TV miniseries Jesus of Nazareth available in different formats—for those who want the whole story, for those who want just the miracles but not Jesus's claims of divinity, for those who don't want to bother with that discomforting crucifixion scene. If customization develops a heavy demand, we might even see software that will embellish the violence and the sex, increasing them to more explicit levels.

3. It suggests it's better to "see no evil" than to learn to recognize and deal with evil.
Censorship does not keep us from doing evil—it just blocks us from seeing it. If we develop a "cover your eyes" response to bad behavior, we are not developing a strength of spirit that resists sin. We are simply ignoring sin, and thus remaining weak and vulnerable. Jesus says it is not what goes into a man that corrupts him, but what proceeds from him that corrupts him. Scripture exhorts us to put on the "full armor of God" so we might resist the schemes of the devil. It does not exhort us to avert our eyes whenever someone's misbehaving.

This doesn't mean we should seek corrupt things to absorb. It simply means we must train ourselves and our children to interpret what we see and respond to it with discipline and discernment. If we can't deal with the misbehavior we encounter in films, how will we respond to it in the real world?

Grownups should also pay close attention to their own voices of conscience, showing maturity and wisdom by walking away from those things that cause them to stumble. It is also the responsibility of mature adults to protect young, vulnerable, untrained minds from encountering things they are not yet prepared to process, consider, interpret and respond to. To buy technology that claims to do it for us is irresponsible, naïve, and ultimately … a cop-out.

 


Open letter to the Bourne franchise

First of all, thank you for one of the summer's most enjoyable movies. The Bourne Supremacy is just the right size and shape. Spider-Man 2 runs a little long, considering the comic-book simplicity of its plot. Your film ends at just the right moment. I laughed, I cheered, I clung to my seat in order to keep from being thrown through the windshield of Bourne's car, and I applauded at your brilliant choice of bringing back that great Moby song in the end credits.

Now, here are few tips for how to stay the course with the third Bourne film:

1. Let Jason Bourne begin to rediscover his personality, not just the facts of his past.

Two movies have given us enough time to grasp that, yes, this guy is hyper-aware of his vulnerability; yes, this guy is desperate to regain his memories. But what about his personality? What does he like to eat? What kind of jokes make him laugh? What does he do in his spare time when he's NOT trying to uncover his memories? Is he making friends? What's he like in a casual conversation? Does he believe in God? The first film gave us a little bit of Bourne's personality. The new one doesn't. Episode Three should be the one where we really get to know this guy. If we don't, the franchise is going to become merely another franchise in which the same bunny rabbit must overcome a new variety of obstacles, his brow furrowed, his reflexes primed for the punch.

2. Bring in new and interesting characters, not just more CIA pursuers with their stern glances and their gullibility. Let some dialogue happen that's as polished and convincing as the contexts and the action.

3. Make the focus of the story something other than Bourne On the Run.

4. Make another gutsy choice of director. Liman did a bang-up job, and Greengrass's work is astonishing.

Who'll you think of next? Keep surprising us. Don't fall back on somebody who's style will be familiar. How about David O. Russell?

5. If the CIA's involved, bring back Joan Allen, but let's give her character some room to breathe. Allen's an extraordinary actress; don't waste her time.

6. Push Julia Stiles even farther. She delivered this time around in one astonishing and emotional scene. I want more.

7. Don't let Bourne do any stunts that Matt Damon can't perform himself.

The limitations of this action hero are a plus, not a minus. We want to believe in him. We don't want him to be the Six Million Dollar Man.

8. Give Sean Bean a fantastic role that will allow him to deliver the goods the way he did in The Fellowship of the Ring.

He's one of the most criminally under-used actors in the business. And he'd fit right in to the Bourne universe. (Hey, you used Karl Urban from LOTR... why not borrow another cast member?)

9. No scenes in strip clubs. It's the most over-used context for cop flicks and thrillers, and it's been the hangout for bad guys on Alias so many times I've lost count. I groaned in dismay when I saw Kirill hanging out there in The Bourne Supremacy. It was the only moment in the whole film that made me wince due to predictability. You're better than Alias. Stay better.

Note: We're far more scared of intelligent villains with taste and style than we are of burnt-out frat boys toting missile launchers. You'd never catch Hannibal Lecter wasting time with a lap dance.

10. Restraint, restraint, restraint.

It's been the blessing of the series so far. But if you turn this over to Tarantino or one of the in-your-face directors, you'll really really blow your credibility. The first two films have been grade-A examples of lean, mean filmmaking. Keep up the great work.


Bono: Make Africa a priority

Bono's back, ready to attend both the Democratic and the Republican conventions, asking why in the world the Africa crisis is not listed as a subject for discussion at either one.Read more


New ending to Return of the Jedi

Star Wars fans, put all sharp objects out of reach. You don't want to hurt yourself or anybody else after you see this... the new ending for Return of the Jedi.Read more


Star Wars III gets a (boring) title

I'm back from a weekend of 103-degree heat in Portland, Oregon, where I did just what I said I was going to do (sans the beer-drinking) with friends and family... I lounged, I read, I sipped coffee, I ate UNBELIEVABLY SCRUMPTIOUS desserts at Papa Haydn's (something you should add to your DO BEFORE I DIE list), I saw Anchorman again and laughed even harder, and I enjoyed some brief but deep sleep in a small air-conditioned hotel room at the new Jupiter Hotel. At Powell's Book Store, Portland's pride and joy, I purchased many heavy volumes, including a new English Standard Version Bible... the first time I've picked out and purchased a Bible for myself. (My parents always kept me in Bibles when I was growing up, and I've never been in need of one.) I also purchased my first SACD (surround audio cds) for my new home system... Peter Gabriel's Passion and Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats, along with Beck's Sea Change and Bob Dylan's Oh Mercy. This week, our house is going to rock until the windows crack.

And I return, eager to hear about the exciting things that happened in Movieland over the weekend. What do I learn?Read more


Friday with Chesterton

It's Friday. I don't feel like talking about Catwoman. In fact, I plan to spend the weekend lounging around and having cold beers and rich desserts with friends... obeying God's harsh order to rest on the Sabbath.

So, rather than griping about the news or the movies, let's hear from someone gifted in raising spirits:Read more


How to review Catwoman

UPDATE: My review is now posted at CT Movies.

Well, there's the easy route: you can write a review of Catwoman by finding the most readily available derogatory metaphor relating to cats.

"It's the pick of the litter box..." for example.

Or,Read more


Changes come

On Changes Come, Over the Rhine sounds like a band playing their last concert, pouring every last ounce of energy and passion into making these songs as brilliant as they can be. The result is a performance so intense, soulful, soaring, and astonishing that it will make everyone hope this is actually not the end, but the beginning.Read more


Add Another Fellow to My List of Heroes

In the last month I've:

  • read up on the life of Dana Gioia,
  • perused his poetry,
  • shouted "Amen!" over and over again while reading his book Can Poetry Matter?,
  • and interviewed him twice.

I've got to say that he's becoming one of my heroes. He's about as qualified an individual as you'll find on the planet to head up the National Endowment for the Arts. He's doing a fine job.Read more