Backstage at the Golden Globes: Sacredness, Responsibility and Looking Into the Human Soul

© 2016 The Wired Word

www.thewiredword.com

Last Sunday, the 73rd Golden Globe Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film and television in 2015, was broadcast live on NBC, with awardees including Jennifer Lawrence, Jon Hamm, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson and others.

The Golden Globes are bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for outstanding achievement in film and television. The broadcast of the awards program is a major part of the film industry's awards season,

For purposes of this lesson, our interest is in the backstage comments of two of this year's winners.

One is Brie Larson, who earned the trophy for best performance by an actress in a motion picture, drama, for the movie Room, which is a thriller about a young woman and her 5-year-old son held captive for years in an enclosed space, who finally gain their freedom.

Among her comments was this: "The idea of someone sitting in a theater has been very sacred to me. That's how I learned about the world. I feel a great sense of responsibility to tell things as honestly as I can and be as vulnerable as I can."

The other is Laszlo Nemes, who received an award as director of the best foreign film, Son of Saul. That picture tells the story of a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in a Nazi death-camp who is in a work-unit, burning the dead. One day, he finds the body of a boy he takes for his son. He tries to salvage the body from the flames and find a rabbi to arrange a clandestine burial.

Backstage, Nemes told reporters, "The Holocaust showed us the monster that exists within human beings. It's a constant possibility we can turn into that [monster] once more, and we've seen that genocide is still going on. I think we have to look into the human soul, and cinema can do that in a very visceral way. It's important for future generations to know that history is not just a postcard, it's something that can be here and now."

More on this story can be found at these links:

Backstage at the Golden Globes. Deadline 
Golden Globes: What the Winners Said Backstage. The Hollywood Reporter 
Golden Globe Awards. HFPA 

Applying the News Story

Many earlier cultures, such as the Greeks and the Elizabethans, had vibrant theaters that taught people their history and culture while entertaining folks across class lines. Christians have not always been comfortable with theatrical presentations as a medium (despite the theatricality of the incarnational Word made flesh).

Yet movies and TV are a significant part of our culture, and they do help shape our perception of reality -- sometimes only entertaining us, but sometimes enlightening us and sometimes misleading us. So it's worth our time to consider their impact not only on the general culture, but on us who are part of the church.

The Big Questions

1. Globe winner Brie Larson said that she learned about the world by sitting in a theater. To what degree do you think your perception of reality is shaped by television and movies? On what personal examples do you base your answer?

2. Sometimes movies and television present a story to serve the director's desired narrative -- or even a country's propaganda aims. How do you seek the truth in the face of untruthful movies? How do you know when they're untruthful?

3. Have you ever set a personal goal because of something you'd seen on screen? Has something you've seen in a flick or TV show ever led you to value something in your own life less than you had previously? Why? Is your life better or worse due to on-screen entertainment and storytelling? What play/movie/show has inspired you? Have you made career/ministry decisions based on such inspiration?

4. What, if anything, do the winners of these awards tell us about the shape of our world and humanity in general? Do they inspire hope for humanity? When has something you've seen in a cinematic presentation suggested an area of concern to be addressed by the faith community?

5. If Larson is right, that in her on-screen portrayals, she has a "responsibility to tell things as honestly as I can and be as vulnerable as I can," what does that say about behavior that does not have those goals in mind?

6. Might films such as Son of Saul, which show some of the horror of the Holocaust, help to prevent genocide in other times and places? If so, when has that happened?

Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:

Psalm 101:2-3 
I will study the way that is blameless. ... I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; 
I will not set before my eyes anything that is base. ... (For context, read 101:1-4.)

People often complain that there is "nothing" on television, yet most can't tear their eyes away.

As a solution, some Christians look for TV programs and movies that are "Christian" productions. In our experience, those range from great to ham-fisted and heavy-handed.

Questions: Are these verses a good guide for Christians regarding what we watch on screen? Why or why not? Why do some consider popular entertainment base or fallen? What in your opinion constitutes Christian drama? Do you feel obligated to watch "family"-oriented entertainment?

Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV) 
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (For context, read 2:16-19.)

We chose these words from the apostle Paul because of the reference to reality being found in Christ. Paul's point here is that the religious festivals and practices he mentions are only "shadows" of reality. That's a helpful perspective when we consider how we are influenced by stories we see on screen. To the degree that they shape our perception of reality, it's helpful to compare those perceptions to what we know of the way of Christ Jesus and his claim on our lives.

Question: In what sense is your commitment to Christ useful in deciding what course of action, if any, should be taken in your own life regarding things you see on screen that stir you, inspire you, sadden you, gladden you, etc.?

2 Samuel 12:1 
But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD, and the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor." (For context, read 12:1-15.)

Nathan's story about two men is a work of fiction that he used to deliver God's message to King David after the latter had committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. David did not realize that the full story, which you can read in the context verses, was a fiction, and it led David to conclude that the rich man deserved to die. Only then did Nathan tell the king that he (David) was the rich man.

Like movies about the Holocaust or other wrongs, Nathan's story drove home a point to the one who needed to hear it. To paraphrase Laszlo Nemes, Nathan's story showed David the monster that exists within human beings.

From a plot point of view, Nathan's story shows a kind of dark humor. Like anyone who is the butt of a joke, King David is appalled that Nathan's story is about him. But we on the outside see it coming, and this is a real zinger, the sort that's called "Tables Turned." Some Christians are suspicious of comedy because it is so uncontrolled. Comedy is often ribald, rude, and unprincipled, but it can teach a point.

Questions: In essence, are films anything other than an updated way to tell a story? Why or why not? Is film-making itself a morally neutral activity that can become right or wrong depending on the content of the story? What about stories that seem to have no moral?

Matthew 13:34-35 
Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world." (No context needed.)

Questions: In what sense is listening to or viewing a story a sacred privilege (as Larson suggested regarding sitting in a theater)? When is it not a sacred privilege?

Colossians 3:17 
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (For context, read 3:12-17.)

Paul wrote this to the Christians in Colossae.

Questions: How might this verse apply to those who work in the film industry? How might it apply to we who watch the output of that industry?

For Further Discussion

1. When it comes to perception of reality, do groups such as the Amish who avoid movies and television have an advantage or disadvantage over those who do not avoid them? Explain your answer in light of the two perspectives below, both from TWW team members who live near Amish colonies:
     Misty Wintsch comments, "I have an Amish friend who loves to go to the theater with me. She asks me questions on the way home if there is reference to something she doesn't understand. She seems to be far less judgmental about it than some of my own congregants. She sees it all as a learning experience which is also entertaining."
     Frank Ramirez says, "I see Amish, especially women, at the local Round Barn Theatre in Nappanee, Indiana, which presents mostly musicals. Some of them seem to love Plain and Fancy, a musical about the Amish that was written by the same guy who wrote Fiddler on the Roof. In the former case, there's a clash of cultures that ends with accommodation instead of conflict. I think it's up to the local bishop as to whether the Amish may go to the theater or not."

2. Respond to Laszlo Nemes' comment that "It's important for future generations to know that history is not just a postcard, it's something that can be here and now."

3. Comment on this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I was interested in the fact that one of my favorite movies from last year, The Martian, won awards in the comedy/musical category, though it seemed to be neither. There are many funny moments but then, Hamlet is also one of the funniest plays you'll ever watch, yet it ends up with a bunch of dead bodies. I wonder if we trap people in categories and never consider where they might best serve or be served, and if, like the Golden Globes, we could see people in a different light, one in which they shine."

4. Respond to this, from TWW consultant James Gruetzner: "I try to avoid getting news and opinions from TV, radio, movies, videos, podcasts, and the like. Why? They are very good at manipulating the story -- and one's emotions about events -- and much more difficult to fact-check and to discern where truth gives way to falsehood. (Effectively misleading propaganda always starts with what people know to be true, in order to set the stage.) I can remember coming out of of the movie Breaker Morant feeling an almost visceral hatred for Kitchener, and then thinking, "Really, all I know about the guy is his portrayal in the movie" and finding out that he was a much more complex -- and even admirable at times -- gent than was portrayed. I can also remember frustration at discussing nuclear power with people whose understanding came from the movie The China Syndrome."

5. Can you name a time in history when a speech, a film or a literary work, helped to change our perception of the world in a positive way? Is there a time when a speech, a film or a literary work destroyed reputations, hope or faith? Was there a time in your own life when a cinematic work created a healing for you? Was there a time when you experienced an on-screen presentation as destructive?

6. A movie may present truth or may present what someone involved perceives or desires the truth to be. What are the differences?

Responding to the News

This is a good time to affirm with Paul in Colossians 2:17, that Christ is a key to reality.

Closing Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for all the ways you communicate with us. Help us to be clear eyed, so that we can distinguish what is real from the distortions that life brings us. In Jesus' name. Amen.