In a previous post, I commented on the hopelessness revealed in the final lines of a movie I had recently seen. My good friend Chris Finnegan commented
Well, looking at the list of screenplays from the author, he has written two of the movies I most hated in recent years, and do NOT recommend to anyone…”Being John Malcovich” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”.
Am I missing something in my movie viewing? Hmm…
I have not spoken with anyone who ‘hated’ Eternal Sunshine. Chris, you are first. Perhaps I should go back and watch it again to see what you might have hated. Perhaps I am missing something.
To me, in a light hearted way, the film treated the desire we may have from time to time to erase our past, to eliminate bad memories, to get rid of haunting reminders of mistakes made. But can we really erase our past? Is it something we should really want to try to do? I find these to be intriguing questions.
The answers movies give may not be our own, but they are answers which we should consider. I am reminded that I do not always watch movies to have my own world view verified. I watch to enjoy a story, yes. But as well I watch to understand what and how others think. And I watch to glorify God in the gifts he has given, even to those who rail against him. And at times what I see are those opposed to God in spite of themselves stating truth in such a way that it cannot be forgotten.
Thanks, Chris, for the stimulus.
MagistraCarminae
OK- as the dubious “one” person who hated Eternal Sunshine, I feel somewhat compelled to explain what ellicited such a response from me. But realize that I only saw it once, and often my opinion gets highly refined after a second viewing. Also, it was a couple of years ago I think, so my mind is foggy on the details.Dave and I watched it with our college-aged sons, Ben and Tim, who both liked it immensely. I guess I felt that the junk one had to wade through (language, nudity–or near nudity, drug junk, etc.) was simply not worth it for the message delivered. While I agree that it raised interesting questions, its answers were implied and vague, and not “enough” in my opinion to make wading through the garbage worth it. What answers did it give? Love, even flawed, is better than nothing? ugh… And light-hearted? Really? I thought it was utterly depressing.I don’t think I am a prude. I don’t think I’m looking to have my own worldview verified. I think I am asking the question, how big must the gem be in order to make it worth raking through so much muck? I ask this not only when film-viewing, but when reading, too. Sometimes the violence, hopelessness, nihilism, etc., is integral to the gem of wisdom buried beneath. But what did Eternal Sunshine have to share?I think the balance we as believers try to strike between engaging culture and yet not being “of it” is pretty tricky. I think using our legitimate Christian liberty is tricky, because I know my own heart is utterly capable of excusing its sin and claiming to be purer in its motivation than it is in reality. How can, then, a young man or woman keep his or her way pure in this world? How’s that for a thought provoking question…Chris, ducking in NM…
Randy Greenwald
Thanks for taking up the challenge I threw at you. I am new to this blog thing, and probably should take care that I not be seen as being critical of you. Your comments are well taken, and I regret stirring you up so much that you devoted worthy time to a self defense that at this point maybe three people will actually see… 🙂 I often myself wonder if I am deadened to some things because of the assault on my senses by movies and the like. However, and this is the key, your sons loved “Eternal Sunshine.” Why? It was not because of the near nudity, drug junk, etc. of course. It may be because that they, being younger, think differently than you do. Art, and film is an art, gives us a window of understanding that now and then we need to peer into. I’ve seen a number of movies which I did not like, yet which, though pushing me to the edge of what I can tolerate, have provided such a window. A young man I met who is working on a Ph.D. in literature said that “Fight Club” was a movie that greatly resonated with his generation. I watched it, and much of it I did not enjoy. At points I grimaced. But it resonates with a portion of the people among whom I am to minister. What does this film say about them? Perhaps a great deal if I am willing to listen. Our conversation was enriched because he was astounded that I had been willing to watch movies that meant something to HIM.What answers do movies give? They give the answers that our culture can give, often inadequate. But they form a part of the language of our culture which I believe we need to learn to speak.There is a lot more that I want to say, but as is usual, I know that we are not really that far apart in our thinking. Thanks for your challenge. I hope you still love me!
MagistraCarminae
Dearest Randy,I did not feel attacked, nor defensive, and yes, I still love you! 😉 You will have to toughen up a little if you hope to make a go of life in the blogosphere!You make good points, and like you, I bet we mostly agree. Interesting…Ben and Tim also liked Fight Club– whch I have not seen. Perhaps I need to ask why. It would be interesting if they would chime in here and explain…I wonder sometimes if they “relate” because they see the world differently, or if they relate because their consciences have been seared to some degree, and they are no longer sensitive to brutality. I am enjoying the conversation, even if it is only two way…
Adria
I may not be chiming in, but I am listening…. 🙂
MagistraCarminae
Hey, I have continued pondering this question. Are you tired of dealing with it yet? Let me know if you are, and I will let it die.Does art have any responsibility to be normative? By that I mean, does art have any responsibility to point towards the good, the true and the beautiful as what should be, rather than only portraying what is? I am having some incipient thoughts here that I am not finding good words to express yet(at least new and beginning for me, though I suspect that if I took more time to read abut aesthetics, I would find the exact words I need from the writings of others.)I know it is good to appreciate the talents and gifts of others, even when they don’t use them to glorify God consciously– all truth is God’s truth, etc. But I don’t buy the “art for art’s sake” argument any more than I buy anything else existing in some moral vacuum where it is an entity unto itself with no responsibilities to the culture at large. So my question is, what responsibility does the film artist have for presenting normative truth versus reflecting fallen reality? Is he free of the responsibility when, possibly coincidentally or unintendedly, the way “truth” is presented in his film becomes normative for the culture that views it? And again, I struggle with the question of by what standard should we judge the worth of what we are willing to wade through for the sake of enjoying art? How seriously and in what ways do we have an obligation to keep our eyes, ears, etc. from evil? I have had a friend who is film student and lover and amater maker, who makes a distinction between sex and violence in films. Her point, not original with her, but likely “borrowed” from Brian Godawa, is that violence is a public sin which we are all exposed to, and so it is open to public viewing and treatment in film. However, sex is a private thing: it is to be private, and when sexual sins take place, they are private, and never to be open for “viewing”. She makes the point that when violence is portrayed in film, it is always “make believe”, and the actors are not really harmed. But when sex/nudity is portrayed, the actors cannot help but be violated, and neither can the viewers. I find this an interesting distinction, but I may have asked enough questions for today…Chris, pondering in NM
Kathleen Hamilton
Well, now that Chris has spilled the beans on this blog, more people wmay be chiming in.Chris, I believe those ideas came not from Brian Godawa, but Wayne Wilson in his book Worldly Amusements. I tend to agree more with you on this subject, and can’t quite figure out why my eldest son likes movies like Fight Club (which I have never seen). I know he has said he wants to see Eternal Sunshine, but don’t know if he has yet. Nevertheless, I wonder why young Christians will see movies with sex scenes–I don’t care how “relevant” to today’s culture these movies are, I just can’t see the justification of that when it’s so clearly condemned in scripture. Violence and drug use (and yes, even profanity) may be a different story, though I choose not to spend my time watching movies filled with those things.As a matter of fact, I could live my entire life without watching another movie–I do enjoy some, but they aren’t tops on any of my lists. So, why is it that young people today are so attracted to them? It can’t be just that they have grown up in the media age–I did too! I watched far more television in my youth than my kids ever did. But we also did not keep them from watching movies–so it’s not like it was forbidden fruit. Maybe it’s just people he has been exposed to at college–most of his weird ideas have come since he went to college ;-).