So here is my first shot at a real Blog entry. I mentioned "artistic and uplifting film" in my introduction, and, since we have not been able to talk about film in Relief Society yet, I thought it would be a great place to start.
I believe that film is just another form of literature. Like literature, there are empty, easy ones, and difficult, thought-provoking ones. A truly great and uplifting film will inspire you to explore important themes and issues.
One such great film that I just recently watched was a Danish film called Ordet, which means "The Word." This film was an exploration of faith, human relationships, and the reality of resurrection. It explored these themes through stunning visual elements and deft camera work. This film was challenging as it asks you to deal with difficult questions--"why is God sometimes silent?" "how can Christians be capable of hate and intolerance?"--and it does not give easy answers. You are forced to answer the questions yourself when the camera positions you in the viewpoint of a child or when you are faced with the harsh beauty of an empty field.
I truly wish that every Mormon film maker were required to view this film. It is a beautiful piece of uplifting art, something which I feel many Mormon film makers fail to achieve (although there are some notable exceptions--Saints and Soldiers being one). When viewing films, let us not stop at at the requirement of "inoffensive" and let us demand that our cinema be actively inspiring, beautiful, and thought-provoking.
3 comments:
I think that is true, I haven't thought about film as literature before, but I think that you are right that they can definitely make you think. I do like it when films make you think about things differently, it's like you said they can present difficult situations in a way where you can see how people fall into difficult situations and what do they do then? when the "usually" answers seem more difficult than usually. I'm afraid that I'm not making sense, but those are sort of my thoughts at the moment. I think that it is easy to say "This is what I would do" when presented with just the bare bones of a situation, but it is a different thing for a film or a piece of literature to really put you in the shoes of someone facing the issue.
I think this blog idea is great! It's fun to be able to get more in depth on topics. Where did you get "Ordet?" It sounds interesting. I'm surprised it's Danish because Denmark is so liberal with very few practicing Christians. Adam said in his high school class there was one other girl who went to church. I would be interested to see it and how they present those issues.
Good question Martha. I actually watched Ordet in my Philosophies of Film class (it was stunning on the big screen in the Maeser), but you can find it at the Orem Public Library. The call number is FL 1162, which is located in the North Wing Basement of the library. It costs $1 to rent a movie for an entire week, and they have a fantastic collection of DVDs. This is a great resource!
You do bring up another really interesting question with the Christian population of Denmark. The movie is based on the play written by Kaj Munk, a vicar in Jutland. He was assassinated by Nazis in 1944. The people of Denmark loved him and his plays were very successful. I'll have to look into how he stands with other Danish writers, but my hunch is that many of them are still exploring very similar themes, even if not under the explicit category of Christianity. That's what I find so wonderful about literature and film--I can find faith-building elements in writings from professed atheists. If it is virtuous, lovely, or of good report . . .
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