I chose to do my second artifact
on the 2011 remake of the movie Footloose.
I personally like the original 1984 version better, but my friend got the new
one for Christmas and I thought I’d give it another try. Anyway, even though it’s
not my favorite, it was very interesting to watch it for a second time.
Whenever I watch a movie for the second time, I always notice so many things I
didn’t notice the first time around. But this time I was watching it to
write this post about it, so I was looking at it in a much more critical light.
Well, to start off, I’ll give a
little summary. The movie focuses on a teenager named Ren MacCormack who moves
from Boston, a big city up north, to Bomont, a little town in Georgia. Let’s
just say that it’s a little different from what he’s used to. Basically, a few
years before, five high schoolers had died in a car crash after a school dance.
Because of this incident, new laws were made: a curfew was put in place and
dancing and playing loud music were banned. The movie follows the story of Ren,
his new friends, and Ariel (the preacher’s daughter with a wild, spirited side)
on various adventures and the eventual quest to revoke the no-dancing law.
One of the interesting parts of
watching this movie, especially as a Christian, is the way in which it portrays
the church and what it stands for. The first scene of the movie is a flashback
of the car accident and the response of the Reverend (whose son was one of the
teenagers who died) which results in the aforementioned laws. It is clear that
the townspeople look to their religious leader for guidance and respect his
decisions, even when it comes to banning what most people, Ren included, think
are such harmless things as dancing and playing music. The Reverend convinces
the people and his fellow members of the town board that these activities
should be forbidden under the pretense that doing so will help protect everyone’s
children and keep them safe from “a world filled
with evil, and temptation, and danger.” While I do believe that some forms of
music and dancing can be inappropriate, Ren, Ariel, and their friends just want
to dance for fun and enjoy their teenage years. The Reverend, however, paints
those activities as being part of the empire, and even as being sinful and purely evil. He
doesn’t see that they can be good, too.
All in all, the
movie portrays two very different pictures. There are the adults (the Reverend,
the high school principal, the librarian, the police officer, and others) who
are pretty uptight and want to uphold the rules. They are all for keeping the
teenagers on short leashes, giving them little freedom, and scolding them
harshly when they may get a little carried away when having fun. While they
think they are doing what is best for raising the teenagers, they are really
just preventing them from becoming the responsible and trustworthy people that
they can become if given the chance. Then there are the teenagers, on the other hand, who are very
free-willed and fun-loving, as teenagers are expected to be.
I believe what
this film has to say about the Kingdom of God is that it is a place where
people should be able to dance and enjoy themselves (within reason, of course).
I think it’s a place where adults and teenagers, parents and children are both
respected and where families are able to have good relationships with each
other, despite pain that they may have faced in the past. And I think this film
argues that the purpose of humans is not to be restricted, but it is not to be too
free or out-of-control either. Humans should enjoy the lives they were given by
God.
Discussion questions:
To what extent
should parents be in charge of their children’s lives when they’re teenagers?
What would you
do if dancing and playing music were outlawed?
Hannah! I also love the original Footloose, but I did find many things that I liked in the newer version as well. I thought they did a good job keeping the essence of the movie while trying to make it modern. I agree that there are two opposite sides and I really liked how they showed that in the newer version. As for your first question, I think that parents need to know what their teenager is doing but they should be ok with letting them explore under the right circumstances. This may sound harsh, but the parent has to allow the teenager to fail a few times so they know what it feels like when it happens in real life. Thanks for your input into a great movie!
ReplyDeleteInteresting artifact, Hannah! You very rightly show that even light, feel-good Hollywood fare is saying something of worth. From your description, it sounds like this is a classic young versus old story. The Reverend (and other adults in the film) play the moralistic monolith that is challenged by the young, restless teens who just want to live life.
ReplyDeleteBe careful, though, in equating all sin with the empire. The Reverend doesn't sound like he understands broken and idolatrous systems as empire; instead, he is simply responding in a moralistic and pietistic way to a tragedy. Often, this kind of response keeps us from seeing the systemic issues as clearly as we ought.
Of greater concern, as you pointed out, is the control of life-giving activity. Whenever signs of life (dancing, music, food, etc.) are being squelched, our eyes should be on the lookout for totalizing campaigns.