Princess Mononoke

John Jung

1/21/13

DCM

Princess Mononoke

          When I was in middle school, my friend from Japan had a movie that she brought back from her hometown which was called, “Princess Mononoke.” At that time I viewed the movie with pure pleasure and curiosity, not wandering what sort of hidden messages the movie had. On January 18, 2013 I had another privilege to watch the movie again in the CFAC, with a way bigger screen and better sound quality. The movie is a very interesting, the way everything is portrayed in the movie gives a fascinating excitement of wonders. Everything seemed so weird. Well basically this movie is about the main character Ashitaka, a prince of the village of Emishi, defends a demon from attacking the village. He is able to stop the demon, but he is cursed from the battle. He goes in a journey to search for a cure for his curse. 

          The movie portrayed many different themes that related to the topics that I studied in DCM. One of the main theme that I saw was greed. One of the character named Eboshi, is a woman who led an Iron Town near the forest. In order to make iron they had to cut down the forest destroying many habitats of animals and gods. This leads to conflicts against the gods of the forests and the town. Eboshi is also portrayed as a woman figure who led a revolution so that they females would not be looked down upon. All this different themes tell us about even the present world today, how we are wasting natural resources and we are constantly in battles of having more than necessary. The evil nature of human being is all around us and it is our responsibility to save this world, just like how Ashitaka did. 

           This movie shows both traits of Empire and Kingdom. Some characteristics of Empire that was shown on the movie were that everything was military controlled through violence. One of the main military controlling aspect was that the Iron Town had guns that other didn't have access to. Some characteristics of Kingdom are in the forest, where the animals had faith in their gods for protection. They also wanted peace with everybody and they worked together to seek welfare of the forest.

           I really enjoy watching animations and this is one of the must watch movies that I want to recommend to anybody of all groups of ages. (Maybe not too young because of bloody scenes.) This movie has so much deep meanings and was very well made, with famous musicians and artists. Some other movies that I would like to recommend are Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle. 

1. How can we in our daily lives live for the welfare of the community that we are in?

2. Is it possible to have a world with no evil? 

3. If we look into our lives, what's evil?    

"Eye of the Beholder" - The Twilight Zone

The Twilight Zone is a TV series that aired in the 1960s. The episode entitled "Eye of the Beholder" is episode six of season two. The scenarios of each episode are said to take place in the 'Twilight Zone' meaning it is some kind of alternate reality or possibly a look into the future. In this episode, a woman is in a hospital receiving treatment in order to fix the condition of her face. You don't see the faces of the doctors, nurses, and the woman until her bandages are removed at the end of the episode. The woman, Miss Tyler, is constantly exclaiming and pleading, "I want to be like everybody else!" or "All I've ever wanted is to be normal." It is finally revealed that Miss Tyler is a beautiful young woman, but 'normal' people have distorted pig-like faces.
The audience is to understand that the origin of evil is forced conformity (conforming everyone to have pig-like faces). The Leader is heard proclaiming, "It is essential for society not only that we have a norm, but that we conform to that norm!" The empire established by the Leader and government ensnares people to think that conformity is needed to have an ideal world. The seeds of redemption can be seen in some of the comments by the doctors. They question the conformist rules of the government and express that they see the true human underneath Miss Tyler's appearance. Miss Tyler herself had a captured imagination. She did not want to accept any alternative to the empire; she wanted to be the 'normal' that was chosen by the empire.

Questions:
How could the doctors have responded subversively to Miss Tyler's appearance?
Miss Tyler was sent to live in a community with others "of her kind." Could this be considered as an act of grace by the government? Or is it only suppression?

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

I just finished re-watching the first season of “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” which is a show starring two of the stars from “Arrested Development,” David Cross (creator and writer of “The Increasingly Poor Decisions”) and Will Arnett. This show is about a socially clueless compulsive liar who is unwittingly transferred to the UK to sell a mysterious Korean energy drink called “Thunder Muscle.” Needless to say, as the plot progresses, Todd Margaret completely ruins his own life with his lies and touristy ignorance.

“The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret” is a comedy, but there are many serious messages in it. One is the issue of honesty—Todd’s failures can all be traced back to the web of lies he spun about his past and present conditions. According to “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret,” dishonesty is an evil that leads to the sin of lying, which only makes things worse. Todd arrives in some wildly chaotic situations because of the lies he tells, and, true to form, his attempts to weasel his way out of them involve even more lies.

Another issue is greed. Todd’s new boss Brent Wilts (Will Arnett) is just as foolish and naive as Todd, but his character is much more aggressive. That’s because Wilts is a gambler who is obsessed with money & power. Once he mysteriously gets promoted from his telemarketing position, he has an extremely profane field day lording his power over the office where Todd works. This says a lot about our world’s idea of human purpose. Arnett’s character is sort of a caricature, but he embodies many of the evils that affect people everywhere: greed, perversion, and carelessness. These evils are deceptive and blinding. 

We eventually learn that Todd’s only employee, Dave, is really the deluded son of a British millionaire, and has been playing Todd and Brent all along. This is another perversion of power: manipulation. This doesn’t make power a bad thing, it only calls out the misuse of it. Dave’s reasons for messing with Todd and Brent are completely personal, and his massive masterplan for revenge is a gross misuse of power.

1. If dishonesty and greed are Todd’s and Brent’s weakness, respectively, then how could they redeem themselves and solve all their problems?

2. How can a person see a show like “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret” as apocalyptic? That is, how can somebody glimpse the kingdom vision through it?

She's The Man

Adapted from William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, She's The Man is one of my personal favorite films. A teen romantic-comedy, She's The Man is the story about a girl named Viola, played by Amanda Bynes, who's girl soccer team got cut at her high school. Therefore she pretends to be her twin brother, at the rival high school he attends and joins the soccer team. Throughout the film with the complications of almost blowing her cover, cat-fights in the bathroom, to falling for her roomate, She's The Man is a funny movie.

However as She's The Man is not a 'Christian' film, this artifact talks about evil in the empire about the sexual hierarchy. The film may not address the issue directly but it is implied. As mentioned before Viola becomes upset at the fact that her high school cut her soccer team. When Viola finds out she adresses the issue to the men's soccer coach and comes up with the idea of allowing the girls to try out for the soccer team. Hearing the idea, the soccer coach laughs and mocks the girls and saying that girls can't do anything boys can and that boys are just better than females. This scene then goes with what  Walsh and Keesmaat were trying to explain in chapter 11. Even though it says in the bible that women should be 'under' her husband, the woman is also to be set free of the hierarchy of the empire. Even though I may sound like a feminist by this point, even though I am not, I believe that there should be an equality treatment to both sexes. Some may be upset at the fact that a woman can throw a football better than a guy or that a guy can knit a scarf better than a girl, but despite the 'abnormal' examples, that doesn't mean that we should treat each other poorly. Instead we should be happy and encourage one another.



Even though women may or may not be able to do everything a male can, why do you think that women should or should not be limited to what they can do?

How important is communication?

Melancholia

Melancholia is an independent film starring Kristen Dunst as Justine and Charlotte Gainsbourg as Claire. It tells the story of two sisters whose relationship is stained from Justine’s struggle with depression and inability to take care of herself. Claire and her husband pay for Justine’s extravagant wedding but then are disappointed at Justine’s continued unhappiness. At the wedding Claire and her husband struggle to keep things running smoothly. Justine cannot pretend to be happy. She looses her new husband and her new job promotion to her depression. The sister’s relationship is further stressed when news that the planet Melancholia that is headed towards earth is announced. Claire is overcome with anxiety upon hearing the news; while Justine calmly accepts death.

The reason I choose this movie was because I had heard very good reviews of this film. Some of my friends even claimed that its one of their favorite movies. Watching this film with that in mind, I have to admit that I was very disappointed with Melancholia. Yes, it was beautifully put together and the cinematography was perfect. But my main problem with the film is that the story was boring and overall intellectually dry. There were many interesting themes that the film could have explored but didn’t. It portrayed depression is a moving, interesting way but didn’t really address the issue of depression or ask meaningful questions about depression.

Another thing that seemed unresolved but not in a good way was the strained relationship between Justine and Claire. I think the relationship dynamic between them was very interesting but the filmmakers didn’t fully explore their relationship or make the audience ask questions about what it means to be a good sister. Since my younger sister has some audio processing difficulties, I was very intrigued by this mother-like older sister character. I also identify with Claire’s struggle with anxiety. This film could have been very personal and spoke to my real life relationships. But it didn’t. It didn’t fully explore or resolve the sister’s relationship so I was very disappointed by that aspect of the film as well. 

As Christians how should we approach the issue of depression? How should we treat and deal with it?

How do our relationships with our siblings reflect how we view ourselves? What would kingdom-like sibling relationships look like?

The Majestic Mountains

The television show Planet Earth, made by Discovery Channel, may as well be the best made educational and entertaining show on the features of this earth we are living on. I just recently saw an episode that focused on the mountains. It explained how it formed, showed the inhabitants of different mountains and how they adapt to the harsh living conditions of the place. The narrator, David Attenborough, mentioned that people often talk of conquering a mountain, and yet in truth they have not. “We are only visitors,” David said.

At first, if you’ve never seen Planet Earth before, it may sound boring but it is quite the opposite. This show teaches us to admire the nature that God has created. It is telling us about His creativity and His power and His attention to detail. It shows all the variety of mountains, plants and creatures that God has given us. But at the same time, this show demonstrates how all of creation has fallen; Pumas are trying to maim other animals for food and even male bighorn sheep fighting against each other as a proof of who’s stronger and a competition to decide who gets the female. Climate change has been changing the life of the different animals residing in the mountains. These mountains sometimes hold our violence and other people’s riches since drug trades often take place in mountains, where there are no eyes that spy. Even our attempts to conquer the highest of mountains, Mount Everest, show our fellness, in that these attempts highlight our desire for personal glory. We long for the recognition that comes with being able to scale that treacherous mountain.

With all the majesty of the mountains and the adorableness of the different creatures, it makes you wonder what it will be like in the new earth and heaven. If the natural landscapes we have now are already breathtaking, how much more when Jesus comes again?

But until then questions arise:

What are we personally doing to care for nature?

How can we prevent the extinction of endangered species?

Perks of Being a Wallflower

Cultural Artifact #2-Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Karis Kim

                This coming of age movie tells the story of a boy named Charlie who struggles to find normalcy in his life. Charlie wants to be like any other teenage hoping to find friends that accept and understand him. This is an important part in Charlie’s life because he is finally recovering from mental issues and deaths that he has come to cope with. A group of friends ‘adopts’ Charlie as they introduce him to a whole new world outside of anything he could imagine. There is a lot to take away from the movie and how it can relate to a lot of things that high schoolers are going through. Grades, social pressure, partying, and what the future will hold for each of these characters. Everyone is created differently and goes through different situations that shape how they become. For Charlie, he struggled a lot because seemingly the suicide death of his best friend and car accident that happened to his aunt. These events took a huge toll on Charlie’s introverted nature. The constant clashing of his love for his aunt and the fact that she had abused him really left Charlie unstable and uncertain about why he was living. There are so many things that we don’t know people are struggling with and this movie just brought that idea to life. People are always hiding their real story and everyone should be aware of this fact. Evil and sin just emanates through all the things that have happened in Charlie’s life. He is extremely strong for being able to handle all the different pressures and evil that he has been inflicted with. By the end of the film, Charlie is able to find a peace and purpose for his life. He doesn’t have everything figured out, but he does have a better handle on coping and helping himself be healthy. I really enjoyed the film and felt that it made me aware of a lot of stuff I never would have thought about. So many people struggle with their own problems and it made me think about how strong people are to be going through whatever their story has entailed. How can we as Christians help talk to these kinds of introverted people? Is there any way for us to help prevent even more of these evils from occurring?

Seeing the Light Through The Lumineers

          The Lumineers are a folk alternative band that was formed in Denver, Colorado in 2005.  It was not until recetly, however that The Lumineers exploded in popularity, receiving two Grammy nominations and achieving double platinum status on their most popular single  "Ho Hey" in December of 2012.  The band is comprised of Wesley Schultz on guitar, Jeremiah Fraites on drums and Neyla Pakarek.  Fraites describes the bands style as "super simple" stating that the emphasis of the band is not on the complexity of the compositions but instead on the cinematic aspect of the band's performances.

          Most of the songs on The Lumineers' single, self-named album are in the form of short, poetic stories with old-timey small town, country undertones.  This is clearly shown through "Classy Girls", an illustration of an interaction between a young man and a young woman in a bar that is just under three minutes long.  Like the bar in the story created by this song, it almost feels as though this song was written to be listened to after a long day of work, to let loose, and just relax.

          While this album was certainly relaxing and easy to listen to, many of the songs have a hidden meaning behind the simple rhythms.  The song "Submarines" for example hides the possibility of a Japanese submarine invasion behind a joyful, upbeat piano riff.  In this song, a boy runs into town swearing he's seen a Japanese submarine to which the town responds casually unconcerned; the police just laugh, saying he's seen a ghost.  This is an allusion to the empire which preaches that people should be casually unconcerned about anything that could potentially rock the boat.  The final two lines of the song sum up perfectly why no one will listen to the unpopular voice.  "In the end it boils down to credibility; I had none so I will die with the secrets of the sea."  The empire discourages questions just like this small town that refused to even consider whether or not there was a submarine in the water.  

          The setting of the Lumineers' song "Charlie Boy" is the mid 1940's during World War II.  This song tells the story of a time when the government preached patriotism; that if one did not support the war effort, they lacked the traits of a true American.  It is easy to see the position of the family members of Charlie, the hypothetical young man volunteering to go to war, through the lyrics "Kennedy made him believe, we could do much more." Charlie was a victim of the empire telling him that he could be a hero if he went along with America's plan for the world.  But the lyrics go on to show how only pain ensued when the "news was bad on Upland Ave." and "Metuchen mourn our loss."  This song illustrates perfectly how it is so easy to fall under the empire's influence because it's ideals are manufactured to be popular in culture.

          The Lumineers, through their meaningful lyrics, help to bring about the kingdom of God rather than the empire by making us ask questions.  They tell short stories that are trivial at the surface, but incredibly complex once they are listened to the second or third time.  The Lumineers make art through their music because it does not tell anyone to believe any one thing but instead, they are made to encourage questions and alternate interperetations. 

Cultural Artifact 2: The Great Gatsby (Book)

The Great Gatsby is a classic novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is about Nick, the narrator, and his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Gatsby fell in love with Nick's cousin, Daisy, back during their teenage years. Ever since then Gatsby has been trying to find a way to contact Daisy and succeeds once he meets Nick. Daisy and Gatsby's reunion is full of emotion as all the old feelings have been drudged up. At the same time, Daisy's husband, Tom, is having an affair with a gas station attendant's wife named Myrtle. As Daisy and Gatsby's affair becomes more serious, Tom begins to take notice. At a luncheon with Tom, Nick, Daisy, and Gatsby, Tom realizes that Gatsby is deeply in love with Gatsby. After a fuss Daisy realizes her devotion to Tom who makes her drive back to their home with Gatsby as a way to prove that he (Tom) has complete control over Daisy. Daisy is driving the car when she accidentally hits Myrtle. Eventually Myrtle's husband avenges her death by killing Gatsby in his backyard.

The nature of sin in The Great Gatsby is evident in the affairs that Tom and Daisy have; both of them are rich and feel entitled to being able to do whatever they want. The nature of sin is also seen in Gatsby's life. Gatsby has these extravagant stories that no one knows if they're true or not, so some people hate Gatsby while others love him for the lavish parties that he throws. The parties and stories are used to cover his insecurities and to make himself seem better for the Daisy. Within Gatsby and Daisy's affair there is sin on many levels because of the sexual aspect of the relationship, as well as Daisy being interested in Gatsby because of his acquired wealth not because he is a good person. Redemption can be seen in Gatsby because of his only motive for living is to win Daisy's heart. Even though this is a shallow reason for living, it makes the reader pity Gatsby and want him to win because he's the underdog. Nick is redeemed when, at the end of the novel, he returns back West because of the amount of corruption within the socialite life. Nick understands that life is valuable and emotions are not to be trifled with and doesn't want anything to do the life that he was living in the East.

This novel reveals many things about the Empire. The main point about the Empire in the Great Gatsby is that the Empire sucks you in and spits you out worse off. The Empire wants you to consume its goods mindlessly like the people that were "friends" with Gatsby did. All of Gatsby's "friends" were there to drink all of his booze and do outlandish things at his parties, they didn't care about the emotions and deeper aspects of Jay Gatsby, just that he had money to spend on things of the Empire. The Kingdom is shown in The Great Gatsby within Nick who is the moral compass of the group of characters. He tries to make things right between everybody, and after failed attempts, leaves West Egg to live a life that he can be proud of in the Western United States.

1. Is Gatsby ever redeemed during the novel?
2. Is Daisy at fault for  Myrtle's death, or it is simply a coincidence that her husband's lover was the people she hit?
3. Does Nick succeed at being a moral character?

Princess Mononoke

   Princess Mononoke is a film about warrior, Ashitaka, that went in search of what created the demon that destroyed his home. He stumbles across a war between Lady Eboshi, who wants to destroy the forest to find iron, and Princess Mononoke, who wants to protect the forest.

    The main message that this film enforces is that people should try to find a balance between their use of nature and the preservation of nature. In this way both the culture that humans create and the nature that it tends with have the opportunity to flourish. An easier way to look at it is to say that this film is advocating for shalom between humans and creation.
    Neither the humans nor the creatures of the forest were shown to be completely good or evil, but were kept morally ambiguous. Even though Lady Eboshi was cruel to the forest, she also took in lepers and gave them a home. The wolves showed loyalty to the boars and kindness to Ashitaka, yet they were willing to let the boars die in battle, or kill Ashitaka if it meant their own preservation. In this way evil is shown to be the violence that each side of the war inflicts on the other and that the only way to reconcile that evil is to find shalom in the balance of the two.
    The captivation of the empire is shown in this film when both creatures and humans believe that there are two options, destroy the forest for iron or protect the forest and live like animals. Ashitaka is the voice of the Kingdom by advocating a new way of thinking because he is not part of the two sided battle, and he deliberately stays separated. However, he does not stay away, instead he jumps into the fray and continues to advocate for shalom.

What can we do to create shalom with our environment?

What are some examples of two sided arguments that the empire creates? 

Redeeming a Sinful World

“Princess Mononoke” is a story of a prince, Ashitaka, who, in a battle with a demon, is cursed and is forced to go find the cure for the curse through the nature god. On his journey to find the nature god, the prince encounters Princess Mononoke, a girl raised by nature, who is at battle with civilization. The civilization is led by Lady Eboshi who is industrializing a town and destroying the nature around it. A man named Jigo then comes into the conflict and enlists the help of Lady Eboshi in finding the nature god and beheading it, so that he may gain the reward set on its head.   

It is very easy to say that this story is opening up the discussion on what humans are doing to nature; that humans are so caught up in creating new weaponry that they completely forget about the gods around them that take care of the nature. I would argue that the story is more a story of redemption. The main civilization shown throughout this film is the village of Iron Town. Iron town does exactly what it sounds like; it creates iron. This town is led by Lady Eboshi who shows the first glance of redemption through her choice in workers. Lady Eboshi does not hire a bunch of men to work her iron mills; she hires women out of whorehouses to create the iron and lepers to create weaponry out of the iron. Redemption also shows its way into the story through the main character, Ashitaka. Ashitaka is on a quest for healing. On this quest he runs into the conflict between Iron Town and nature. When Ashitaka runs into the leader of nature side of the conflict, Princess Mononoke, he immediately falls for her. When Princess Mononoke decides to attack Iron Town, Ashitaka is forced to break up a fight between Lady Eboshi and Princess Mononoke by knocking both of them out. He then proceeds to carry Princess Mononoke out of Iron Town, getting himself shot on the way out. The Princess, in seeing what he has done for her, gets him to the center of the forest where the nature god dwells where Ashitaka finds himself healed by the waters of the nature god. Later in the story, Jigo and his men march on the dwelling of the nature spirit and behead the nature god. The body of the nature god goes on a rampage to find his head, to which Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke go out and take back the nature god’s head from Jigo, restoring order to the world. In returning the nature god’s head, Ashitaka is healed of his curse and the world is filled with new growth. As you can see, redemption is the main premise of this story as Ashitaka redeems himself of his curse and the world is redeemed by the Ashitaka’s sacrifice.

Question 1: What is our role in taking care of nature?

Question 2: What lessons come out of this film? What did you learn?

Question 3: One of the other themes of this movie is “sin” invading the world. How is “sin” portrayed in the characters of “Princess Mononoke”? What affect does “sin” have on the characters?  

Potent Passion

Arrow Season 1 Episode 10

Passion is like a wild fire. I always admired people who died/fought for a cause. When I was a kid, watching a movie in which a character died/fought for people they loved or a cause they championed always stirred up something in me to find something/someone to fight and maybe die for. So watching Arrow should have inspired me.

Arrow is a television show about Oliver Queen, the vigilante/hero of Starling City and

the son of the CEO of a billion dollar company. He did not grow up as a martial arts master fighting off anyone who tried to hurt him or those around him. Only through his father’s death and 5 years on a deserted island did Oliver Queen learn the skills to protect a city. This episode of Arrow focused on fear. Having lived on a deserted island for 5 years with nothing to lose and nothing to hope for, Oliver learned to master his fear of death. However, once he returned home to his family, the fear that he mastered slowly slipped out of his reign and took a hold of him. Oliver was afraid of losing his family and friends and he was afraid of what they would go through if they lost him a second time. But Diggles, his sidekick took Oliver’s love for his family and friends and turned it into an unstoppable weapon. Diggles says, “You think the people you let in have taken your edge, I think it gives you one, maybe a stronger one even. You can stare down death with something to live for or not.” In the end, Oliver Queen’s love for his family and friends help him defeat the bad guy (a firefighter) who ended up burning to death, hence the title of the episode, “Burned.” This episode of Arrow does an excellent job encouraging people to be passionate for their loved ones and for justice. It is evident the creators of this television show believe human beings were created for a purpose – to care for and protect those we love and stand up for justice. Though in the show the main character does seem to go a bit too far by killing all the people who do wrong to the city, the message is clear that we should all stand up against injustice and crime.

Unfortunately, passion is like a wild fire. I am afraid for passionate people. I am afraid for people who are passionate for the wrong thing. I thought I would be inspired once again to pursue my desires with zeal, but this time I learned there is a dark side to passion. Oliver Queen doesn’t kill the bad guy in this episode, rather the bad guy commits suicide. Once Oliver points an arrow at his chest and asks him to get help, the bad guy decides to kill himself because he knows he won’t be able to live so long as the man he is trying to get revenge on is still alive. Though this firefighter knew how to extinguish a building on fire, he couldn’t extinguish his passion for revenge.

       So then how do you try and save those who are so passionate about the wrong thing? For example Muslims? Terrorists?

      Is your passion for Christ inextinguishable? Is your passion for Christ catching on others?

Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke, a Japanese animation released in 1997, was a very interesting movie. A prince named Ashikata from Emishi village is cursed by a demon in a battle of trying to defend the village from the demon. The curse of hatred is expected to consume Ashitaka’s body and ultimately kill him unless he finds a cure. On his journey to find the origin of an iron ball, the only evidence of finding a cure, he finds himself tangled in a battle between the humans and the forest gods. Lady Eboshi, a strong female leader governing Iron Town, wants to clear the forest for the expansion of Iron Town for wealth and agricultural boom. However, the forest gods stand against the humans to protect their homes. San, a human girl who was raised by wolf gods fight with the forest gods to stop Eboshi from taking over the forest.

The director of the film, Hayao Miyazaki, stated that he wanted to “portray the very beginnings of the seemingly insoluble conflict between the natural world and modern industrial civilization.” Human greed is portrayed well throughout the film as Miyazaki intended. Some key scenes were when the boar god, Okkoto-nushi is overtaken by violence and hatred towards humans which turns him into a demon, which also caused the attack in Emishi village where Ashitaka got his curse. The film effectively show that although trying to advance human civilization is a good goal, the methods of acquiring that goal is wrong. The hate from both the humans and the forest gods towards each other magnified the violence and the destruction of each other.

One interesting thing I realized in the film is that although the forest gods look like animals, they are called “gods.” This made me think about the idol and false gods in the world such as the golden cow in the bible. It made me relate to how there are people who worship the nature and animals especially because Japan is known to have thousands of idols and false gods.

However, there were scenes in the movie which reminded me of our God the Holy Spirit. There was a particular scene where two assassins were hiding in the bushes to see the “Forest Spirit,” a god portrayed as mystical, legendary, and all-powerful. While in the bushes, one assassin says, “it is forbidden/sin to look at the forest spirit.” This reminded me of the tabernacle and the court Holy of Holies where it was a sin to directly look at God. I’m not sure if that is the case for any other gods in our world but that fact that humans were trying to kill the gods and take their place further pushed me to think about the tower of Babel when the humans rebelled against God to reach the heaven. Similarly, the Iron City is destroyed by the forest spirit just as how God swept the earth with the great flood. Even in the last scene when Ashitaka says “the forest spirit lives with us” reminded me of Jesus’ death and resurrection which assures that God is with us in our everyday life even though we can’t see Him through our eyes.

Some discussion questions are: 

-Could the gods in the movie also represent many gods and idols in our life (games, media, pornography, etc) that we must conquer? if so, can the people of Iron city represent as people fighting for the Kingdom of God? 

-What would hate towards sin look like in our daily life? should hate towards sin be acceptable to Christians?

Cultural Artifact 2 - The Bachelor

For my second artifact, I chose to analyze an episode of ABC’s The Bachelor. This reality TV show follows the experiences of Sean Lowe as he dates a total of 26 girls, eliminating a few each week until he is left with one girl, to whom he proposes in a romantic and slightly-cheesy season finale. The show encourages competition between the girls and is known for its dramatic twists.

In essence, this show is a chance at redemption for Sean Lowe, as he was previously rejected on the last season of The Bachelorette. He reportedly had his heart broken by Bachelorette Emily, but now that he has recovered, he is ready to find love again, much to the entertainment of the public (and myself).

The entire purpose of the show is centered on finding a wife for Bachelor Sean, indicating that one of the only ways you can be fulfilled is through a relationship, particularly marriage. Most of the contestants come on the show and gush about love, relationships, and how they see Sean as the perfect man for them (this is all during one-on-one interviews with the contestants).  When those girls get sent home, it is like their whole world comes crashing down, as if this prospect of a relationship was their one chance at happiness. Whether this is actually how the girls feel or simply the manipulation of the producers, it sends a message. The focus on relationships encourages viewers to see their life as incomplete unless they have a partner. In addition, the large budget of the show also allows for extravagant dates and locations, creating excitement and “romance”. The show sets up what an ideal dating experience would look like, and it may cause viewer to see their own relationships as insufficient because they do not live up to the excitement depicted in the show. It supports the idea that people should only be in a relationship if it comes naturally and is exciting for you, a framework prevalent in today’s empire and thought to be one of the leading causes of divorce.

One of the things that concerns me the most about this show is the commodification of love. These are real people on the show, with real feelings, and if only one out of 26 girls will be chosen, what message does that send to the other 25 girls? That they aren’t pretty enough? Aren’t smart enough? Aren’t good enough? The Bachelor has taken something as sacred as falling in love and made it into a spectacle for the entertainment of millions, manipulating people’s emotions and feelings all for the sake of ratings and business. This is the business of the Empire.

Over the past few years, there has also been some skepticism and criticism concerning the producers of the show. A recent article I read indicated that producers intentionally encouraged the contestants to get drunk on specific occasions in order to create a more dramatic show. And, as with all reality TV, we know that any story can be spun with the vast amounts of footage they obtain. It leaves me, and any other critical mind in the audience questioning, “How real is this?” The power that the producers have to create and manipulate any person, event, or story they want can be dangerous to the millions of viewers; they could basically sell us any message they want. And usually, that message is about the commodification of love.

I would also like to note the glamour that is extremely obvious in the show. Every show, the girls dress up in very fancy and often revealing dresses that are obviously designed to attract attention. They also stay in a very luxurious mansion as housemates, complete with pool, hot tub, bar, and other accessories. The lavish lifestyle depicted in the show ties directly into the theme of consumption and wealth as the two main goals of the empire. This is reinforced by the tons of ads directed at women during the commercial break, as if to say, if you buy this product, you will be fulfilled and can have the lavish lifestyle you see before you. All of the fun the girls seem to have in the house and with Sean entice the viewers to want a similar lifestyle, one that is only achieved through consumption and wealth.

However, there are some positive aspects to the show. This year especially, the Bachelor, Sean, is known to be a genuine guy who values family and traditional Christian morals. He has stated multiple times that he is not looking for simply a physically attractive woman; he is looking for someone with a good heart and sense of humor. This is especially seen in his interactions with women of different ethnicities and a woman with a physical disability (she only has one are). All of these women are contestants and he treats them all the same, valuing them as unique individuals, being open to a relationship with all, and getting to know each woman on a personal level. He even admitted that he doesn’t have a physical type when it comes to women, a very rare trait in today’s empire. He appears to truly value who a woman is rather than what she looks like, which is a genuine reflection of Kingdom values. God values each person simply because he created them, and he desires a personal relationship with everyone. Obviously God is the only one who is able to do this perfectly, but I feel like Sean is making an excellent attempt to show how we should treat one another.

Discussion Questions:

1.       Why are we so attracted to reality TV drama while most people avoid drama in real life?

2.       Is it considered appropriate for a Christian guy like Sean to be participating in the Bachelor (if he is truly a Christian)? Why or why not?

Doctor Who season 4 episode 3: Planet of the Ood

Doctor Who is a TV show about the doctor, an alien who travels time and space. In this episode, he and Donna Noble land on the planet where the Ood are bred in the year 4126. The Ood are a race modified by man to act as perfect slaves, and are now revolting.

This episode helps us to see slavery in a new perspective. One of the things clearly depicted is the difference between what the Ood really are and what humans stubbornly think of them. The Ood are advertised as creatures coming from a far off planet with only one purpose: to serve. But this is only the result of a trade secret: the Ood’s external brain is cut off and replaced with a speaking device. Multiple times during the shows, comments are made on the fact that some people know this and don't care, and the rest simply don't ask: they prefer to live the lives of ignorance that the empire suggests. 

This situation is very similar to the situation of sweatshops in our world today. This is even mentioned in the episode: the doctor makes Donna realize this by asking her who made her clothes. At first it would seem that the purpose of humans is to expand their power by any means necessary; but by the end, the Doctor shifts that purpose to caring about other people and races and essentially fighting for shalom.

In the end of the episode, the Ood decide to redeem the life of the CEO of the Ood factory by transforming him into an Ood instead of killing him. I find that in this way they show a kingdom way of life by showing mercy while still obtaining their own safety.

How effective is showing the plight of alien creatures in making us realize how bad the situation of slavery is on our planet?

More importantly, what are some what we can help fight slavery today, which is much more rampant than we like to think ?

Perks of Being a Wallflower: Seeing the Kingdom

            The movie Perks of Being a Wallflower was a flawless tale of overcoming the empire. It is the story of a young man named Charlie starting his first year of high school. Trauma and the loss of his best friend do not make this an easy journey for Charlie; he spends the beginning of the year alone until he meets Patrick and Sam who welcome him to “the island of misfit toys”.  This film reinforces the repeated message of the Bible: caring for others. It is human nature to need others, after all no man is an island. Throughout the movie, the characters cry out for the kingdom as they try to escape the suffering of the empire. This is evident when Charlie and Sam ask why the people they love allow people to treat them badly, to which a teacher responds that people accept the love they think they deserve. We all accept what big corporations, advertisers, the “matrix” tell us is true rather than search for more—the kingdom.

The origin of evil and sin is being numb to the pain of others. Charlie is tormented at school (call him names, rip his book, etc.), Patrick is harassed for his sexual orientation, Sam is used by guys, and the list goes on. As Christians, we are called to help each other; yet, the people in Charlie’s life are continually hurt by the system of the empire. However, the film does not leave us feeling as if the grasp of the empire is inescapable; it leaves us with hope. Charlie struggled throughout the movie, but with the support of his friends, he becomes a stronger person. At the end of the film, we are left with the feeling that there is hope in the world, hope for moving toward the kingdom of God.

 Redemption comes from community. Though Charlie and his friends have troubled pasts and continue to struggle through life, their friendship helps them. Twice while with friends, Charlie speaks of being infinite. I think this is code for the kingdom. The kingdom exists inside the turmoil of the empire and, with the support of his friends, Charlie stumbles on the path towards the kingdom. He becomes infinite through the kingdom. Charlie subverts the ruling authority by leaving the comfort of the empire. During the scene where Charlie is in the hospital, the doctor asks Charlie to let her help him and Charlie agrees. He leaves the denial of the empire in order to face the truth and uncover the path to the kingdom.

1)      How can we help others subvert the empire?

2)      Do you think that there is still hope in the world?