Simply Put - We Love Movies

So, I have been spending a lot of my free time of late watching old movies that I have never seen (like "The Outlaw Josie Wales" which I just finished) while I exercise. My thinking is that sometimes I get a little weird from my exposure to sick people all the time and then in my role as leader and teacher and all and so the movies help me keep a little better touch with the reality of American life - masy sound silly, but try living in my very strange (but wonderful) world for a day and I think you will better understand. Anyway, all this movie watching prompted the "noticing" for last week's More than more time we shared.

We talked about our favorite movie and each of the folks talked a little or a lot about their favorite scene. It was really hard for some and one movie seemed to be too much of a task for many of us, but we tried and we had a great time talking about anything from "The Blind Side" to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" to "Armageddon" and "Gone with the Wind" and "On Golden Pond" We laughed and (yes that's right) some even cried as we talked about the significance these movies have had in our lives. It was fun and interesting to see what everybody likes.

We then spent some time noticing the amazingness of God as we considered how remarkably movies impact us. In fact, all a movie is typically is a made up story, with some overpaid men and women acting it out and being told what to do and say by some dude or lady with an ego the size of Texas and a bunch of fake backdrops and props to make it sell, and nowadays with a bunch of computer generated additions at the end. This is a big sham, from the beginning to the end. Granted some of these are "based on a true story" but how loosely I sometimes wonder!

So, here's the skinny - these fakey, built up, silly, made up scams move us to tears - even in a group of people sitting around in a community center like More than more. Don't get me wrong, I am so glad the people who come to More than more find peace and acceptance there to such a huge degree that they feel they can just totally be themselves, but consider how much movies affect us!

Literally, "Dead Poet's Society" has changed the way I live my life. It has affected me so much. But how is this, that this fakey creation has such an impact?

The truth? We see, in these movies, glimpses of ourselves. We find pieces of our insecurities lived out in the lives of the people in the movies - we see them win the battles we wish we could - we see them make it seem like our journey is not so impossible after all - they validate us, they challenge us, sometimes they condemn us. All out of this fakeness, they do all this.

So, here is the "notice" part. The reason that we are made this way - so able to connect, to be impacted, to associate and intertwine our experiences with those in the movies, is that God has made us this way. No, I am sure He did not make us this way specifically so that the movie makers could make more money. Instead, he made us so bound to relationships and memories and our emotions are so tied up with our experiences and with those around us that we automatically connect and experience intense passion with those in the movie. Plus, to many of us, because there is also some intermixed sense of the fakeness too, connecting with the people in the movie is a lot safer than connecting with the people in our real world, as it only involves 90 minutes or so and there is little potential for serious harm to come to us, unlike the people in the real world where serious hurt is the norm, it seems. It is a beautiful thing that we are made so wonderfully as to be able to connect to movies, books, stories, music so deeply - that it can impact us so powerfully. And, we have God to thank for this! He made us this way. I am sure that if I watch "Dead Poet's" with my dog, she will have no connection at all with the characters in the movie (I doubt she would feel any connection with Marley in "Marley & Me" either for those of you ready to point out that there are no dogs in "Dead Poet's"). So, the next time that you watch a movie, or a TV show, or a Hallmark Commercial, and you find youself involved, inspired, moved, hurt, afraid, etc - consider first that the whole thing is a fake and then consider that it still is having a huge affect on you. There, in that moment, pause the DVR, or mute the sound, and talk to God. Thank Him that He made you so wonderfully and amazingly that you have this built in people connector in you because without it, life would be lame. Ask Him to join you in the moments that you spend watching movies and TV and in your life and enjoy how He changes the way you think!

This is a little piece of what we talked about last Thursday at More than more. If you are looking for more out of life and are tired of the same old thing - we would love to have you join us on our journey toward meaning and purpose and joy in life. We will be hanging out again 4/29 at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM - we would love to have you join us!