Category Archives: Media

October 17, 2009 · 12:54 am

And it was still hot

That's me up there.

That’s me up there.

When I was a boy, I discovered a wonderful book.  It was a part of my school library, and I would check it out every chance I had.  It was the story of a boy who was sent to bed without his supper for misbehaving.  While in his room a “forest grew, and grew, and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and his walls became the world all around.”

I was Max.

I was the little boy that got into trouble.  Not so much for being a wild thing, but for other reasons.  I was the little boy that had a big imagination – one full of friends and heroes and enemies and a few wild things.  I was the boy, who after going on an adventure, even when he knew his mother might be angry with him, could depend on the fact that when he came home, his supper would be waiting for him.

“Where the Wild Things Are” is more than a book to me.  It is a story that captured me twenty five years ago and continues to hold me tight.  It is a story I now tell my daughter – word for word, without the book.  It is a story of adventure, imagination, friendship, love, loss, and grace.

“Where the Wild Things” opens in movie theaters tonight.  I have seen all the trailers.  Even with a resounding endorsement from Maurice Sendak, I am reluctant to see it.  I am reluctant because its not his story anymore.  And its not Spike Jonze’s story either.  Its mine.

“Where the Wild Things Are” is MY story.  It is MY adventure.  I was there when they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws.  I was on that ship – dozens of times.  It is MY wild rumpus, complete with the beating drums in the background that I still make when I read the story.  I was the king of the Wild Things.

I am Max.

And it was MY mother who had dinner waiting for me when I returned.

I will probably go see the movie, but to be honest I’m not sure if I want to.  I’m not exactly sure what I’m afraid of.  I know that the story will always be mine.  When I was a kid it was important to know that no matter how wild I was, no matter how far I strayed, no matter how long I was gone, my supper would always be waiting for me.

As an adult I have a deeper understanding of grace.  Max and his mother helped teach me that.  So now maybe its okay to let go of my story – a little.  The story of grace is one that needs to be told over and over to as many people as possible.

Someday soon my daughter will come home from the library (her favorite place in the world) carrying the story of Max and his wild friends.  She will read it and I pray that she will know that no matter how wild she is, no matter how far she strays, no matter how long she is gone, her supper will always be waiting for her.

And it will still be hot.

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May 14, 2009 · 9:31 am

Things that annoy me about Adam and Gokey

  1. In every song, Adam ends up screetching.
  2. Adam messed up the words to “One”
  3. In his interview Gokey said, “This is an amazing experience.  Its unlike no other.” (So, it is like other experiences?)
  4. During his second song on Tues., Adam was overpowered by his backup singers.
  5. While throwing out the first pitch at a Brewers game, Gokey took a crow-hop.

I’m just glad Gokey is gone.  But like I said before – he is going to make a LOT of money as a Christian artist, where he can sell his story all he wants, and Christian radio will eat it up.

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May 14, 2009 · 2:22 am

American Idol Final 3

I haven’t posted in about a month, and my first time back is about American Idol?  I know, its so superficial – but I don’t care.  I like this show.  I have watched almost every episode since the Underwood-Bice season.  This year, we have watched every episode with a careful and critical eye.

This is the first season I have really paid attention to how much the producers try to push their favorites.  I am sure it has gone on in the past, but the way they have pushed for Danny and Adam since the tryouts has been shameless.   It is so obvious that Adam is going to win it all, but here is my take on the final three:

  1. Adam Lambert:  He is the most seasoned performer.  He could be a star on broadway.  He would be great in some Andrew Lloyd Weber rock opera.  When he performed the Led Zeppelin song, he was great.  I have come to realize though, that he does a lot of screeching.  I hated the way he absolutely butchered “One.”  He changed the melody too much.  He screamed and screetched.  He changed a lyric.  It was awful.  But he will win.
  2. Kris Allen.  He is the most talented musician of the three, but he will probably be the least commercially successful.  He showed his versatility by playing both his piano and guitar on the show last night.  His second song was the best of the night.  What I like the most about him is that he has survived despite getting almost no pimping from the producers.  He was completely unknown and irrelevant at the beginning of the season.  He has emerged from his good-looks and talent.  He is my favorite.
  3. Danny Gokey.  The producers of the show pimped his story so ferociously that there was a little bit of backlash.  To me, he is smug and annoying and a decent singer.  He will make a lot of money and sell a LOT of albums as a Contemporary Christian atist.  If he doesn’t win the show, his first album will win many Dove awards.    

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March 27, 2009 · 12:12 am

The Mouse is a pimp

At 1:39 into the clip, the dance begins. A beautiful woman is embraced by a tall, dark and handsome man.  He is behind her, with his head leaning in toward her face, which is accepting of this advance.  Their lips are mere inches apart.  He is wearing a dark suit, but no one is looking at what he is wearing.  She is the centerpiece.  The straps of her dress reveal softly rounded shoulders and a plunging neckline that accentuates her feminine curves.  It allows little, and yet much, to the imagination.

As the dance proceeds, the passion only intensifies.  Her back is left bare by her dress as the two twirl and glide along the floor with grace and beauty.  Her muscularly femine legs  are glimpsed with every lunging step, and every fanciful turn. They float across the floor until the dance comes to its climactic moment when he lifts her leg, places her foot on his shoulder, then twirls into the last pose.  She throws her head back in exhaustion.  He clutches her around the waist, keeping her close, lowering his face to her breast.

The beauty of the dance is certain.  It was a passionate dance, full of tension and emotion.  Their sexuality was at the forefront of every movement, but there is a disturbing twist.

The woman in the dance – the woman with the plunging neckline and sculpted legs…  The woman taken on this journey of passion, culminating in a climactic – even orgasmic – collapse of emotion…  The woman in this dance is 17 years old.

The woman, or should I say girl, in this video is Shawn Johnson.  She is an Olympic champion.  She is a beautiful girl.  She has spent much of her life training her body, gaining a superb mix of feminine grace and athleticism.  She is a role model for young women across the country  – someone to aspire to – someone to dream about being.  She, unlike so many females in the spotlight, is no waif.  She is a picture of health and fitness.  She has reached the pinnacle of her career, and shows no sign of slowing down.  There is no wonder that she is a front-runner on Season 8 of Dancing With the Stars.

I am disurbed however, by the way in which she is being sexualized.  After one of her dances, she was even told by the judge to be “more naughty.”  The host at least had the clear-mindedness to say, “she’s 17.”  But there is no wonder the judge got caught up in her sexuality, he is just a part of our culture that is doing more and more to sexualize young women.  One author calls it “The Lolita Effect.”

I had this discussion recently with some people.  One of the men said, “hasn’t this been happening for years?  Is this something new?  Wasn’t Brooke Shields sexualized when she was young, and Jodi Foster in “Taxi Driver”?”

My response was, “Yes, this has been happening for years.  The difference is, back then it was controversial.  Now it is being sold by Disney.”

The sexualization of young girls is big business, and it is mainstream big business.  Sex is being used to sell young girls and to sell to young girls.  Shawn Johnson is lifted up as the ideal American girl – so lets put her in a dress with a plunging neckline and have her simulate a passionate encounter with a man ten years her elder.  Miley Cyrus is idolized by millions of young girls, so let’s take off her clothes, drape her in a sheet and take pictures of her.

Some might argue, “Well, that wasn’t her doing that.  That was a manipulative photographer that tricked her into posing like that.”  Okay, even if I buy that (which I don’t).  Then how do you explain this:

large_miley

In case you can’t tell from the picture, that is Mickey Mouse and Miley Cyrus’ breast about to fall out of her dress, and there are 16 candles on that cake – 16!

 Disney corporation pretends it stands for family values and presents its image as pure and ideal, but then gives us Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus and Shawn Johnson’s cleavage on DTWS.   A google search of Disney and sex reveals conspiracy theories about subliminal sexual messages embedded in Disney movies.

They are not subliminal.  The sexual images are right there in front of our faces – right there in front of the faces of our girls and boys.  There is nothing subliminal about Disney and sex. 

Why do we let them get away with it?  Why do we allow Disney to prostitute our young girls?  South Park has one theory.  And I tend to agree with them (but not completely).  Disney presents an image of purity and virginity while at the same time cramming sexual images down our throats.  

Disney is a corporation, and its purpose is to make money.  Does that make it evil? No.  It makes it a profitable business.  Disney exists to make money – nothing more.  The way that it makes money is to convince people that it stands for more than that.  I, as a consumer, can choose to consume their product or not.  My home is not a Disney-free zone.  But I assure you that when I do consume their product, I do so with my eyes wide open.

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February 20, 2009 · 2:33 am

Fireproof stirs something

My last post, about the movie “Fireproof,” has been one of the most successful posts I have made. By successful I mean a couple of things – my object with this blog is not to convince anyone of anything. I am not trying to tell you how to feel or think or believe. I am simply sharing some insights or thoughts I have about a variety of topics. My goal is to start conversations, or to help people think of things in ways that they hadn’t before.

To me, a successful post is one that: a. a lot of people read, and b. people think about and react to. On an objective level, this can be measured by the number of visits and the number of comments.

My fireproof post was one of the most successful posts on both counts. Now, the term “a lot” is relative. Anytime one of my posts goes over 50 hits, I consider it “a lot.” So far, the Fireproof post has had 63, and has a chance at becoming the most viewed post in this blog. It also has brought forth several comments, including a running dialog. To me, this is fantastic.

It seems clear that this movie has hit a chord with a lot of people. Those that like the movie claim that its message is powerful and has been inspiring to people in the context of their marriage relationship. The message (apparently, I still haven’t seen it) is that God must be in the center of a marriage. I certainly believe in that, and have preached that on more than one occasion.

On the other side is the fact that Kirk Cameron is the star of the movie. Some Christians believe him to be a good representative of all that is wrong with American evangelical conservative Christianity. In this, I mostly agree. I am not completely familiar with his work, but I find the movie “Left Behind,” which thrust him into his current role within some Christian communities, to be dangerous and antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as I understand it.

So, where does this leave us? Should I ignore the movie, or even actively try to dissuade people from seeing it, for fear that it might inadvertently lead them down paths I would certainly want people to avoid? Or should I see the movie and use it as an evangelical tool to guide people in Christian marriage?

As usual, when I am faced with a decision that appears to boil down to options A or B, I choose option 3. I have determined that I am going to see Fireproof. So as not to support the production of it financially, I am going to try to borrow it from a library. After watching it, I will be better able to enter into a conversation with those that have experienced grace from it. But I am probably not going to be putting up movie posters or host a community showing.

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February 15, 2009 · 8:04 am

Is Fireproof safe?

It seems like I can’t turn around without seeing something about the movie “Fireproof.” I have heard from so many people that, “You just have to see this movie – it is so good.” Before you go out and check your local listings, know that Fireproof is not going to be at the theater anytime soon, and I’m not really sure if it ever was.

From what I can gather from the posters I have seen advertising various showings at local churches, the title has a double meaning. Apparently the main character is a fireman, but the movie is really about how to protect your marriage (thus making it, fireproof). Usually when someone tells me how great this movie is and tells me to rush out to see it with my wife as soon as possible, I just smile and say, “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of it.” I try to hide my utter lack of excitement.

The reason for my tepid reaction starts with the male star, Kirk Cameron. I loved him in “Growing Pains,” but I feel like his career has taken a turn for the strange. He has become the face of Evangelical Christian media, resurrecting (excuse the pun) his career with the movie “Left Behind.”

I’m sorry, but I have a strong distrust of anything vaguely attached to anything that is vaguely attached to “Left Behind.” I find the theology of Tim LaHaye so abhorrent that, unless Cameron condemns the books as perverting the Biblical narrative in such a way that is exploitative and dangerous, anything he does is tainted to me.

So, I have avoided “Fireproof.” I have realized though, that I need to see this movie. As a pastor in a church where couple might go and see it on their own, I have to be able to respond in an informed manner. Just hiding my head in the sand will not make this movie go away.

Plus, to avoid it completely is to fall into the classic liberal trap of hypocrisy. I claim to have an open table, and an open mind. I want to be able to learn from differences and not demonize people that simply disagree with me. I want to walk humbly with God, which means that I have to allow that sometimes I might not be fully right, and Tim LaHaye might not be fully wrong.

So instead of calling “Left Behind” the most dangerous theo-babble that has been spewed in the last half century (because it could quite literally lead to nuclear war and environmental devastation); I should instead engage those that claim “Left Behind,” with earnest discussion and try to learn from them.

Our divergent ways to understand and interpret Scripture might leave us with little common ground, but hopefully we can confirm “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; [or liberal or conservative] for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28, bracket added by me).

I should not hide from “Fireproof.” There might very well be some good points to it. I doubt I will agree with all of it, but maybe it will make me think for a moment. Maybe it will remind me, just once, to be kinder to my wife. Maybe it will help me enter into a conversation with someone. Maybe it will open up a relationship that wasn’t there before, and that is reason enough to see it.

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December 9, 2008 · 3:26 am

Twilight reconsidered

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the book Twilight. At the time, the movie was about to come out and the stars from the movie were making their rounds to promote the movie. I couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing Cedrick Diggory, whom I have now come to know as Edward Cullen.
In that post I pretty much blasted the book, but I had not finished it. I have now finished it (and am almost done with New Moon), and I thought that in fairness, I should take another look at what I think about the book.

Let me be clear , not much of my opinion has changed. I feel of Twilight much as I did about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was good, but it could have been about 150 pages shorter. The building romance between Edward and Bella was draining and incredibly redundant. Some have told me that the book was just “very descriptive.” No, I don’t mind descriptive. This book was agonizing in building up Bella’s devotion to this “boy” that was so dangerous.

Some told me that the ending was the best part, and I agree. It did pick up. There were dramatic events and unforeseen twists, and it became an exciting book over the last 100 pages or so.
On a readability scale, I would say the first 150 pages were good, the last 150 pages were very good, and the middle 200 pages were agonizingly bad.

On another level though, I still have the same problem with the relationship. Bella, as one of the commenters on this page said, has no identity apart from Edward. She begins the book as a strong, intelligent young woman, but degenerates into a needy and sort-of-stupid girl. In the end, her actions seem to be motivated by selfless courage, but could just as easily be interepreted as suicidal melodrama. Laying down one’s life for loved ones is dramatic and romantic and courageous. Walking willingly into your death for no good reason is stupid.

I still feel that if my daughter was very much a fan of these books, I would be a little worried. Yes, it is teen romance, so it is full of melodrama. It is certainly a dramatic love story – and the Romeo and Juliet motif gets played out even more in the second book – but I am concerned with Bella’s utter lack of self-love.

Bella is a woman that should be admired. She is smart, resourceful, well-read, witty, and apparantly beautiful. Yet despite all of her amazing attributes, she has nothing but self-loathing in comparison to her “love.” A true love should make you feel better about yourself. A true love magnifies your qualities and reflects them. A true love lifts up the individuals for the benefit of the pair. Unfortunately in the relationship between Bella and Edward, she is simply overshadowed, she loses herself, and she is constantly fearful that she “isn’t good enough.”

That’s not love. And that’s not what teenage girls need to think love is.

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November 25, 2008 · 3:41 am

The Twlight Phenomenon

I have started reading Twilight, and I have to say, I don’t get it.  I understand that as a 31 year old male, I am not exactly the book’s target demographic, but I’m not exactly the target demographic for “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” or “The Giver,” or “Harry Potter,” and all of those books are thuroughly readable.  “Twilight,” on the other hand, is painful to read.

I am about half way through the nearly 500 page book, and I am really hoping that something happens soon, because the last 200 pages have been the following: 

      I love him so much, but I am afraid he’s going to eat me. But he’s so beautiful, and I can’t stand to be away, but I hope he’s so dangerous.
      ‘You need to stay away from me, Bella’ Edward said. ‘I’m sooooo dangerous.’
      I knew he was dangerous, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his beautiful pale face. I love his beautificity soooooo much.

 Seriously, there is nothing original about this story.  There is a 17-going-on-35 girl that has a flighty Mom and a Dad she can’t communicate with.  She is the new girl in a small town, and everyone is fascinated by her, and she is fascinated by the brooding, but devastatingly handsome loner that everyone in said small town misunderstands.  This is every teen romance written since 1950, combined with every vampire story written since 1800.

Like I said, there might be something interesting coming.  I am not done, but it is getting more and more difficult to read the completely unbelievable dialogue between two cookie-cutter characters. 

Last night I was telling my wife about this book and I read a sample paragraph from the page I was on.  She laughed, as I told her that is the entire book so far.  To prove my point, I flipped to a random page and found an almost identical paragraph from the one I found.  If you have this book, give that a try.  Flip to any two random pages from 50-250, and see if you can tell them apart.

Some people must have liked this book.  Please tell me why.

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November 10, 2008 · 8:14 am

Blue Ribbon Jug Band

I just found this myspace page for the Blue Ribbon Jug Band.  There are five songs to listen to – they are really good.  They have an O Brother, Where Out Thou? kind of sound.  Give them a listen. You have to love a band that uses a kazoo.  If you like it, look them up on facebook and become a friend of the band – they do shows in the Chicago area.

http://www.myspace.com/blueribbonjugband

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