Do you recognize this picture? No, it is not my daughter Sara coming out of finals week. It’s the lead female actress, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), in the current movie AVATAR. Released on December 19th, the movie surpassed TITANIC as the mega-blockbuster of film history, already earning over $600 million worldwide. It will almost certainly glean Academy Awards. I am not necessarily plugging the movie, but rather using it as a starting point for reflection.
FIRST, I am impressed that one writer/producer, James Cameron, created the two biggest box office hits in a space of 12 years (TITANIC 1997, AVATAR 2009). What is the appeal? About TITANIC, other than Noah’s ark, no other boat story has captured the human imagination more. The movie is a fictional romance set against an historical disaster. About AVATAR, as science fiction it taps into a hugely popular genre. It also blends cutting edge computer technology and art. People may watch the movie with 3D glasses. All this caught my attention.
SECOND, I like to find out what others are thinking and feeling, including James Cameron, who wrote the script. Years ago James Sire wrote a book, How to Read a Book Slowly. Colleges tout speed reading (which has its place), but Sire encourages Christians to read deeply. We read deeply by reading between the lines, asking questions about WORLDVIEW. Everyone has a worldview. You do. I do. It is our map of life and the universe. It consists of our answers (conscious or unconscious) to questions such as: A) is there a God, and what is the nature of God, B) what is the nature of man (human beings), C) what is the origin of life and the destiny of history, D) what is the nature of good and evil, E) what has greatest value, and so forth. When we read or watch a movie, we may also ask basic literary questions, identifying the theme, plot, protagonist, antagonist, setting, symbols, etc…
THIRD, I try to assess the soundness of any given WORLDVIEW. Sire writes: “A worldview is a map of reality; and like any map, it may fit what is actually there, or it may be grossly misleading. The map is not the world itself of course, only an image of it, more or less accurate in some place, distorted in others. Still, all of us carry around such a map in our mental makeup and we act upon it. All our thinking presupposes it. Most of our experience fits into it.”
FINALLY, James Cameron told a group of the world’s movers and shakers (about 2,500 who gather by invitation each January in Davos, Switzerland) that AVATAR is about the magic of nature. Actually, I think Mr. Cameron was saying a lot more about human life and the universe in the movie, some of which I agree, some of which I disagree. I found it entertaining and informative. I trust that we will always be wise, reading between the lines. May Jesus Christ and the Word of God continue to define our WORLDVIEW.
Glad to Be Your Pastor,