Category Archives: spirituality

A taste of Ratatouille (2007)

Posted on May 8, 2012 | 4 Comments

Like many Pixar films, Ratatouille is about identity. A rat with a taste for fine food dreams of breaking out of his rat life to cook like the famous French chef Gusteau. After his love for food leads to the rat clan evacuating their home, the rat Remy finds himself in Paris at the restaurant of the famous chef. Meanwhile, the clumsy Linguini flounders as the garbage boy and unwitting heir of  Gusteau’s restaurant.

While kids and adults alike will enjoy the beautiful animation and jazzy soundtrack, the plot serves as a parable to explore how we view those we consider more lowly than ourselves. Can a rat make it in a world of snobbery? Can a clutz attain to great things? These aspirational questions drive Remy and Linguini to depend on each other if they are to achieve others purposes. Yet their relationship is distinctly one-sided:

LINGUINI
I know this sounds insane. But well, the truth sounds insane sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not. The truth. And the truth is I have no talent at all. But this Rat… he’s the one behind these recipes. He’s the cook. The real cook. Little Chef? He’s been hiding under my toque. He chooses the ingredients, the spices—he’s been controlling my actions. He’s the reason I can cook the food that’s exciting everyone, the reason Ego is outside that door. You’ve been giving me credit for his gift. I know it’s a hard thing to believe, but hey– you believed I could cook, right? Look. This works. It’s crazy, but it works. We can be the greatest restaurant in Paris. And this rat, this brilliant little Chef can lead us there. Whaddya say? You with me?

Linguini is powerless without Remy. Linguini is entirely dependent on Remy to do anything spectacular. And in the same way the follower of Christ depends on God to do anything: God takes over and begins working through the life of the believer. The apostle Paul writes:

13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (2 Corinthians 5:13-14)

28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:28-29)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26)

For Christians, God controls our actions. He takes over. He’s the one behind these beautiful things like love, joy and goodness. He’s the reason I can do anything good. As Linguini credits Remy for the amazing cooking he produces, so we understand that the good works we do as believers are God working in and through us by the Spirit. Good works are something God does in us; not what we do to get to God. Linguini simply entrusts himself into Remy’s hands.

These beautiful works are enough to win over the harshest critic, Ego, and indeed, turn him into an ally. In the fantastic ending sequence, the toughest critic in the city reviews the Gusteau’s latest chef and provides this delightful critique of criticism itself, in one of the best monologues ever written for screen:

EGO
In many ways the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But, the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things… the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something… and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations. The new needs friends. Last night I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from an singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking, is a gross understatement– they have rocked me to my core. In the past I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: “Anyone Can Cook”. But I realize only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the
genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest Chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more.

In the end, Remy achieves his dreams of cuisine fame and Linguini happily serves as a waiter in the new small business venture in which Ego invests. The Gospel is not about personal success, but it is a story of humble origins to great victory. Jesus, born among humble surrounds of lowly animals, dies a criminal’s death though the governor Pontius Pilate could find no fault in him, and conquers death in a victorious resurrection. This death is on our behalf, and through faith in the promise that this death and resurrection forgives our sin, God begins to reign. In response we too can begin cooking up great things – not for ourselves but for others.

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Prometheus (2012) and the story of us

Posted on May 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

BBC Future writer Quentin Cooper has written a piece on human origins in  science fiction films. Ridley Scott’s upcoming Prometheus is being kept tightly under wraps but Cooper sees Prometheus as the latest attempt for a simple story about our origins:

What is clear though is that as well as, like Alien, taking terror off terra firma and out among the stars, Prometheus is a voyage into our origins as humans, and where we fit into the cosmic order.  That’s if there is one to fit into, be it with aliens, gods, or alien gods. Scott describes it as “not just a scary movie but a really interesting evolutionary story”. Doubly scary then, given that some people seem to find anything “evolutionary” more alarming than a xenomorph bursting out of your stomach.

Cooper observes the scientific story casts humans as simply part of a large cast of 9 million other species. This apparently fuels our appetite for human-centered “creation myths” which he attributes to make believe and describes them as strange. Thus, the final option for the explanation of life is one of extra-terrestrial intervention, popular among science fiction films as Cooper shows. Far from solving the problem, the alien-seeding (akin to panspermia) merely relocates the origin of life question to different environments much more difficult to observe than our own planet.

In contrast, the account of origins presented in the Bible casts God as intending, making and observing his finished creation, much like an artist crafting his work. While humans are presented as the pinnacle of the created order, being created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), they are nevertheless dependent on God for existence and thus ought to derive their meaning for existence from him. Dane Ortlund has compiled a list of messages of the Bible in one sentence, from various Christian thinkers. Some of them are longer than one sentence, but here are a few highlights:

Mark Dever: God has made promises to bring His people to Himself and He is fulfilling them all through Christ.

Kevin DeYoung: A holy God sends his righteous Son to die for unrighteous sinners so we can be holy and live happily with God forever.

John Frame:God glorifies himself in the redemption of sinners.

In this way, the Christian story of us offers neither the human-centeredness of creation myths nor the accidental casting choices of chance but the grand story of a loving God and a wayward people.

While Cooper’s article was probably written before the release of this trailer, his primary observation is on song – note the line “How far would you go to get your answers?”. Here’s the trailer:

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The spiritual conflict of Nicki Minaj

Posted on April 30, 2012 | Leave a comment

Fox News reports on music artists who use satanic imagery to drum up controversy, with particular reference to Nicki Minaj who staged a fake exorcism during the recent Grammy awards. Observers often suspect rock stars of satanic association but rarely does one hear a popstar describe themselves as having a demon. Nicki Minaj says

“His name is Roman. Basically, the religious figure is there because he was called by Roman’s mom to rehabilitate him. That’s pretty much it,” she said post-Grammys.  “I had this vision for Roman. I had this vision for him to be sort of exorcised. People around him tell him he’s not good enough ‘cause he’s not normal, and he’s not blending in with the average Joe. People around him are afraid because they’ve never seen anything like him. Not only is he amazing, sure of himself and confident, but he’s never going to be exorcised. Even when they throw the holy water on him, he rises above.”

Roman also shows up during shows and recordings as an alter-ego:

“And while her statements may be dark, bizarre and have religious groups up in arms, they have translated to massive sales for Minaj. Her album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” debuted at Number one last week with an impressive 250,000 album sales.”

Christian Post though reports on Nicki Minaj tweeting on Christmas Day, and the role church has played in her family. Regardless of whether Minaj actually has a demon, simply believes she has a demon, or creates characters to deal with her issues, these examples show that celebrities have belief systems and spiritual conflicts which influence their music and stage performances.

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Higher Ground (2011)

Posted on April 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Higher Ground chronicles one woman’s lifelong struggle over faith. In her directorial debut, Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Source Code) seeks to ask tough questions of faith and life but blurs the assessment of truth and experience. Vera Farmiga also stars as the central character, Corinne Miller, who grows up in a tight knit faith community in the late 1960s, depicting her childhood, teen marriage, tumultuous family life, church life, all through the lens of faith.

In an interview for the film, Farmiga says there are films for Christians and films which parody Christianity and that Higher Ground is a story that’s just actually about faith. This is true to an extent, but the film does so almost solely by pointing out the many things which trouble people, including Christians, about Christianity:

  • Controversial things the Bible says about the place of women in church, how women ought to dress (somewhat humorously), and an oblique reference to Genesis
  • Church activity and Christian behaviour that seems disconnected from experience
  • The relationship between a good God and suffering

At the same time, Corinne seems to desire a genuine and honest experience of Christianity. One of the key emotional arcs of the film is the question of how one deals with disappointment and doubt, particularly in the face of disaster and devastating illness. What Christians say and do in these times can come across as trite and empty, when simply weeping with those who weep (Romans 12:15) might be a better approach.

Throughout the story, characters blame the devil for their behaviour, and quote Jesus statement to Peter to “Get behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23) when they fail. Ultimately, the devil does stand behind all sin, yet this statement comes across as an excuse for not taking responsibility for one’s behaviour. On one occasion, Corinne implies she needs repair, and other moments of repentance seem genuine though rare. The reality of sin and brokenness is clear however what we need is an honest way of dealing with it.

In this way, Higher Ground spends most of its time dealing with the experiences of people who claim faith in Jesus and not the person and work of Jesus himself – that he died for the sins of the world and was raised to life again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15). The question of Higher Ground is not whether these central claims  are true, but whether the experience of church is true and meaningful. This connection between truth and experience is not drawn too tightly, but rather lopsidedly.

In addition to the previous issues, most church characters consistently use Bible references in ordinary speech. Consequently, the difference between the language of the church and those outside the church is palpable. Christians are called to love others, encourage one another in word and deed while being gracious (Colossians 4:5-6) and easy to understand (1 Corinthians 14). This could simply be an effect of communicating big ideas in 100 minutes, or the writing itself, but even as a Christian I was getting tired of the church-speak.

In the making-of documentary, Vera Farmiga shares her own lifelong struggle with faith, “to make it clear, make it real, to understand it like her father understands it.” In many ways, Corinne’s story is her story too. Making it clear and real are God’s priorities too, but too often we fail at that – at which point we ought to consider Jesus, who was not like us, but became like us in order to save us:

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8)

The Apostle Paul notes that this truth ought to shape how our relationships are lived out. The good news of Jesus is both the basis for salvation and the driver of loving relationships.

Farmiga concludes her comments on Higher Ground by saying that no matter our belief system, “we’ve all struggled with disenchantment…the point of the film is to ask the questions.” And to me, that’s always a good idea, as long as we are careful to distinguish faith’s experience and faith’s object.

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The Wonder of Directioners (Part One)

Posted on April 14, 2012 | 3 Comments

Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know about the band One Direction. Apparently, this British boy band is the most popular band on the planet, and everywhere they go they are mobbed by their adoring fans known as “Directioners”. You know you have true fans when they name themselves after you.

Three recent examples, though, illustrate the powerful effect that dedication to a band can have on an individual’s behaviour:

  1. One Direction fans camp out to obtain prime viewing position of the band members
  2. One Direction fans harass a radio station receptionist who was asked out by one of the band members
  3. One Direction fans send death threats to members of another band suing One Direction over the use of the name

Now, I don’t think these “Directioners” would actually carry out threats to these people if they were face to face with them. Yet, they so desire the company of the band, or believe in the goodness of the band, that they would promote their experience of the band ahead of the wellbeing of other people (and themselves). At this point, they cannot say they are simply enjoying the band’s music.

Here’s some news coverage of the band’s arrival in Sydney (RSS readers may need to view on a computer):

In Part Two, I will discuss how we get here.

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