A MONSTER CALLS and THE MONSTER IS IN ME

I went and saw the film A MONSTER CALLS last night and something happened to me. Movies have a way of speaking to me and moving me, often in ways that have nothing to do with the subject matter of the film itself. The monster that called in this film was a young boy’s mother’s illness and his need to deal with the feelings around his mother’s illness and dying.

The monster that has been calling to me is something else entirely, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. This past election has brought forth a monster that needs to be addressed. No, the monster is not Trump. I’d like to make it be Trump. That would be easy, and I along with many others, have been trying to do exactly that….make Trump out to be the monster. Others made Hillary out to be the monster and now after the election that has probably shifted to her supporters. But the issue is a lot more complicated than who got elected or who didn’t.

You see in the movie we discover that the real monster was the one that lived inside the boy….that needed a voice, needed to be expressed. The ‘monster’ that came to help him did so by telling him stories and it was those stories that reached inside my soul and spoke to me.

Monster: There was once an invisible man who was growing tired of being not seen. It was not that he was actually invisible. It was just that people had become used to not seeing him. One day the invisible man couldn't stand it anymore. He kept wondering, "if no one sees you, are you really there at all?"

One of the stories was about an invisible man who grew tired of not being seen. I believe Trump was elected by many who have felt invisible. I admit that many people who live in rural counties are not people I have connected with or even tried to understand. There are others who hold different beliefs than I do who have not felt supported. In the film the invisible man acted out with violence and rage in order to be seen and heard. We’ve seen lots of that in our country too. So how can we see these people in a way that they feel validated without their having to resort to violence or without our having to give up our civil rights? That is a question it would behoove all of us to ask ourselves. How can we sit down and have a civil conversation so that we might begin to understand each other?

I believe we start by assuming that they aren’t horrible people. Anyone who believes differently than we do or voted differently than we did is not a horrible person. They have ideas and needs and voted in a way they hoped would help get those realized.

There is no THEM and US. There is no GOOD guy and no BAD guy. Maybe even Trump isn’t a bad guy. I don’t like him, but I’m working to get to a point where I can see him differently. Maybe his supporters can help me get there.

Monster: “There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between.”

“Because humans are complicated beasts, the monster said. How can a queen be both a good witch and a bad witch? How can a prince be a murderer and a saviour? How can an apothecary be evil-tempered but right-thinking? How can a parson be wrong-thinking but good-hearted? How can invisible men make themselves more lonely by being seen?

The tree monster also told a couple of stories about people that at first you thought were bad, and then as the story unfolded you realized perhaps there was more to the story than we saw at first. That’s the place I am trying to reach. I am tired of being angry. I am tired of being scared. I am tired of making Trump out to be this ogre or monster that is going to ruin my country. He’s going to be our president for 4 years and while I will always be wary and watchful that our civil rights don’t get stomped upon….I need to find a place of peace. So how do I, how do we begin?

I don’t know that I have the answer yet, but I’m feeling a little more hopeful. It begins with Conscious Conversations. It begins by turning our EXCLAMATIONS into QUESTION MARKS. Rather than ranting and raving on Facebook….how about we start asking each other questions and listening to the responses. We may still disagree, but at least we can be civil with each other.

So to all the Trump supporters out there I say TELL ME MORE….tell me what you see in this man that I am not seeing. Don’t yell at me or make me wrong and I’ll try not to do the same to you. After I listen to you, perhaps you might be willing to listen to me. We may not agree with each other, but we need to find a way to speak to each other. Our Congress hasn’t found a way yet, but maybe we can model the behavior for them.

Speaking with civility doesn’t mean we have to lie down and accept everything. I am not talking about normalizing behavior that feels wrong or off for me. I will still march on the 21^st. I will still call my Senators and Congressmen when I need to express my opinion. I will still speak out if I feel lies are being told and I may even still post those on Facebook. But for me, I need more. I need a shift to happen.

There is a monster calling and that monster lives inside of all of us. It needs to be heard. Are we willing to listen and are we willing to speak our truth? I want to be there…I’m working on it….how about you?

IS RESISTANCE FUTILE?

Resistance is futile. I’ve been struggling with this idea for some time. Perhaps the Borg was onto something. What I know from Unity teachings is ‘What we resists, persists.’ So perhaps resistance really is futile. But that doesn’t mean that we have to lie down and be assimilated or accept everything that happens. None of us should turn the other cheek when we see harm being done to another or to ourselves.

What it does mean is that, thanks to quantum physics, if we continually place our focus on what we don’t want, we will continue to get more of what we don’t want. While resistance is usually our initial response when confronted with something we perceive as negative, it is more powerful to embrace what we do want than to resist what we don’t want. That sounds simple, but is harder than it seems.

I keep seeing posts on Facebook to ‘join the resistance’, which I guess means to resist whatever our president-elect wants to put into place. I agree, there is much about him, his cabinet and his demeanor that I don’t like. He has continually demeaned women, handicapped, Muslims, Mexicans….I could go on and on.

I plan on attending the Women’s March in Austin…is that resisting? I don’t think so. I think it is standing up for what I believe and holding the vision of a world where everyone is accepted. Is calling my Congressman and Senators to voice my opinion resisting? Again, I don’t think so. It is holding onto a vision of a world that honors everyone. Maybe instead of asking people to ‘join the resistance’ we should be asking them to ‘join the vision of a world that works for everyone, not just the elite few.’

The next four years are going to be challenging, for sure. I know many of us will be called upon to act in ways that many will feel to be in resistance to our president. I think as long as we are holding to our vision of a world that embraces all people and stand up for that belief, we will be focusing on what we choose rather than what we reject. That’s my plan anyway. It won’t be easy and there will be times I forget and get into resistance and negativity….when I do, remind me of where I should be placing my focus: on love, on acceptance and on standing up for all humanity. I am holding a vision for a world that works for everyone. Will you join me?

The Lobster

Lobster is on my list of favorite foods, but I doubt I would ever want to become one. Oscar-nominated Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (‘Dogtooth’) casts Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz and Lea Seydoux in a surreal parable about a future world where people are forced to couple up or be turned into animals. David (Colin Farrell) whose wife just left him, has been thrust into the dreaded single status. According to law he has 45 days to find a suitable mate or be turned into the animal of his choice. The animal David chooses, should he not succeed in finding a partner, is the lobster.

I will admit, this movie was weird. My husband found it too weird and wondered why the heck we went to see it. However, it was that very weirdness that made me absolutely love this film. I watch a lot of movies, and I particularly appreciate movies that don’t fit the usual predictable formulas, and I especially love movies that have something important to say. The Lobster is a commentary about the pressures our society puts on finding one’s soulmate.

I grew up in a culture that touted marriage as the preferred state. Single women, especially, were looked down upon and labeled spinsters. I guess I could be grateful that at least being single wasn’t illegal. Yet I somehow felt like a total failure for being unable to find the right and perfect partner.

In The Lobster, the right and perfect partner takes on a whole different meaning. It wasn’t just that each single person had to find a partner…that person had to have the same defining characteristic. In fact, except for David, none of the other characters had names. They were known for their specific physical trait. There was the man who limped, the woman who had constant nose bleeds and the man with a lisp. What were the odds of finding someone with those exact traits? The pressures were so great that one man deliberately smashed his nose so that he too would be a nose bleeder.

I wouldn’t call the film a comedy and yet I found it to be quite funny. It is told in a serious deadpan manner that kept me engaged throughout. The first part of the film is about this alternate society and its rules and logic and is filmed in the hotel where the singles are imprisoned. The second part of the film is in the surrounding forest where a ban of renegades called the Loners live. The Loners have rejected the society’s rules, and yet have rather strict rules of their own. Here coupledom is shunned. One has to remain alone and celibate or they are severely punished and even maimed. No form of intimacy is allowed. David escapes into the forest and joins these Loners and there ends up finding a woman (Rachel Weisz) he finds attractive. I won’t spoil the ending, but suffice it to say….it gets more interesting and even ‘weirder’, if that is possible.

If you like films that do not fit the normal formulaic and predictable patterns then you will love this film. I did!

BFF

I'm attending the Bentonville Film Festival (BFF) this week. This is the second year for this festival that was begun by Geena Davis who is a champion for inclusion of women and diversity in film. She has actually done a study that shows how little women are used in front of and behind the camera. Even crowd scenes with extras do not have enough women to represent our society. She has taken the results of that study to Hollywood producers and writers and powers that be and shocked them all. Most of them have vowed to change. This film festival is all about inclusion and is the only film festival that offers full distribution for the winning films.

Yesterday I attended a panel called Progress or Perfection and three films. All three films were well done and well received by the audience.

Driving With Selvi, a documentary about a former child bride who escaped her abusive husband to become South India's first female taxi driver. The film follows her over several years and we see a courageous and strong woman who is determined to not only succeed, but to thrive.

Wild Prairie Rose is a narrative film that started a bit slowly for me, but quickly won me over. Rose comes back home to the country from Chicago to take care of her ailing mother. She hopes to only be there 3 weeks and get back to her life. However, she meets a deaf man that changes her perspective on everything. What is interesting about this film is the director chose to cast a deaf man in the role rather than a hearing man who played deaf. Also, in the audience watching the film were a number of deaf people with an interpreter off to the side who signed for them during the film. The interpreter was two rows in front of me and I was surprised that it offered no distraction from my movie watching at all.

The third film I saw yesterday, was clearing the best produced.....all three films were very good and I loved them all....but this one had more star power. The Great Gilly Hopkins stars Kathy Bates, Olivia Spencer and Glenn Close. This film had me laughing and even in tears towards the end....and I saw many people around me with tissues. All of the films had their film makers do a Q & A after the film, and even David Paterson, the screenwriter/producer of this film was in tears as he stood in front of us. The film was adapted from a novel written by his mother Katherine Paterson. He said the book is used in schools and was based somewhat on their family. It's about a 12 year old wise cracking young girl who has been shuffled from foster home to foster home until she meets Maime Trotter, played by Kathy Bates. Having been in foster homes myself until I was finally adopted at age six....I could identify with this film from the start.

I'm off to watch a bunch more films today...and will try and post more about them tonight. So far, I'm loving this festival. Thanks Geena Davis for all the work you are doing to promote diversity in film.

TRUMBO: Fear Should Not Trump our Rights

I had to do a second take when I first saw the movie title on a marquee. With Donald Trump running for President I first thought that this movie was about him. The film is called Trumbo, not Trump, but I think Donald Trump needs to see this movie. As well as anyone else who feels recent terrorist threats should cause us to set aside our First Amendment rights.

This movie, directed by Jay Roach, is about what happens when a group of people in power let fear grip and rule at the expense of our human rights. It happened in America back in 1947, when Dalton Trumbo, played brilliantly by Bryan Cranston, and a number of other Hollywood screenwriters and artists were blacklisted and put in jail for their political beliefs. Those jailed were registered as members of the U.S. Communist party. This was a time in history, called the Cold War, when America stopped seeing the U.S. Communist party as an economic system or a legitimate political affiliation, and instead saw it as a symbol of the Soviet Union and a threat to our way of life.

As I watched this film, I couldn’t help but think of what our country is going through right now regarding the Syrian refugees and pray that we don’t go down that path of fear. I can understand people being afraid, sometimes I, too, feel afraid. Yet fear should never trump our American rights, and this film helps to remind us of this truth.

Some of our Republican candidates are operating strictly from fear. Trump wants to ban all Muslims from our country and deport the ones already living here. Bush and Cruz want to only let in ‘Christian’ refugees. Huckabee wants to put the refugees in ‘encampments.’ I guess he’s forgotten about what we did to the Japanese during WWII.

The film Trumbo is different than our current situation in that the people affected were not refugees, but U.S. citizens, and yet if we aren’t careful we could find ourselves ‘blacklisting’ the Muslims that live right here in our country; who knows, maybe some of them are even screenwriters.

After Trumbo got out of jail he lost his house, and was forced to downgrade and move his family. None of the major studios in Hollywood would hire him. However, he managed to find ways to write screenplays as a ghost writer. His films Roman Holiday, with Ian McLellan Hunter as the front writer, and The Brave Ones, written under Trumbo’s pseudonym Robert Rich, even won Best Picture awards. Trumbo had to watch the Award shows from the TV in his living room without being able to claim or take credit for the prize he so deserved.

The blacklist began to turn around in 1960 when director Otto Preminger (Christian Berkel) announced he would credit Trumbo for his film Exodus, and Kirk Douglas (Dean O’Gorman) hired Trumbo to write Spartacus and put his name on the script. However, it was the action of a President that totally sealed the deal of ending the blacklist debacle. President J.F.K’s crossing the American Legion picket lines to see Spartacus sent a message to the country that this time of persecution was finally over.

Trumbo is a film that reminds us of the freedoms for which our country stands, and how careful we must be to hold on to those, even in a time of fear and uncertainty. It also shows us how powerful the actions of a President can be in moving a country forward. It is definitely a movie that some of our Presidential candidates need to see, and soon!

Identifying One's Personal Story

I received a wonderful email today from a reader of my book Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing.

      " Yesterday I was on the phone with my stepdaughter and shared with her some of the passages from your book that affected me profoundly.  The result was that she would like her own copy of the book. 
        The simplicity of your phrasing creates a clarity of thought that deeply impacts the reader.  I found myself thinking over and over again, “That’s me!  That’s my story!.”  

         Thank you for the words that identify my struggle.  I am stuck in the rut of habituation, living a mistaken identity, my inner dialogue has me stuck in self-doubt, and I am hanging out in the wilderness.

         Hopefully death and rebirth are not too far away.  I anxiously await transformation and the journey home.    The wilderness is not a fun place to be.

                                                                                                                               Virginia

                                                                          

I agree Virginia, the wilderness is not a fun place to be, but isn't it wonderful to know that it is just a phase of transformation you are walking through and home is never far away. While I’m not thrilled that Virginia is in the wilderness, I am glad that my book could provide her with some insight into her journey and her personal story, and grateful she let me know how much my book has helped her. Thanks Virginia.

Serendipity

My blog has been neglected of late. I've been very busy in rehearsals for the Sun City Follies. However, I found this article which I'd like to share with you, and hopefully I'll be back writing my own posts soon....enjoy.


Reprinted from Matthew Welsh's Spiritual Media Blog Newsletter. 
For more information about Spiritual Media Blog please visit 
http://www.SpiritualMediaBlog.com/

One common theme that shows up in movies that really inspires
me is serendipity - in fact one movie I enjoyed that explores these
chance encounters is a love story aptly named Serendipity.

      This phenomenon is one of the life's great mysteries.  You
know, why do certain people show up in our lives at the time they
show up or why have we been drawn to a particular place, idea or
event?  I think these might be clues from the Universe about how
to manifest our destiny.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe describes this when he says. . .

      "The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence
moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred . . . unforeseen incidents, meetings, and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have
come his way."

       These opportunities may reveal themselves in the form of 
unexplainable coincidences.  For example, you may just happen to
come across an acquaintance or stranger who has a business
opportunity for you.  Or, you may hear a song on the radio, read a
book or watch a movie with a message that is perfectly applicable
to your current life circumstances.

      Whether you call these meaningful coincidences Divine
Providence, Synchronicity, or Serendipity, it can be very helpful
to pay attention to them because they are hints about the next step
or opportunity you should take or simply pleasant signs that we
are on the right track =). 

In Love and Light,
Matthew Welsh, Esq.
Creator of www.SpiritualMediaBlog.com
--The News Source for Spiritual Entertainment--

Congrats to @cindyBwright Reel Transformation as http://t.co/l3qIKsPknJ Best Educational-Entertainment Book http://t.co/dO1YkIXkbl
— Texas Authors (@TexasAuthors) February 3, 2015

Williamson County Sun Interview

(Pre-edited article appearing in the 1/25/15 Williamson County Sun)

BY C. WAYNE DAWSON

While serving as a Georgetown Unity minister, Cindy B. Wright frequently illustrated spiritual lessons by citing examples from movies. Retiring from her pastoral responsibilities spanning more than 20 years in various states, she incorporated these stories in her new book, Reel Transformation. She currently resides in Sun City with her husband, three cats and a dog.
She agreed to discuss her book’s contents with The Sun:
Q. What inspired you to turn to writing and why did you focus on the cinema?
I have always been a writer. I’ve written church newsletter articles and my Sunday talks and now blog articles. I’ve also been an avid movie fan and make it a point to go to the movies as often as I can, at least once a week. What moved me to write my book Reel Transformation was the pattern I kept seeing when I went to the movies. A character would leave home and go off on a journey (either literally or metaphorically) only to encounter challenges and struggles. At some point the character would experience a shift or transformation and then return home changed. It is the typical Hero’s Journey and it reminded me of the Biblical story of the Prodigal Son who also left, went through some wilderness experiences, and then came back home changed. This pattern can be seen again and again in films from various genres…like The Wizard of Oz, Lion King, Harry Potter, in Science Fiction movies like Contact and The Matrix, in comedies like Groundhog Day and even Romantic films such as Magnificent Obsession. I have read numerous books about spirituality in the movies, but I didn’t see anyone writing from this perspective. So, I felt moved to answer the CALL to write Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing.

 

Q. How did you use movies as a minister and how did your parishioners react?
I often used examples from the movies to illustrate a point in my talks and sometimes even showed a short movie clip. My congregation loved it! My experience as a minister taught me that people will remember a story way longer than any words I say, and movies are a powerful medium for storytelling. The first movie clip I ever used was from Indiana Jones. This was way before churches were using LCD projectors and Powerpoint. I had to put a TV and a VHS recorder up on the platform. I showed the scene where Indiana stepped off the cliff even before he could see the bridge appear. I used it to illustrate my talk about moving out in faith. My congregation remembered that clip for years after that talk!
Q. Did you ever come across something unusual or fascinating when researching your
book?
One thing I discovered is that there is a supplemental therapy in the psychological field called Cinema Therapy. Many Psychologists will recommend to their patients that are struggling with a certain issue that they watch a particular movie and then come back to therapy to discuss it. For instance, if a patient was dealing with issues of anger the therapist might recommend the film The Upside of Anger or if they were working to get free of addiction the therapist might suggest Days of Wine and Roses, or depression, Harold and Maude…and so on. Sometimes it is easier to see your own behavior reflected in a character in the movies, because it allows you to step back from your own problems and it provides some often needed perspective.
Q. What portion of your book did you most enjoy writing and why?
I really enjoyed writing all of it. I loved finding movie quotes to head up each chapter. I loved finding movies from different genres in Section II and then showing how the character went through each of the stages. I especially loved researching and reading other books that related to spirituality in movies. I have acquired quite a library of about 60 books about spirituality and film. And now my book has joined them on that shelf and that feels great!
Q. What do you hope readers come away with after reading your work?
The subtitle of my book is Your Life Now Playing. My prayer is that people will begin to watch movies differently and more consciously. That they will see their own life’s journey in the characters up on the screen. If I can understand that Dorothy’s feeling of Divine Discontent singing about Somewhere over the Rainbow is really a CALL for her soul’s growth, then I might recognize that in myself, and find some comfort, when I’m experiencing that same feeling of discontent. I also continue to write about movies in my blog: reeltransform.blogspot.com so I hope people will find me there.
Click here to find Cindy's book or click on the photo of her book in the right column of this blog.

Reel Transformation now on Smashwords

My book Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing is now available as an ebook in many different formats on Smashwords.com. You can find it here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/491377 

What's great about Smashwords is that it distributes an author's book to many different retailers such as Barnes and Noble and Apple ibook, etc. The book has always been available for Kindle on Amazon, but now it's available in many other formats. You can also download a sample to check it out.

The Giver

Imagine for a moment living in a world with no war, no anger, no judgment, no fighting. The words of John Lennon’s song come to mind….

Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace...

It’s certainly a nice sentiment, but the movie The Giver , based on the 1993 novel by Lois Lowry, shows us what such a world might look like: a world of ‘sameness.’  Director Phillip Noyce does a great job of using black and white to paint a picture of a peaceful and complacent world. We’ve seen it before when director Gary Ross used it in Pleasantville, and it certainly served this movie as well.

This post-apocalyptic ‘utopian’ world came about after something referred to as ‘The Ruin’. Everything that could possibly cause upset has been removed, including the ability to see color and feel emotions. Even weather is controlled…no snow or storms allowed. There are no automobiles so no worry of road rage or accidents. Each person receives a daily dose of medication that depresses all of their feelings, even those of love, longing and joy. ‘Precision of Language’ is a commonly used phrase to make sure communication stays clear. I have to say that could come in handy in relationships sometimes. If someone says they are angry…what is the precision of that word….anxious, nervous, insecure? However, ‘warm and nice’ just don’t say enough when it comes to love, but the people in this world wouldn’t know, they don’t feel those emotions.

Also missing are memories. All of the community’s memories of life before this contrived community are stored with one person called The Giver (Jeff Bridges) who gives the elders guidance based on the decisions of the past. Every 10 years a new Receiver is chosen to receive all of the memories. Young Jonas (Brenton Thwaite) is chosen to be this Receiver….and soon thereafter sameness is in jeopardy. Jonas stops taking the daily medication, and begins to see colors and feel emotions and soon realizes what he and the others in his world have been denied.

Meryl Streep does a formidable job of playing the Chief Elder and pops up in holographic form to keep the community in line. Katie Holmes and Alexander Skarsgard play the Family Unit ‘parents’ assigned to Jonas and are successful in keeping an emotionless presence throughout the film.

I enjoyed the film, although not as much as similar films on this subject: Divergent and Hunger Game. My main issue with this film is that they could have made it a little longer and done a little more with the memories being ‘given’ to Jonas. They seem too brief and choppy, and certainly don’t serve to elicit any emotion from the audience.

This movie just served to confirm my belief that ALL of life has value. Yes, war, illness, and pain, while not fun, have their purpose. When I left the movie I turned to my husband and said, ‘Honey, I wouldn’t give up feeling pain or conflict if it meant I also had to give up feeling the love in my heart for you.’

While I love the sentiment of John Lennon’s song, and it’s certainly something to strive towards…The Giver reminds us that a utopian world with only harmony comes at too great a cost.

STAGES OF TRANSFORMATION: Ordinary World

In my new book Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing I talk about the Five Stages of Transformation that all of us go through. These stages can be found in any good story where the main character grows and changes. We find them in the Bible, in fiction, and in movies of all genres.

Joseph Campbell wrote about these stages in his book The Hero’s Journey. He wrote about 12 Stages, and from those I have extracted five stages that we go through over and over again in our life if we are open to change and growth.

In any story, movie or life in order to see any evidence of change we must have a clear understanding of the before and after…the beginning and the end. The beginning of every story originates in what Joseph Campbell calls the Ordinary World. All of us start out in our Ordinary World. It might be a physical place, but it also includes our frame of mind, our beliefs and our habits. Even once we’ve gone through all five stages and return home…that new home becomes our Ordinary World that we will eventually get called out of again if we are to continue growing and evolving.

Our Ordinary World is our comfort zone. It is what feels familiar. Often we are so comfortable that we are reluctant to leave or change, even if we are unhappy. Yet there will be a Call that comes to invite us to venture out of the Land of Familiar to explore new possibilities. An example we see in the Wizard of Oz is Dorothy in the black and white world of Kansas. She lives with her aunt and uncle and her dog Toto. This is her familiar world, but she is not happy there. She experiences challenges and feels a tug of Divine Discontent when she wonders what life would be like somewhere else…over the rainbow.

Your Ordinary World could be your job, your family situation or even some beliefs that you have been comfortable holding that perhaps don’t serve you anymore. For example, if you’ve been feeling a tug to quit smoking, your Ordinary World is that of a smoker. If you are a young adult living at home with your parents, then that is your Ordinary World. At some point you will be called to leave that world. It’s not bad where you are, but we are always called to grow and that usually requires we leave what feels ordinary and comfortable to embrace something new.

Some more examples from movies: Neo (Matrix) in his world as a computer programmer, Luke (Star Wars) living with his aunt and uncle, Katniss (Hunger Games) struggling for food in District 12, Marlin (Finding Nemo) living in fear in his corner of the ocean.

EXERCISE: Getting in touch with your Ordinary World.

Think about the world in which you live at present. What are your physical surroundings? Where do you live and work? What beliefs are you holding? What daily habits have gotten all too familiar? There is nothing wrong with where you are now. Now think about where you’ve been? How have you changed and how has your ordinary life changed? You are not the same person you were 10 years ago, or 5 years ago and maybe even 1 year ago. What has changed? How have you changed? Our Ordinary World changes many times over a lifetime.

Watch for a post to follow where we will explore THE CALL to leave our Ordinary World and explore new adventures.

If you are interested in reading more about these stages you can find Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing at: https://www.createspace.com/4814039 and on Amazon.

Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing ... now available

My book Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing is now available for sale at either Createspace or Amazon. It's available in paperback or Kindle. This book has been a long time coming and seeing it out in print is a dream come true. 

Someone posted the following yesterday on my facebook page:

"I just finished your book. It was fantastic. It was just what I needed to hear at this time in my life to reawaken my spiritual understanding."

Reel Transformation shows you how to use something you love—watching movies—to assist you in your own growth and transformation. From the beginning of time stories have been told to convey some deeper meaning. Jesus used parables to teach, and movies have become our modern day parables. In the parable of the Prodigal Son we find five stages of the transformational Hero’s Journey: 1) Home in the Ordinary World, 2) The Call, 3) The Wilderness, 4) The Awakening, and 5) The Return Home. We find these stages again and again in movies of all genres. After reading Reel Transformation you will be able to watch movies with intention and recognize your life now playing in the characters you see on the screen.

The next time you go to the movies get something more than popcorn; get transformed!

You can click on the image in the right column of this blog to take you directly to Createspace if you'd like to purchase the paperback. Or you can go to Amazon.com to find the Kindle.

I hope you will buy the book....and in the meantime, I'll see you at the movies!

BOYHOOD (2014)

I was eager to see Richard Linklater’s new film Boyhood. I enjoyed his “Before” trilogy: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight, and how he showed us the same characters across a span of time. This time he wrote and produced an innovative movie about ‘ordinary moments’ in a coming-of-age film. Even though it’s called Boyhood the movie is really about the evolution and growing up of each of the characters in the family, including the parents. It was a risky decision to film a movie over 12 years with the same actors. Any number of things could have happened to halt the production of this film and Linklater is to be credited with taking on this creative risk, which totally paid off.

Mason Jr. (Ellar Coltrane) is about six years old when the film begins. He lives with his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater) and his mother (Patricia Arquette), a single mom who is divorced from his dad Mason Sr. (Ethan Hawke). The movie moves seamlessly through the 12 years. We notice the passing of time through changes in hairstyles, music and cultural events as well as the subtle aging of the characters. We watch Mason grow and mature from a child of six to a young man entering college, and we see young Ellar grow up into a great actor as well. His sister, played by Linklater’s daughter grows up and blossoms into a young woman. We get to see Mason’s mother evolve from a woman who keeps choosing alcoholic husbands to finally going back to college and finding her place in the world. Probably the most evident maturation, though, is seen in the adolescent, mostly absent father who, in the beginning of the film, would rather be a ‘pal’ than a father to his kids. Mason Sr. by the end of the film has settled down, gotten married and had another child.

This is not an action-filled movie, and yet I was so engrossed in the ‘ordinary moments’ that I hardly noticed that 164 minutes had passed.

I take notice of quotes in movies as I often post them on my Reel Transformation Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/reeltransformation My favorite quote came at the end of this film, but it captures the essence of what this movie is about. Mason is sitting with a girl he just met who says, “You know how everyone’s always saying ‘seize the moment’?” she asks. “I don’t know, I’m kind of thinking it’s the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us.” Mason responds, “Yeah, I know, it’s constant, the moments, it’s just — it’s like it’s always right now, you know?”

Yes, I’ve said this film is about ‘ordinary moments’, but this is no ordinary film. This is an extraordinary, one of kind film of a lifetime. Don’t miss it!

DIVERGENT: Faction, Factionless or Divergent?

Unlike The Hunger Games, I went into the film Divergent with no knowledge or expectations. I had not read the books or even heard about them before watching the movie. I love films that bring up interesting questions and make me think, and this one did not disappoint. In fact, I was so intrigued that I rushed to get the first book in the trilogy … finished it in no time and quickly read the remaining books.

Divergent takes place in a future Chicago 100 years after an apocalyptic war. The city is fenced off from the rest of the world, and when the Great Peace was established society was separated into five different factions each one dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue: Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Erudite (intelligence), Amity (kindness) and Dauntless (bravery). The factions were formed in a belief that this could keep the peace. The Candor thought dishonesty caused conflict, the Abnegation, selfishness, the Erudite, stupidity, Amity believed being unkind led to the war and Dauntless believed bravery would keep war at bay.

Once a year all the 16 year olds are given a test that determines which faction they belong. They then attend a Choosing Ceremony where they are given a choice: stay with their family and faction of birth or choose a different faction. Beatrice (Tris) Prior belongs to the Abnegation faction and her tests were ‘inconclusive,’ which she discovers means she is Divergent. People who are Divergent score high in multiple factions, and they are feared by many who want to eliminate them.

The government is run by the Abnegation, who being selfless have no desire for power. While this sounds appealing…who wouldn’t want politicians who are selfless and not after their own gain or power, it also seems a bit confusing. Wouldn’t selfless also include kindness? And why would they not also be truthful? We have lots of politicians who aren’t truthful and we know how dysfunctional that can be. I can’t imagine anyone who is selfless being deceitful unless doing so would somehow benefit the other.  I can understand why they might not be dauntless or brave or even intelligent.

This film raises some interesting points. Is it beneficial to focus more on one particular trait to the exclusion of the others? There is an online test you can take, which I took and tested as divergent. I imagine everyone who takes the test will find they are divergent. I doubt there is anyone who has one quality to the exclusion of all others. We may be stronger in one or two, but my guess is only someone with a mental illness would be totally devoid of all of the other factions.  http://divergentthemovie.com/aptitudetest

Another element of the movie that I found very compelling was the tests that each faction had to endure to qualify for their particular faction. For the Dauntless it was facing your fears. I think all of us could benefit by facing our fears to some extent. What I found incredulous was that the character Four had only four fears. Wow! I’d like to think I don’t have many fears, but I suspect there are a bunch of them hidden in my consciousness. I’m not sure I’d want to have to face them in a simulation, but I imagine it could be pretty powerful. Some of my fears I’m sure are hidden, and some poke their heads up on an almost daily basis. While I have many of the common ones like the fear of spiders and snakes, I also have a very unhealthy and unnerving fear of developing Alzheimer’s. I’m not sure why I have that fear, but I’d love to fight it in a simulation and crush it once and for all. Whenever it pops its head I simply do a ‘denial’ and an ‘affirmation’ to send it on its way…but fighting it in a duel and winning sounds pretty empowering.

I’ve read the other two books and I know what happens with the whole society and the Factions and the Divergents. I won’t spoil it here for those of you waiting to watch the movies. But I will say this….if you liked Divergent, you will love continuing with the story. I can’t wait to write about Insurgent when it comes out in March of next year.

PUBLISHING MY BOOK

I am getting my book Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing ready for publication and I am over the moon excited!

I had the idea for this book over a decade ago. I started noticing a pattern in many movies. It seemed many of the protagonists would leave home…either physically or metaphorically and then go through lots of challenges that I call wilderness experiences. At some point they go through an awakening and return home transformed. It is the quintessential Hero’s Journey.

Inspired by Moody and Carroll’s book The Five Stages of the Soul, I condensed the stages of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey to the Five Stages of Transformation: 1) Home in the Ordinary World, 2) The Call, 3) The Wilderness, 4) The Awakening and the 5) Return Home.

We see this Hero’s Journey in films of all genres. Films like The Wizard of Oz, The Lion King, Harry Potter and Star Wars. George Lucas wrote Star Wars deliberately using the template of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, but many other film makers simply set out to create a good story and end up using this template unwittingly. It is easy to see this journey in adventure films, yet it can be found in comedies, animated films, romance and science fiction as well.

The story that came to my mind as a minister was of the Prodigal Son. Compare this parable to the classic film The Wizard of Oz.

The Prodigal Son felt dissatisfied with his life at home and demanded his inheritance. His loving and generous father gave it to him and the son left home. Dorothy was dissatisfied with her life on the farm in Kansas. She longed for a life over the rainbow and a tornado swept her to Oz. Both Dorothy and the Prodigal son felt a sense of dissatisfaction with their life and longed to be somewhere else. Dissatisfaction or ‘Divine Discontent’ is often what calls us out of our Ordinary World.

The Prodigal Son ends up squandering his inheritance and finds himself cleaning the pig pens, homeless and without friends or a home. For a Jew who believed pigs to be the ultimate symbol of loathing this was truly a wilderness experience. While Dorothy had friends who helped her in Oz, she had numerous wilderness experiences. She was attacked by flying monkeys and had a wicked witch out to kill her.

The Prodigal Son had an awakening when we ‘came to himself’ and realized that he was the son of a loving Father. He made the decision to go back and ask his father if he could be a servant in his home. Dorothy wanted to return home almost as soon as she arrived in Oz, and she needed to go through some life lessons so she could figure out that she’d always had the power to go home.

Both the Prodigal Son and Dorothy return home transformed people.

All of us go through these stages of transformation at some point in our life and usually we go through them over and over again. My book, using examples from movies, talks about these stages and shows you how to use something you love to do—watching movies—to assist you in your own growth and transformation.

So keep an eye out on Amazon for Reel Transformation: Your Life Now Playing.

TRANSCENDENCE

Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, scientist, inventor, and futurist who has said that by 2029 computers will have consciousness. Bill Gates has called Kurzweil the best predictor of the future, and it’s also been said that he has predicted the future with more accuracy than anyone else in history. A documentary called Transcendent Man: Prepare to Evolve came out in 2010 that shares the life and ideas of Ray Kurzweil.

A new movie called Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman and Rebecca Hall has brought Ray’s idea to the Hollywood screen. The main character is Dr. Will Caster (Depp) a leading scientist and researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Like Ray, his life’s work has been centered on the idea of mastering the singularity, or as he calls it ‘transcendence’.  We are introduced to PINN (Physically Independent Neural Network) who can identify someone who walks into the room and when asked ‘can you prove you are self-aware?’ counters with ‘can you prove you are self-aware?’ I tried asking SIRI that question and got ‘no comment’ and ‘I don’t really like these arbitrary questions’. Both PINN and SIRI dodged the question, although PINN’s answer was a bit more probing. While SIRI said she didn’t ‘like’ my question, she does not really experience emotions or even preferences.

While creating an AI that exhibits emotions is the task Will set out to accomplish, I don’t believe he was successful. What he was successful at, with the help of his partner in life Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), was uploading his consciousness into PINN as his body was dying. While it certainly looked and sounded like the Will Caster we had briefly viewed at the beginning of the film, this cyber Will seemed devoid of all emotions.

Once Will is connected to the Internet there is no stopping his power. While some of what he begins doing, like healing and restoring the sick and disabled, seems philanthropic, it begs the question: just because the power is available should it be used at all cost? Would you be happy you’d been healed if it changed who you were fundamentally without your choice or knowledge?

Throughout this film I couldn’t help but think of Ray Kurzweil and his desire to recreate his father who died when he was a young man. Is Ray correct in saying that computers will have consciousness in my lifetime? It certainly seems possible, but I think we have a ways to go before we can make sure that this new evolutionary ‘being’ also has a conscience, a value system and a soul.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS FOR 2014

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write here, but I’m retiring from ministry this weekend, so I’m anticipating I will have much more time to dedicate to writing about what I love: Movies!

It seems fitting that I’m retiring on the Sunday the Academy Awards will be shown. It will be a full day with church, my retirement party and then the Oscars in the evening, but I’m ready!

I always make it a point to see every film nominated for Best Picture and as many others as I can manage. I am blessed to have married a wonderful man who also loves the movies and together we’ve seen all 9 nominated films. So here are my predictions for the top six Academy Awards.

BEST PICTURE: I find it amazing that out of the nine films nominated five of them are based on a true story. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that The Book Thief wasn’t included in any of the nominations. I found it an incredibly touching film that moved me at my core. Also, I missed out on seeing Inside Llewyn Davis so I can’t comment on whether or not that film should have been included. All of the films nominated were good for different reasons, but I believe the film that will win the prize will be 12 Years a Slave. American Hustle has received quite a bit of buzz, but I don’t think it will take home many, if any Oscars. 12 Years a Slave is a film that was extremely difficult to watch and left me feeling ashamed of my race, but it is totally deserving of Best Picture and seems to have the momentum.

BEST DIRECTOR: It isn’t often that Best Picture and Best Director Awards are split, but I believe that will happen this year. Alfonso Cuaron deserves the statue for Gravity. The film was mesmerizing and left me asking myself ‘how’d they do that?’ This film will take home quite a few more Oscars. I predict Oscars for Gravity for Best Film Editing, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

BEST ACTOR: Chiwetel Ejiofor could possibly win for 12 Years a Slave, but I believe it will and should go to Matthew McConaughey. First of all, Hollywood often rewards actors/actresses who go to great physical extremes for their character, and McConaughey lost about 45 pounds for this role. As someone who is presently working on losing a few pounds, I admire his tenacity. He was also quite riveting and believable in the role.

BEST ACTRESS: This one is tough. Meryl Streep was awesome in August: Osage County, but she’s already won 3 Academy Awards and most people think she’s won even more than that as she’s been nominated 18 times. There has been a lot of talk about Amy Adams, and while she was good, I don’t believe she will win. When I saw Sandra Bullock in Gravity I knew she would be nominated. It has to be difficult to act in a film basically alone and against a green screen much of the time. However, the actress whose has been raking in all the awards (very deservedly) is Cate Blanchett for her role in Blue Jasmine and I believe she will take home the Oscar as well.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: This one feels like a slam dunk. It will be Jared Leto from Dallas Buyer’s Club….no contest. All of the other actors were great. Barkhad Abdi in Captain Phillips, Michael Fessbender in 12 Years a Slave, Bradley Cooper in American Hustle and Jonah Hill of The Wolf of Wall Street are all great actors, they just picked the wrong year to compete.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:  I know there is a lot of buzz about Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle and she just won last year, so there is some momentum for her to win two years in a row. There is also some sentiment for June Squibb to finally win an Oscar for her role in Nebraska. However, I believe the statue will go to Lupita Nyong’o for 12 Years a Slave. She has certainly won the hearts of the world with her heart-wrenching performance and I, for one, can’t wait to see what she wears on the Red Carpet.

I did not see any of the films nominated for BEST ANIMATED FEATURE, although I intend to see Frozen soon and the word among critics seems to be predicting it to win.

The Academy Awards is only a few days away and I’m looking forward to Ellen DeGeneres as host once again. My husband and I will each fill out our ballots and sit down in our living room on Sunday night to enjoy the show. I almost hope some of my predictions don’t come true as it seems like the Awards show has become way too predictable. I miss the days when strange and unpredictable things happened….like someone streaking out across the stage. Also, is it too much to ask for some interesting acceptance speeches…. forget the long list of people to thank and please tell us something unique and memorable!

It won’t matter to me how late the show runs as I’ll be retired. Unfortunately my husband will have to get up early to walk the dog and go to work….ah well. Life is Sweet. See you at the movies!

THE HOST

 

THE HOST

Imagine a world that is peaceful, illness is instantly cured, and there is no war or discord.  It sounds like a beautiful existence, and it is for the aliens, called Souls, who have occupied Earth and taken on earthling bodies as hosts. Not so much for the humans whose bodies have been inhabited. Most of the humans disappear into oblivion when the Souls are inserted into their bodies. But Melanie is a strong personality and refuses to disappear. This creates a challenge for the Soul named Wanderer living inside her body and together they embark on a journey complete with angst, danger and love.

 

This is the premise for the movie The Host based on the novel by Stephanie Meyers. Stephanie had great success with her Twilight trilogy about other worldly beings and a girl in love. This film has much the same idea, but with aliens and humans rather than werewolves and vampires. This new film is also about a woman torn between two different men, and yet it is also about so much more.

 

The Souls came to Earth, because they felt it was a violent world full of people who were not only quick to go to war and kill each other, but also slow to notice the harm they were doing to their own planet. The Souls figured they could improve the planet and bring peace and harmony; and they did, but at what cost? That is just one of the questions posed in this film. Another is…what exactly is it that we love when we love another? Is it their personality? Is it their body? Is it their soul? And what if the essence of who we loved were in another body? What then?

 

I read the book (twice) before seeing the film and I highly recommend it. It is 620 pages and I suppose that was difficult to squash into a 2 hour movie, and some of the character development was lost. They did the best they could, and while I really enjoyed the film, I was happy that I had read the book. Whether you see the film or read the book, this is a very interesting subject full of thought provoking questions.

 

 

Cloud Atlas

I went with 7 other people to see this movie and I was the only one who LOVED it. Yes, there is some violence and there were numerous times when I needed to cover my eyes. Violence doesn't keep me from seeing a film. There was violence in Avatar and The Matrix, but both of those films had powerful messages worth seeing, as does Cloud Atlas.

I have just gotten the book and plan on reading it and I also plan on going to see this film again and may write a more in-depth review after seeing it a second time. This is a long film (almost 3 hours) and the first third of the film leaves one a bit lost, but as the movie continues it all begins to fall into place...so keep that in mind as you watch it. This film is about 'connection'. We are all connected and the choices we make today affect the future....not only ours but others. It is visually beautiful and the actors do an incredible job of playing numerous roles. You will want to sit through the credits to see all the different roles each actor played, because some you won't have recognized.

I highly recommend this film!