Tomorrow night is our first high school movie night for the summer. I thought we would get together every week, watch a movie, and discuss the themes of the movie for 10-20 minutes afterword. This morning I'm working on a list to hand out to parents, so they will know what we're watching when and why we're watching it.
However, we are not just focusing on Christological themes, those are themes that show us about Christ. Theological (study of God), Ecclesialogical (study of church and community) themes or, for that matter, any other themes make the grade. As long as they have something to talk about that can be brought back to the Bible it is a go.
Here is the list of movies and the dates we are watching them. If you can think of a better theme to discuss in them, please let me know.
June 25 – Field of Dreams – How far will we go when God calls us to something?
July 2 - Unbreakable – Rated PG-13 for violence and mature themes. How can we be a hero in our world?
July 9 - Chocolat – Rated PG-13 for mild sexual content that we will skip. Why do people feel that the church isn’t loving?
July 16 - Dead Poets Society – Rated PG. How can we make our lives extraordinary?
July 23 - Gattaca – Rated PG-13 for mild nudity that we will skip. How do we discriminate? What are the consequences of playing with God’s design for the world?
July 30 - K-Pax – Rated PG-13 for Violence and slight language. What would an outsider see as our flaws?
August 6 - Signs - Rated PG-13 for frightening moments. Christians seem to have a lot of coincidences. Is God watching out for us?
August 13 - Mr. Holland’s Opus – Rated PG. How do we deal with our dreams being squashed by events around us?
August 20 - Dancer in the Dark – Rated R for violence. What does it takes to truly make a sacrifice? If you’re in question about allowing your child to see this movie, feel free to see it beforehand or talk to me. It is a very traumatic movie that will help all of us see what true sacrifice is.
Here is a list of movies that didn't make the cut this year. If movie night goes over well, they might next year.
Didn’t quite make the cut yet:
Shawshank Redemption - Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord. Where do we find hope?
Secondhand Lions - Haven't seen it yet. Just thought it might work.
Cocoon - How do we experience life to the fullest? Having more prosperity only leads to exaggerating our faults?
Cool Hand Luke – Not rated due to it being released in 1967. How do we respond when we feel that God isn’t communicating with us?
Truman Show – Rated PG. How do we view God?
Contact – Rated PG. How do we relate to the world? Is there a God?
With Honors - recommended. haven't seen.
Bruce Almighty - recommended. haven't seen.
Radio Flyer - recommended. haven't seen.
Big Kahuna - How does the world view Christianity? How can we be more loving?
Watch out for the potholes.
