Since I am on school break, we have decided to get somewhat caught up on movies. I wanted to post a little on each one so that I would have to interact with them on more than just an entertainment level. These are not reviews; I will leave those to the experts. These are more of the thoughts and ideas of the movies along with the ideas they caused me to have. I am not going to summarize the movie. Go to Amazon for that. Nor am I going to give a traditional review on movie quality because I am no expert on that. I am just going to share my thoughts on the themes of the movie and what they made me think about.
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The Departed
This movie addressed committing acts of evil for different reasons. The three categories of people are being evil for noble purposes, being evil to keep the status quo, and being evil out of pure selfishness. The movie showed the lives of people who believed that the first two were okay, and a few who lived as if the last one was. I just can't pull myself to saying that any of the three are okay.
One of the major questions running through my mind lately is how can we create peace with selfish and violent people without resorting to violence. I am not trying to address this on a philosophical or theological level, but on a purely practical level. What can we do to bring peace with those willing to resort to violence without resorting to violence ourselves? I cannot really figure it out. Can there be victory (and does victory matter) without wallowing at their level?
Also, addressed in the movie is the tendency of our society to place people into categories based upon their biological predecessors. This only played a role in the movie in the first thirty minutes. I guess it is true. I have seen special given to others based upon their parents and have received special treatment based upon my parents. It all depends on the people and what they think of your parents.
Here is my ranking system:
Entertaining: 5/5
Inspiring: 1/5
Ethical Thinking: 4/5
I probably will never watch this movie again.
