Tag Archives: movies

Should You See “For Greater Glory”?

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Mary| 1 Comment

If you haven’t heard of the film, For Greater Glory, it depicts the true story of the Mexican “Cristero War” in the 1920s:

“It’s history that is not even that well known to many Mexicans…The Mexican government set up its own church, deported all foreign priests, and made the sacraments unavailable. Even after the war ended in 1929, each local governor continued to enforce the constitutional anti-clerical laws in different ways. It took a long time for this to change. Officially, priests couldn’t wear religious vestments in public until 1998.”

-Producer Pablo Jose Barroso from an interview with the National Catholic Register

Before I get into my review of For Greater Glory, you need to understand something about me.  I went to a Catholic university that focuses on bringing Christ to the culture through business and media.  As a result, many of my close friends are incredibly passionate filmmakers who also happen to be faithful Catholics.  (Me?  I started out on the film track and moved into the Theology-meets-media side of things.  Hence the blog).

I tell you this because after three years of sitting in classes with these people, having many conversations with them both in and out of the classroom about what good art is (and what it is not), I must admit that they have rubbed off on me.  These are both truly devout Catholics and dedicated filmmakers.  When a movie or television show combines these peoples’ two greatest loves—their Christian faith and film, as the film For Greater Glory does—you have what we call a sensitive area.

In discussions about good art, my friends often come back to the theme of what Blessed John Paul II says in his Letter to Artists: “beauty will save the world.”  If it’s not beautiful, then it’s not the Gospel, no matter what the subject matter of the art claims to be.  Their point: A bad film does not glorify God just because its subject matter happens to be faith-based.

So when I see a movie that attempts the audacious (yet so very needed) task of portraying the glory, truth, splendor, and/or truth of the Christian faith on the screen— even though I don’t consider myself to be anything of a filmmaker— I still tend to hear my friends’ voices in my head.

Now that you know all of this: What did I think of the film, For Greater Glory?

As a moviegoer, I was entertained.  As a Catholic, I was moved.  As an American living in 2012, with the HHS mandate threatening our basic right to religious liberty, I was sobered.

I truly do believe that we need more films that tell the great stories of our faith as For Greater Glory does.  We have so many of these stories, ranging from stories in Scripture that have stood the test of time to the incredible stories of the lives of the Saints and martyrs.  These stories need to be told, and they need to be told well.

It’s easy for me to say that as someone who is not a filmmaker, and I can understand that for a Christian person in the film industry, this is a scary task.  Knowing that these stories deserve nothing less than excellence means that if the film is not received well by an audience, it’s not the fault of the story itself but of the people who made it.  That’s a heavy burden.

So praise God for the people that realize the importance of telling these stories, and who believe in the power of them, as the makers of For Greater Glory do.  I sincerely recommend that all young Catholics go see this movie (not too young, though.  It is rated R for its depictions of violence).

And please pray for Christians in the film industry.  They’re hard at work for the Church; I promise you :)

Posted in Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do

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What’s Your Problem With Harry Potter?

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Mary| 39 Comments

I was seven years old when the first Harry Potter book came out. My parents didn’t want me to read it.

Being the good girl that I was, I left it pretty much at that. Mom and Dad didn’t want me reading it, so I didn’t read it. …Plus, I’m sure it sounded scary to me at the time (I was kind of a wuss).

What my seven-year-old self could not perceive at that time was that a lot of people saw the “no Harry Potter” rule as absolutely ridiculous—and viewed my parents (and the many parents out there with similar rules) as ridiculous for enforcing it. The Harry Potter books awakened in so many people worldwide a love for fantasy, story, and the written word. And I know many people who claim, to this day, that their lives are better for having read the Harry Potter books (seriously). How could that possibly be a bad thing?

This is the argument most hear (or think they hear): Harry Potter is a wizard, and wizards and witches are evil, so the Church says it’s a sin to read Harry Potter.

To be clear, it’s not a sin to read Harry Potter. The reason my parents didn’t want me reading Harry Potter when I was young was not because they thought it was sinful; it was because they were protecting me. The fact is that magic is real. Spells are real. The occult is real (and creepy). And when you mess with that stuff, bad things can happen (demonic possession, unfortunately, is not just something that happens in the movies).

Now here’s what most say when they hear that: But Harry Potter uses magic for good! He fights evil with it! This is clearly a good vs. evil story.

Suddenly there’s a distinction between good magic and bad magic. And really what matters is how you use it. You can see how this could be confusing for a little kid. If you’re a good person, you use magic for good, and if you’re a bad person you use it for evil. But in reality there is no such distinction. Our faith is clear on this:

CCC 2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others – even if this were for the sake of restoring their health – are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

Again, the Church doesn’t make up this rule for fun. Demonic possession is real, and you want no part in it. Ergo, stay away from magic.

But ok. Seriously, Mary. It’s just a story. There’s no such thing as Hogwarts, and Harry and his friends do not exist. Most people who read it don’t try to become wizards afterward, and if they do, there’s probably something else a little off about them in the first place.

Fair enough. But when I was a little kid, I had my share of daydreams in which I married one of the cartoon Disney Princes (and don’t even pretend like you didn’t do the same, ladies!), or got to travel to The Land Before Time and hang out with friendly, talking dinosaurs. Of course, I knew it was all make-believe…but man…how excited would I have been if had found out there was actually a way to be part of those stories! With Harry Potter, there sort of is (Tarot Cards, spell books, etc).

I know I’m going to get tons of comments about how incredible the character growth is and what a powerful story it is, magic aside. And that’s great. I’m all for good story. But I support those parents who choose to not allow their children to read Harry Potter. There are plenty of other great books out there that don’t blur the lines between good and evil. And for all of the virtue that Harry Potter practices, there is just no getting around the fact that he uses magic to accomplish it, and in doing so, cooperates with evil.

Not exactly a role model I want my seven-year-old to have.

And just for fun…

Also. Before you comment: calm down.

:)

 

Posted in Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do

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Mature Eyes Only

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Mary| 5 Comments

I have a confession to make.

A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law and I rented the movie Bridesmaids.

I know, I know.  What kind of role model am I for the young Catholics of the world if I can willingly subject myself to such a film?  And why even tell you this at all?

Well, besides the fact that I want to be straightforward with my readers about where and who I actually am, I tell you this because I have a sneaking suspicion that many of you have seen, or will at some point in the future see, a film on par with Bridesmaids.  And I’d like to share a little secret with you.

Actual running time of Bridesmaids: 125 minutes. 

Time my sister-in-law and I spent watching Bridesmaids: about 100 minutes (and no, we didn’t press the Stop button before the final credits rolled).

Friends, allow me to re-acquaint you with the beauty of the fast-forward button (yes, it’s for more than just skipping over commercials during your pre-recorded TV shows).

Remember when you were younger, and you happened to be in the room with your parents when an inappropriate part of a TV show or movie came on?  If your family was anything like mine, one of three things happened:

  1. Your parents told you to cover your eyes (or did it for you)
  2. Your parents fast-forwarded until the part was over
  3. Your parents changed the channel or turned off the TV altogether

They did this for the same reason they did most things: to protect us.  They loved us and wanted to safeguard the innocence of our minds and hearts.

And then we grew up.

Our parents may have loosened up the leash a little bit, not because they no longer cared, but because we were now old enough to know right from wrong, and they couldn’t oversee every decision we made throughout the day.  It became our own responsibility to protect our own innocence.

Unfortunately, a lot of us misunderstood this.  We noticed that the world often frames inappropriate content as being for “mature” eyes only.  Subtext being: If you can’t subject yourself to watch what can hardly be labeled as anything other than soft porn (or worse), then you’re an immature little kid who still needs to grow up.

Well, I’m 21.  When I’m in a movie theater and stuff starts happening on the screen that, frankly, should not be happening on a movie screen, my eyes shift sharply downward (and I’m also not above covering the eyes of those around me—just ask any of my guy friends who have ever seen a movie with me :-P ). If it gets really terrible, I walk out of the theater and ask for my money back (which, for the record, I’m certain I would have done if I saw Bridesmaids in theaters).  If I’m at home watching a movie, those parts get fast-forwarded over.

To a lot of the world, this may mean that I’m immature, awkward, or worse.  But I know myself.  I’m human.  And yes, I’m weak.  The things I allow myself to see, hear, or do have an impact on me whether I want them to or not.  And as far as I know, there’s no magical age that humans outgrow that completely.

I’m not saying that you should all go out and rent the worst movies you can find just as long as you fast-forward through the bad parts.  Just remember that if you ever find yourself in a situation where any kind of evil is placed in front of you, you always have the option to turn away from it.  I think that recognizing your weaknesses and guarding against them takes a lot more maturity than staring helplessly at whatever is put on the screen in front of you.

 

Posted in Pop Culture, You & God

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More Than Cheesy

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Mary| 2 Comments



Since the dawn of time (or at least for the past several years), women everywhere have been dragging their dutiful boyfriends and husbands to their fair (or perhaps unfair) share of romantic comedies.  And as long as this has been going on, there have always been men who, 2 ½ minutes into the film, proudly proclaim that they have figured out the ending to the film: the guy and girl who, at present, hate each other will end up falling madly in love and will go onto live happily ever after.

Case closed.  Can we go see Captain America now?

Seasoned boyfriends and husbands eventually figure out that women typically do not go to the movies to figure out the ending of a story.  Of course the guy gets the girl in the end.  Frankly, we wouldn’t be watching the movie if we expected it to end in any other way.  We want Happily-Ever-Afters.  More importantly, though, we want to see just how the story plays out.  How will the characters find their Happily-Ever-After?  This is what keeps us coming back (and bringing you) to the same kinds of movies over and over again.

You may laugh at this, but I’d like to propose that this is not all that different from how a Catholic ought to view life and the world around him or her.

If you think about it, we know the ending to this story.  Good wins out; evil loses.  The problem is that, in life, things rarely happen according to when and how we think they ought to, and unlike a movie, we don’t have the luxury of assuming this drama will tie up neatly at the end of two hours.   So we end up getting so caught up in the story that we forget we already know the end.  And when we have forgotten this, we have forgotten God.

Of course this is not to say that we are to abandon all responsibilities and just say, “God is taking care of it”.  No, we are still characters in this story and we have important roles to play.  And unlike the cheesy and predictable romantic comedy, our story is meant to be a great one (God doesn’t do mediocre).  We just have to trust that the writer knows what He is doing.

Posted in Dating & Relationships, Stuff Catholics Do

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Taylor Swift vs. Batman

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Mary| 1 Comment

There is a song on Taylor Swift’s most recent album that has been playing in my head since I heard it on the radio last week.  It’s called “Innocent” and it’s all about moving on from past mistakes and not letting your regrets define you.  I think the theme of the song is summed up in the following lyric:

“Who you are is not what you did.  You’re still an innocent”

The song itself isn’t a musical masterpiece in my opinion, but I do like the message of starting over.  Still, for some reason, every time I hear that lyric I think of Batman.  (…huh?)  Yep, Batman.  There is a line in the movie, Batman Begins, when, echoing the earlier sentiments of his love-interest, Rachel, Batman says that,

“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

These two lines have me in a pickle, because I see validity in both of them and they kind of seem to be saying opposite things.

I remember hearing the line from Batman for the first time and loving it.  I still love it, because we have a tendency to try to excuse our faults and wrongdoings, or the wrongdoings of another, by simply making the claim, “Well I’m still a good person on the inside,” or, “Yeah I know she did all of those terrible things but deep down she is a really good person.”  Well I’m sorry; you can say all you want about your own personal character, but when it comes right down to it, you are what you do.  If you kill an innocent person, we are all going to call you a murderer no matter how good of a heart you claim to have on the inside.

Yet I still think that Swift is right in that we have to be careful not to define anyone merely by his or her actions.  As a Christian, I believe that what gives us our dignity and value as human beings is not some great act of charity or hugely successful career.  We are beings created in the image and likeness of God, our creator.  Our very existence gives our lives value.  And the crazy part?  That value can never be taken away, no matter what we do.

So in defense of Batman, I think he would acknowledge that every life has value no matter where they have been.  The tricky part is recognizing our own inherent value without using it as a “get-out-of-jail-free card” to excuse us of our mistakes.  If we all truly knew what great value we possessed just by the mere fact of our existence, we wouldn’t hurt others or ourselves in the way we do now by our wrongdoings; and Taylor Swift and Batman wouldn’t need to be having this debate :)

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Posted in Other Rants, Pop Culture

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