Quoth the Raven

Since I’m on Spring Break, I have found the time to watch a few movies that I’ve always wanted to see but have never taken the time to see.  Earlier this week I watched The Raven, a film directed by James McTeigue (The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta, Star Wars Episode II) starring John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe.  In The Raven, a serial killer is using Poe’s literature as inspiration, matching every detail of his gruesome killings to Poe’s horror stories.  Upon the film’s ending, I found myself locked in mental discussion for a good part of the night.

The film’s depiction of Poe is interesting.  He is an underappreciated and misunderstood writer whose genius the audience accepts, but his world renounces.  He is looked down on as a drinker and a troublemaker, although he does have a few admirers.  He is involved in a relationship with a young girl named Emily, though it is behind her father’s back and she pretends to despise him.  That is threatened to change, however, when she wants to marry him.  That revelation could put Poe’s life in danger from her father, but alas, she doesn’t get the chance.  She is kidnapped by the psychotic killer first.  Thus begins a thrilling chase that will drive the maddened poet to the very brinks of his shaky sanity.

SPOILER ALERT

After many twists and turns, Poe faces the killer.  Ironically, the killer is an admirer who considers himself an artist much the same as Poe.  In a desperate search for his beloved Emily, he makes an agreement with the man.  He drinks poison in exchange for being told Emily’s location.  He is able to find her before the poison takes full effect, and later dies on a park bench, but not before giving a concerned man information to give to Detective Fields that leads him to the killer’s identity and subsequent arrest.  Given that this is a take about Edgar Allen Poe, we all knew he was going to die.  That doesn’t stop the ending from leaving us with disappointment.

There’s a lot to be said for this film.  I was hesitant to watch it at first because I don’t want to be somebody that enjoys the suffering of others.  However, after reading some reviews of it, I decided to give it a shot.  The film is bloody at times, one of the killer’s murders is done by a swinging blade that cuts into his abdomen, and another is by a somewhat graphic slitting of the throat.  The real depth of the film, though, comes at the end.

Poe’s discussion with the killer reveals the murder to be a very disturbed individual.  He is a psychopath, and even considers himself to be an artist.  Poe recognizes that, showing that he at least has enough sanity to realize the difference between his stories and the gruesome executions of his adversary.  It is a very scary reality that he faces.  That shows me that we are dealing with danger when we entertain with violence and bloodshed.  The real message, though, comes with Poe’s sacrifice.

Poe recounts the story of his beloved wife’s death.  He speaks of his love for her and his horror when she became sick and started coughing up blood.  He says that after she died his life was left in ruins.  That is, until he met Emily.  When it came down to it, his love for her was selfless.  He was willing to sacrifice himself in order to save her life.  Amidst a culture that professes love as liking that which makes me feel good, this is a refreshing message.  At the end of  the film, I did not find myself basking in the violence.  Rather, I found myself asking the question: would I have made the sacrifice that Edgar Allen Poe made? 

Throw Out the Blood Cakes

Any one of my friends will tell you that I’m an entertainment junkie.  I have huge stacks of movies in my room, a big bin of CDs that I haven’t found a place for yet, and an often frequented Netflix account.  However, there is a trend within the entertainment industry that worries me. 

Recently the AMC hit show “The Walking Dead” was finally moved to a TV-MA rating due to the extreme violence and gore, which is its primary attraction.  I personally have only seen the show a few times, but the things I have seen on the show include a man being stabbed in the eye with a piece of glass, a severed zombie torso resiliently crawling, and a man pulling a bone out of a zombie’s limb to use as a weapon.  What worries me even more is that nobody seems to be bothered by this.  On the contrary, people celebrate it.  On each occasion that the show strives to outdo itself, you don’t hear statements like “That was awful!” or “That’s disgusting!”  Instead, what you hear are statements like “That was awesome!” or “That’s got to be my favorite kill this season.” 

“So our culture is violent.  What’s the big deal?”  I’ll tell what the big deal is.    Fifty years ago, this kind of media was virtually if not completely nonexistent.  Let’s think about violence in reality.  Virginia Tech, Columbine, Aurora, and Sandy Hook have all happened within the last fifteen years.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming those incidents on the entertainment.  The violence of the entertainment industry is one of the many symptoms, it is not the disease.  Here’s what I’m getting at: what did we think was gonna happen when we started embracing violence?  Violence is now embraced and glamourized.  The dream of being cool is no longer typified only by athletes and artists.  After all, Rambo, Jason Bourne, and Django are so much better.  Who wouldn’t want to be able to kill dozens of people in such a short time?  I believe that one reviewer got it right when he said this while reviewing the recent film “The Hunger Games”: “This is what happens when a culture embraces violence.”  Specifically in relation to the film, it means violent games that involve teenagers slaughtering each other mercilessly while being cheered on by the masses.  A little dramatic?  Maybe.  But the point is valid. 

Ultimately, the result is this: the value of human life is dropping at a shocking rate.  The glamorization of violence, the acceptance of abortion, and the fantasizing of bloodshed are making us as people next to worthless.  By this point, I hope you are seeing the gravity of this issue.  The result is two-fold: first, we need to trash some of our media.  As you’re reading this, you’re probably realizing there are some changes you need to make.  When I realized how big of a deal this was, I stopped playing first-person shooter games.  I was more wary of the movies I saw.  I deleted some songs from my music library.  I did these things because I don’t want to be part of the society that embraces violence.  Secondly, we need to speak out about this sort of thing.  By that I don’t necessarily mean you need to take part in a protest or sign a petition, although I do believe those things can be helpful.  What I do believe we need to be doing is talking with those closest to us.  We need to be talking to our friends and our family about why this is such a big deal and why we have chosen to not take part in these things anymore.  I firmly believe that our culture is not beyond saving; but if it is to be saved, it will take a lot of effort and lot of courage.  Just know this: if we see the dangers and still refuse to speak up, the blood of future generations will be on our hands. 

Lost in Ambition

                                                   
                                         "You just gestured to all of me"

A very good friend of mine once told me that I'm a lot like Hiccup.  I've got the hair.  I definitely don't have the voice.  But regardless of physical characteristics, I feel like Hiccup a lot: ambitious but feeling incompetent and significantly smaller than life.  I like to think of How to Train Your Dragon as my life story and I just happen to be stuck in the beginning: Toothless is still an angry beast, Astrid is still suspicious of me, and I have no reason to think that anything I'm trying to do is going to make a difference.  I also believe that my circumstances will change.

When I think of people that felt significantly smaller than life, I think of Amos.  Amos was a prophet of God, and yet he wasn't always.  Once he was a nobody.  As a matter of fact, he always considered himself a nobody.  After the king rejects Amos' message and insists that he leave the country, Amos says "I was no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'"

Hiccup wanted to train dragons.  I want to change the world through writing.  That's a pretty big task.  It's obviously unrealistic.  It's unbearably childish.  But you see, Amos and I have something in common.  I'm a kid from Orleans, Indiana: home to 2,000 residents and one lonely stoplight.  I'm a nobody.  I'm a nobody that serves Yahweh.  That makes this a whole different ballgame.

Ephesians 3:20-21: " Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."  God works in His servants.  That brings two things to mind: first that I'm not allowed to say "I can't."  Second, that I have a responsibility to be the kind of person that He can work with.  A friend of mine once said that there are two kinds of people in this world: those that submit to God and those to whom God says "Have it your way."  I know which one I want to be.

So am I Hiccup?  I have no idea.  But if I can spark half as much change, I will consider my life to be well spent indeed.

"It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this." - C.S. Lewis

Snow, Service, and Wibbly Wobbly Impulse

There’s white stuff on the ground now.  My first impulse was to burst into song, specifically “What’s This?” from The Nightmare before Christmas, but I restrained myself.  A good thing, since I was at work at the time.  I’ve never been too crazy about winter, but I figure if it’s got to be cold, we might as well have snow.  That kid that loves snow and I hoped every year around Christmas that it would come never really died in me, and I’m not ashamed to admit that.

It does have its downsides though.  Among them is the difficulty it poses to travel.  As a result Wednesday night services were canceled tonight.  I understand why that has to be done, but still I was pretty disappointed.  I look forward to Wednesday nights.  I need encouragement through the week.  We live in a dangerous and sinful world and it becomes difficult to maintain our focus if we only receive spiritual encouragement one day out of the week.  As I continued thinking about this, it led me to another train of thought: why did I experience disappointment at Wednesday night services being canceled but I find it hard to convince myself to set time aside for God during the week outside of assembly times?  After all, I did study my Bible tonight, but when I got home from work that wasn’t the first thing I did.  First I watched the Doctor Who Christmas Special from last night.  That bothers me.

To be clear, I’m not someone that thinks all entertainment is evil.  I’m listening to Relient K as I’m writing this post.  Instead, I’m concerned with priorities.  I’ve always had an obsessive personality.  When I discover something new or exciting I latch onto it like a parasite.  I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (over 900 pages) in 4-5 days.  I stayed up reading the novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman until 2 a.m. one morning because I found it that thrilling.  When I first discovered Doctor Who, there were some days I watched four episodes in a day.  Why can’t I get that excited about the Bible?  Why can’t I get that excited about prayer? 

There’s a question that inevitably follows this train of thought: why do I get excited about my obsessions?  Sometimes it has to do with a gem that I find in the message of a particular movie or song.  Unfortunately, though, that’s often more of a perk than a direct reason.  Looking at the things that have attracted my attention in recent months (Doctor Who, Dreamworks Dragons: Riders of Berk, and Owl City), it’s usually because I like it.  I love fantasy and science-fiction and I happen to love Owl City’s music as well.  I’ll be honest, there’s times I don’t feel like reading my Bible or praying.  It makes me feel inadequate and inferior; because I am.  My problem then, as may be the problem of some of you, is that I’m serving myself more than God.  I care more about what I feel like doing than I care about serving God.  Maybe, just maybe, priorities stem from motivation.  Why do I do what I do?  Maybe if I had my motivation straight, I would more feel like doing that which helps me do what I am aiming to do.  If you find yourself in a similar position as I have found myself in, maybe you should do a similar sort of soul-searching.  For everything you “feel” like doing, ask yourself a short but infinitely important question: why?

Embracing Violence

Yesterday in Newtown, Connecticut, a twenty-year old gunman, after killing his mother, went to a local elementary school where his mother worked, and killed 26 people, 20 of whom were children between the ages of 5 and 10.  He subsequently shot himself.  The shooting was instant national news and there has been an outpouring of sympathy towards the families and a lot of discussion has followed about what to do to prevent these things from happening in the future.  Most of the talk has to do with legislation: gun control laws in some cases and in other cases even giving teachers means to protect their students.  As a huge supporter of the freedom of speech, none of this discussion is bad.  However, I believe we are barking up the wrong tree.

I talk a lot about the influence that culture has on us as individuals.  I want to go back to that for a second.  Earlier this week I read an article about the AMC television show “The Walking Dead.”  If you don’t know about the show, it is AMC’s biggest hit and follows people trying to survive the zombie apocalypse.    The PTC criticized the “TV-14” rating of the show, citing its gory nature and use of profanity to say it should be rated “TV-MA.”  I myself have watched the show a few times.  Among the violent things the show depicts is a man getting stabbed in the eye with a piece of glass and a man breaking off a zombie’s arm and pulling a bone out of the arm.  Sounds quite grisly, doesn’t it?  In video games, the examples are even more direct.  Grand Theft Auto, one of the most popular video game franchises on the market, thrives on the player’s ability to kill and steal in every scenario imaginable.  In the song “Little Piece of Heaven” by Avenged Sevenfold, a somewhat popular hard rock band, the repetitive chorus says “Must have stabbed him fifty ******* times/I can’t believe it/Ripped his heart out right before his eyes.”  At the culmination of it all, we have the latest teen fad, The Hunger Games, which revolves around the story of throwing a bunch of teenagers into a “game” in which the goal is to slaughter everyone else in the game with you and emerge the victor.  And we wonder why tragic shootings happen in our country.

The answer to this situation is not gun control, security, or legislation.  When a culture removes God from among themselves, there is no moral standard left, which inevitably gives way to violence.  When a culture embraces violence as a means of entertainment, it is only a matter of time before that fantasy finds its way into reality.  We have made it clear we don’t want God among us.  This might have been God granting our wish.  Now is the time to stop and reflect: is this really what we want?

Writing Playlist

  To those of you who don't know yet, I'm working on writing a book.  Now before you ask how long into I am, I honestly don't know.  If you want a specific idea, the Word document is at 25,000 words right now.  I may post a couple teasers in the near future.  I almost always listen to music while writing, and what I listen to greatly depends on the type of scene I'm writing.  So here's some of my favorites.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzhNXoo6rwE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWGGSgfkZ0k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_tUr7Z5jTE&list=UUREP-L_BSC8r3FNgPJ6BnFQ&index=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7HmzwI67ec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCl1fDOUpvQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KXNSYL93m4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwpe5pYe-Y0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTbXCnc2qdU

Last but not least:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CihLLn9WTvo

Learning from Jack Skellington

A couple of years ago, after having seen Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, I decided I was going to try and see every Tim Burton film I could.  Last summer I saw Corpse Bride, which completely blew my mind (and is still one of my favorite films to date), and I decided he has a innate gift for animated films.  Still, I had not seen The Nightmare before Christmas.  A friend of mine gave The Nightmare before Christmas on dvd to me for my 20th birthday.  So I watched it.

First of all, "This is Halloween" is still running through my head, and I'm enjoying every minute of it.  There are deeper things to be appreciated, though.  If you haven't seen the film, go watch it before reading the rest of this post, because if I try to explain it all, my brain will get ahead of me and I won't make any sense.  And, you just really need to see it, because you're a person and every person should see this movie.  

The main thing I want to give attention to is the main thrust of the movie: Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, mayor of Halloween Town, stumbles into Christmas Town and decides to bring Christmas to Halloween Town.  The result, which comes when Jack tries to be "Sandy Claws" is disastrous.  While watching it, though, a thought occurred to me: Jack learns from his mistake by the end of the film, but I wonder what the other citizens of Halloween Town thought?  They watched Jack trying to squeeze Christmas into Halloween Town like trying to plant a rose on Mars; what did they think?  

The lesson that I took away from the film was this: Ecclesiastes 3:1 says that there is a time for everything.  I would argue that this includes not only a time but also the environment as a whole.  When you ignore the obvious as to what it is time for and try to squeeze what you want into your current situation, bad things happen.  For me as a Christian, it means that when I try to force something into my current situation that God has clearly shown me it is not the time for, I may as well start walking towards the bomb shelter, because an affectionately named hurricane will soon be on its way.  On the other hand, when I accept what is obvious, and take everything in its proper time, my life turns into an anthem, which just might be as catchy as "This is Halloween."

Chapter Three Incoming

I get excited for new Owl City records because I feel like Adam Young is writing the soundtrack to my life, so each new album is a sneak peek at the next chapter of my life.  So, needless to say, I was pretty excited when I got The Midsummer Station.  I have a lot to say about it, and if you don’t like Owl City, then GET. OUT. NOW.  For your own good.  A major geek explosion is upcoming.

Owl City songs are normally oozing blood from Adam Young’s broken heart.  From The Saltwater Room to The Bird and the Worm, Adam Young never gets the girl.  Things are different this time around.  As I’m writing this, I’m listening to “The Speed of Love.”  First of all, this is one of the catchiest tunes since the invention of electronica.  Secondly, the lyrics are beautiful and optimistic.  “You were so hard to find with oh, so many clouds across my summer sky.  You, my constellation prize, yeah, every single star is sparkling in your eyes.”  Dude.  Adam Young finally got the girl.  Cue crowds of millions screaming “YES!!!” The train of thought is continued is “Embers,” where he promises “It gets better, just don’t let the fire die.” Granted, he hints at breakup in “Take It All Away,” but let’s not forget the rose for the thorns.

So, love is pretty awesome.  We can all agree on that.  It doesn’t end there, though.  In “Good Time,” where Adam Young is joined by overnight pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen (Yes, I do sing “Call Me Maybe” in the bathroom many mornings).  As they sing together, “Woke up on the right side of the bed, what’s up with this Prince song stuck in my head?  Hands up if you’re gonna get down tonight, ‘Cause it’s always a good time.”  Okay, there’s not too much to analyze there, but let’s be honest: it’s fun.  We like fun; both the nonspecific noun and the awesome band. 

In the process of all of this, I can’t overlook “Dreams and Disasters.”  The first verse is nostalgia at its finest: “We were alone on the road, driving faster, So far from home, we were chasing disaster.  Pour on the gas ‘till the gas caught on fire, we had to laugh as the smoke billowed higher.”  Hey, we may have had a few close scrapes, but they make for great stories, right?

Last but not least we reach “Bombshell Blonde.”  Now, I have to admit, I didn’t like the idea of this song at first.  Adam Young writing a stereotypical “hot girl” song seemed really out of place.  The fact is though, it’s really not a “hot girl” song.  It’s about Adam learning to make a move, even when he feels in way over his head.   Plus, the song is addicting and you really have to work not to love it.

To recap, this is what I can expect for my life this year: crazy escapades with friends that result in great stories, and some heartbreak, but ultimately love will triumph.  Hopefully I too will find the courage and backbone to make the moves I need to make, in whatever context they be.  All in all, I’m pretty excited for the next chapter of my life.

Catharsis

“Who I am hates who I’ve been”

Those words fascinate me.  That phrase is the main thrust in a Relient K song by the same name, and brings back a lot of memories.  Normally when I say that about a song, I mean it in a positive connotation.  The Owl City song “Cave In” reminds me of this past summer hanging out with a couple close friends of mine who share a mutual love for Owl City.   Oasis’s “Wonderwall” reminds me of a night walking along the canal in downtown Indianapolis, when he (a better guitarist than myself) sat down by the water and started playing various songs, “Wonderwall” being one of them.  Here, though, I mean something else entirely. 

There’s a man I know and look up to that I once saw wearing a shirt that said “I’m not the man I should be, but thank God I’m not the man I used to be.”  The memories that come back are not pleasant ones.  They are memories of me making some dreadful mistakes that I have regretted and will continue regretting for the rest of my life.  I remember saying things that have torn people down.  I remember having thoughts that I would be ashamed to admit and doing things that I would be ashamed to admit.  I don’t say these things to initiate a pity party, but I am confident that as you are reading this, you can probably appreciate where I’m at.  We can all say, “Yeah, I’ve been there.  I’ve done and said stuff I regret.”  That’s why I’m glad the story doesn’t end there.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with love.  We write songs about it, we make movies about it, we write books about it, we talk constantly about it, and in the times between we think about and dwell on it.  I’ve been in love and I’ve lost love.  I still admit that there’s a ton I don’t know but I can tell one thing I know for sure about love: it takes real love to love a person while they are at their lowest point.  I don’t know if any story or metaphor tells it as accurately and tenderly as the father of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 saying in regards to the son who had scorned and deserted him, “let us eat and celebrate.  For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.”  That, my friends, is true love.  It is truly incredible that God loved me even at my lowest point.  Even more incredible is the fact that I don’t have to still be the person I used to be.

God offers us the power to change.  One of the most powerful scriptures is Ephesians 3:20, which refers to the power of God which works in us!  I don’t have to be who I was anymore.  I can be better, but only because God has enabled me to be.  Never let us forget that.  Whatever good we may be able to accomplish in this life, it is only because God has enabled us to be that person and did not give up on us when we were failing miserably. 

I’m not yet the man I should be, but thank God I’m not the man I used to be, because who I am hates who I’ve been.

Should We Enjoy the Vampire Bite?

October 31^st.  It’s just around the corner.  Before long we’ll see kids in white bed sheets carrying orange pumpkin pails filled with candy going from house to house, as well as the teenagers dressed in more grotesque outfits like scream and zombie masks.  We may also see the occasional light-hearted costume like the geeky girl dressed up as Princess Leia or the countless Darth Vader costumes that invade sci-fi costume parties.  But Halloween reminds me of more than trick-or-treating and costume parties.  It reminds me of the folklore that has exploded into a sub-culture of horror-fantasy, and with it one of the most successful of all fantasy creatures: the vampire.  And with that comes the grim reminder that the last dreadful episode of the Twilight Saga hits theaters November 16^th, just a couple short weeks after Halloween.  It’s enough to make me cringe.

            Okay, so some of you are mad at me right now.  That’s fine, I can live with that.  But before you start calling me a heartless, prejudiced, and grumpy cynic, hear me out.  I’ve read the books, and I’ve seen the movies (and yes, I realize that may place my man-card in jeopardy).  So I am not one of the guys who is loudly hacking to pieces something that he knows nothing about.  But you see, there’s something very specific about all of the propaganda that disturbs me to the core. 

            Unlike a lot of guys, I love a good love story.  I could very easily be accused of liking some “chick flicks” here and there.  I also love fantasy.  I even write some fantasy myself.  The problem is, we’ve not seen the Twilight Saga for what it truly is.  When you tear away the fluff and squint your eyes to see past the fog, what you find is not love and definitely isn’t fantasy…at least not any fantasy I would have.

            Let’s take a step back.  Look at the horrifically infamous statement from Bella in the first book: “About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him — and I didn't know how potent that part might be — that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”  First of all this statement even on its own merit sounds so pathetic that I think even Ghandi would feel the need to ferociously smack Bella, but that’s not the point.  The point is what she said in the last sentence: “I was unconditionally—“ Ok, I can live with that—“and irrevocably in love with him.”  Whoa, hold the phone, sister!  Irrevocably?!  So, she’s in love with a guy who just might want to rip her heart out and suck all of her blood.  Believe it or not, I can live with that (let’s not forget that Adolph Hitler was married, after all.  Some women can be pretty dense), but the fact that she believes in cannot be changed.  This is love. Unconditional and unchangeable.  Now in and of itself I don’t have a problem with that message.  My parents love me unconditionally.  They’ve gotten pretty mad at me at points, but they never stopped loving me.  But here’s the kicker: at this point in the story, Bella knows absolutely nothing about Edward.  Why does she love him?  At the end of the day, she doesn’t really know.  Here’s the thing that is so dangerous about the Twilight Saga and most every other love story that has become popular in the last decade: it presents love as out of your control.  You can’t control who you fall in love with and you don’t understand why you love them, you just know you do and you have to be around them.  Sounds suspiciously like a drug addiction to me.  When we reduce love this far, bad things will happen.

            One out of every two marriages in this country end in divorce.  People continue to speculate and give different reasons for this, but I don’t think there’s much of a question to it.  It’s because we look at love like an uncontrollable state of mind, just like a drug addiction.  And when we can’t get the same high, we go to another drug, another person.  Don’t do that to yourself or to the ones in your life.  Think about what your buying into.  As for me, I think I can afford to sit out the conclusion of the cultural monstrosity.  What will you buy into?