My mom has told me a few times that I need to write a positive blog post. I need to write something that isn't just complaining about something else I read or saw or heard. It's true that I spend a good deal of time (on and offline) ranting about things that annoy me; it's easier to complain than it is to praise. I think that's true for most people, but it's especially true for me. So, I'm going to work on it...starting with today's post in which I will praise the movie Noah that just came out. I saw it with my parents a few weeks ago and I really loved it. The more I think about it the more I love it. It's getting a good deal of criticism from Christians because of its (perceived) Biblical inaccuracies. I do not deny that it takes some liberties with the story as it is found in Genesis, but I hesitate to criticize the film because of these changes. Because a story is more than its facts. I think the easiest way for me to express why I liked the film is going to be through a list. So, what follows is a list of things that Noah taught me, reminded me, or made me think of in a new way. Be warned there are "spoilers" but I'm assuming you know how this story ends.
1. Compassion breeds compassion.
2. The very act of loving someone makes them worth loving. And it makes you worth something too.
3. It is good and important and Christian to take care of the Earth.
4. Everyone takes liberties with the Bible. So many of our assumptions about the Bible are not based in actual Biblical evidence but in hundreds of years of interpretation. For example, every time I heard the story of Noah's ark I heard that Noah was ridiculed and threatened by his neighbors. It's certainly conceivable that this happened, but it's not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It seems to me that it's about agency. It's about who is allowed to take liberties with the Bible and who isn't. No one got upset when Jonah was played by a mail delivering asparagus with a questionable British accent. People don't mind that the wise men are almost always present at the Nativity (when, in fact, they visited Jesus later at his home). No one gets up in arms about singing Little Drummer Boy at a Christmas Eve service even though no such musical tot ever ostensibly existed. People didn't complain when the angels in The Bible miniseries on the History channel actually killed people with katanas. (No, seriously. That happened.) And what do those adaptations have in common? They were told and perpetuated by Christians.
5. Noah got drunk on homemade wine and fell asleep totally naked. That happened. It's in the Bible. I bet your Sunday school teacher ended the story with the rainbow and didn't mention that part where Noah got crunk and cursed his grandson. What is up with that part?
6. There's a gorgeous scene in the movie where Noah tells his family the creation story. It's truly spectacular. Never before have I seen my beliefs about creation and evolution so perfectly summed up in such a clear way. It did not deny the miraculous or the complex.
7. In that same scene there is a moment showing the fall of man. It begins with Cain killing Abel and then flips quickly through an eternity of violence and murder. You see split seconds of men carrying bayonets and guns and swords. It feels eternal and relevant and historical and modern all at the same time. The theatre nerd in me just shouted BRECHT in my head.
8. It inspired me to be kind.
9. The movie is still happening to me. I didn't watch it, leave, and forget it. It's still playing in my head and working on my soul and I think good art should do that.
10. It's about redemption. Somehow in the midst of Earth being completely destroyed and humanity being completely obliterated there is a message of hope and salvation.
11. I heard a sermon a few years ago that really stuck with me. This pastor pointed out that Christians are incredibly uncomfortable saying, "Noah saved the world". We're happy to say, "God saved the world", but not Noah. And it's true, God did save the world. But so did Noah. I think it's important that we remember we have some responsibility in this thing. For good or bad.
12. I don't think God is averse to us using our imaginations to fill in the details. Because like I said earlier a story is more than its facts. This story exists and persists in Christian history because we are supposed to learn from it, not because we are supposed to teach it like a history lesson. In the same way that Jesus' parables exist. And in that aspect this movie taught me more about Noah and his ark than any Sunday school lesson.
13. On an aesthetic note - the film is completely gorgeous. It reads like a documentary and epic simultaneously, which I think lends itself beautifully to this kind of storytelling. The acting is superb and the writing is amazingly subtle and relevant. It's not heavy-handed or antagonistic. I genuinely think this is the best acting I've ever seen out of Jennifer Connelly. And Logan Lerman also deserves some serious props; he is vulnerable and conniving but somehow remains likable and sympathetic throughout. Emma Watson is perfect as usual. You'll remember from an earlier post how I feel about most Christian art, so the sheer quality of this film is huge for me.
14. At the end of the movie Noah is faced with a choice: to kill his two new granddaughters because he believes it's God's will, or to let them live and repopulate the Earth. In the end he cannot kill the baby girls and feels like a failure because of it. Emma Watson's character gives a beautiful speech and tells Noah that God gave him a choice, and he chose love and in that choice lies some hope for humanity.
15. It doesn't deny the existence of God. In fact, it affirms it. Noah tells us that God told him a flood was coming. A flood most certainly comes. That is rare. And more than that it says God exists thus let us live in a way that is pleasing to Him. And isn't that kind of the point?
If you're interested there are some good reviews out there written by people smarter than me. If you are a nerd then this is a good review to read about the Watchers and Hebrew storytelling practices. If you are less sold on the historical validity of Noah but are still interested in how it is used as a story then check out this post.
1. Compassion breeds compassion.
2. The very act of loving someone makes them worth loving. And it makes you worth something too.
3. It is good and important and Christian to take care of the Earth.
4. Everyone takes liberties with the Bible. So many of our assumptions about the Bible are not based in actual Biblical evidence but in hundreds of years of interpretation. For example, every time I heard the story of Noah's ark I heard that Noah was ridiculed and threatened by his neighbors. It's certainly conceivable that this happened, but it's not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It seems to me that it's about agency. It's about who is allowed to take liberties with the Bible and who isn't. No one got upset when Jonah was played by a mail delivering asparagus with a questionable British accent. People don't mind that the wise men are almost always present at the Nativity (when, in fact, they visited Jesus later at his home). No one gets up in arms about singing Little Drummer Boy at a Christmas Eve service even though no such musical tot ever ostensibly existed. People didn't complain when the angels in The Bible miniseries on the History channel actually killed people with katanas. (No, seriously. That happened.) And what do those adaptations have in common? They were told and perpetuated by Christians.
5. Noah got drunk on homemade wine and fell asleep totally naked. That happened. It's in the Bible. I bet your Sunday school teacher ended the story with the rainbow and didn't mention that part where Noah got crunk and cursed his grandson. What is up with that part?
6. There's a gorgeous scene in the movie where Noah tells his family the creation story. It's truly spectacular. Never before have I seen my beliefs about creation and evolution so perfectly summed up in such a clear way. It did not deny the miraculous or the complex.
7. In that same scene there is a moment showing the fall of man. It begins with Cain killing Abel and then flips quickly through an eternity of violence and murder. You see split seconds of men carrying bayonets and guns and swords. It feels eternal and relevant and historical and modern all at the same time. The theatre nerd in me just shouted BRECHT in my head.
8. It inspired me to be kind.
9. The movie is still happening to me. I didn't watch it, leave, and forget it. It's still playing in my head and working on my soul and I think good art should do that.
10. It's about redemption. Somehow in the midst of Earth being completely destroyed and humanity being completely obliterated there is a message of hope and salvation.
11. I heard a sermon a few years ago that really stuck with me. This pastor pointed out that Christians are incredibly uncomfortable saying, "Noah saved the world". We're happy to say, "God saved the world", but not Noah. And it's true, God did save the world. But so did Noah. I think it's important that we remember we have some responsibility in this thing. For good or bad.
12. I don't think God is averse to us using our imaginations to fill in the details. Because like I said earlier a story is more than its facts. This story exists and persists in Christian history because we are supposed to learn from it, not because we are supposed to teach it like a history lesson. In the same way that Jesus' parables exist. And in that aspect this movie taught me more about Noah and his ark than any Sunday school lesson.
13. On an aesthetic note - the film is completely gorgeous. It reads like a documentary and epic simultaneously, which I think lends itself beautifully to this kind of storytelling. The acting is superb and the writing is amazingly subtle and relevant. It's not heavy-handed or antagonistic. I genuinely think this is the best acting I've ever seen out of Jennifer Connelly. And Logan Lerman also deserves some serious props; he is vulnerable and conniving but somehow remains likable and sympathetic throughout. Emma Watson is perfect as usual. You'll remember from an earlier post how I feel about most Christian art, so the sheer quality of this film is huge for me.
14. At the end of the movie Noah is faced with a choice: to kill his two new granddaughters because he believes it's God's will, or to let them live and repopulate the Earth. In the end he cannot kill the baby girls and feels like a failure because of it. Emma Watson's character gives a beautiful speech and tells Noah that God gave him a choice, and he chose love and in that choice lies some hope for humanity.
15. It doesn't deny the existence of God. In fact, it affirms it. Noah tells us that God told him a flood was coming. A flood most certainly comes. That is rare. And more than that it says God exists thus let us live in a way that is pleasing to Him. And isn't that kind of the point?
If you're interested there are some good reviews out there written by people smarter than me. If you are a nerd then this is a good review to read about the Watchers and Hebrew storytelling practices. If you are less sold on the historical validity of Noah but are still interested in how it is used as a story then check out this post.