Tag: Disney

Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 12:12

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“For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body – so also is Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I love cartoons. Near as I can remember, I always have. Animation brings a world of storytelling possibilities to life that live action films and series simply can’t touch. CGI and Ai are a modern marvel in terms of what they allow us to put on the screen that looks so real you almost can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not, but what are those two except tools of animation? The kind of cartoons I’ve always been most drawn to are the ones with good stories. I’m a sucker for well-developed characters and a gripping plot. And, of course, cartoons about superheroes have always been my favorite. Growing up, one of the absolute best on television was X-Men. When news came out a few months ago that Marvel was going to pick back up the classic series that ended its run almost 30 years ago (I can’t tell you how much it pains me to write that), I was thrilled. They did not disappoint. X-Men 97′ wrapped up its first season this week and it was even better than I had hoped it would be. And, as is so often the case, the Gospel made an appearance in the story. Let’s talk about another Marvel classic and why we just can’t escape the Gospel.

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Digging in Deeper: Ecclesiastes 1:9

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“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I remember when the modern superhero movie genre first exploded into existence. Superhero movies had been around for a long time, of course. Most of them weren’t any good. The original set of Superman movies were okay, and Christopher Reeves was certainly iconic in the role, but to go back and watch them now, they were campy and had horrible special effects. Technology has improved since then and the writing mostly has too. The first Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire, though, was the start of the modern age of superhero films. I was a freshman in college, a first-rate nerd, absolutely loved it, and haven’t looked back. There may be a handful I haven’t seen since then, but not more than that. Still, it has been hard to keep up of late because there have been just so many. But as the total has continued to rise, the quality has tended to decline. As much as I hate to say it, one of the most recent superhero movies to release – and an MCU film no less – is a great example. I finally got to watch the Captain Marvel series, The Marvels, the other day. Let’s talk for a few minutes about it.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 Samuel 15:22

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“Then Samuel said: ‘Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Some stories are just classic. And, if we’re being honest, culturally speaking, most of those stories are owned by Disney. Some of the all-time classic children’s stories have been immortalized in a certain form by a Disney animated film. This doesn’t mean the Disney version is true to the original source material for the story. It often is not. But for several generations, Disney hired the best storytellers and animators and created a cultural narrative around their versions (especially the various princesses from the fairytales they brought to life…never the princes though…I wonder how different our culture would be if Disney had poured as much effort into telling boys to be princes as they have telling girls they are all princesses) that resulted in their versions becoming the ones everybody knows. Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty were the original trio. Since then, many more have been added including the latest to get the live-action treatment and which recently launched on Disney+, The Little Mermaid. Let’s talk today about The Little Mermaid and why the real story is not the one you think it is.

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Digging in Deeper: 1 John 2:15-17

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“Do one love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions – is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When filmmakers set about their craft, I am increasingly convinced their primary source material is the stories they grew up with. Having finally been given the opportunity by virtue of position or technology to tell and retell the stories of their childhood in a way that makes them more real, as well as to pass on a love of these stories to the next generation, they take it. This is why superhero and adventure movies generally have long been such a successful genre. Young people love them because those are the kinds of stories we are drawn to naturally as kids. Older people love them because they enjoy seeing the stories they grew up with brought to life on the big screen (and increasingly the small streaming screen). One of the latest Disney offerings is the series, Ahsoka, from the Star Wars universe. By all accounts it has been absolutely fantastic. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t watched any of it yet even though I am most excited to do so. But its release has set me on a journey that will eventually end in my watching the whole thing. This journey has been taking me through another popular entry from the Star Wars franchise which has given me the chance to reflect a bit on the worldview of Star Wars more generally. The intersection of that and the Christian worldview is what I’d like to explore for a bit with you this morning. Let’s dive in.

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Digging in Deeper: Ephesians 2:8-9

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“For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift – not from works, so that no one can boast.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The latest season of one of the most popular streaming series out there finally answered one of the most burning questions it has heretofore completely ignored: How do you eat with a helmet on? The answer: You don’t. With The Mandalorian’s third season having finally given us an answer to this, I’m not sure what else there is for them to do. At just over the halfway point in the season, though, the ride has been pretty entertaining. Let’s talk about what has worked, what hasn’t, and an interesting intersection with the Christian worldview.

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