We threw out our television about 5 years ago because of the lack of anything worth watching. We occasionally watch a video in the evening in the hopes of a story which enlightens, uplifts, or instructs. We are often disappointed.
Last night, we watched two videos. The first was a G rated Disney movie titled: “The Princess of Thieves”. The second video was for after Chelsea went to bed. It was an R rated survival adventure titled: “The Grey”.
The princess of thieves was the supposed illegitimate daughter of Robin Hood and Maid Marion. It was a marginally entertaining and somewhat predictable Disney story. As usual, the story sought to teach our daughters that they can never be truly happy unless they are a man. Ugh! Of course, the flip-side of that message is that our sons can never be a real man unless they are feminized. The story contained some good examples of forgiveness and sacrifice for greater good, but the overt message of female masculinity ruined the story for me.
The second video was the more disappointing of the two. We are seeing more and more movies where the language is blatantly crude and offensive, and “The Grey” was an excellent case study. The foul language was so pervasive, I threatened to watch the movie again just to count the instances of blasphemy, and the number of times the words f**k and s**t were used.
The title of the movie should be “Wolves’ Revenge”. The body of the story is dedicated to a pack of wolves dominating a group of men, the leader of whom is a professional wolf hunter hired by the petroleum company which employs all the characters. The script is realistic and believable. (don’t read this next part if you want to watch the video, because I’m giving away the ending!) However, this movie is presented as a survival adventure, but there are no survivors. This part really disappointed me.
(Ok you can start reading again)
In my humble opinion, the only redeeming quality of this story is its accurate portrayal of the hopeless condition of lost humans . God and faith are discussed several times in the movie, and some of the characters proclaim to have faith in God. Others, especially Liam Neeson’s character, Ottway, are irreligious. The movie openly embraces the idea of a supernatural connection with the souls of other people, but rejects the idea of a supernatural creator who controls our universe. In one of the final scenes of the movie, the lead character, John Ottway, played by Liam Neeson is near death. In his frustration and fear, he cries out in anger to God. He curses at God and demands a sign, but his plea is met with an ominous silence. He finally says, and I am paraphrasing, “Fine, I’ll do it myself.”
The words of Jesus in response to a demand for a sign came to my mind:
As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. Luke 11:29-32 (NIV)
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