Senna

Once upon a Thursday night, I went to Signs and Wonders. We watched a movie called "Senna". At first I was a little apprehensive about how it was filmed--it was some sort of spinoff a documentary which proved to be very good. 

Anyway, format aside, Senna, in short is about a Brazilian Formula One driver, Ayrton Senna, who's incredible dedication, passion and perseverance lead him to be an international sensation as he became one of the number one driver's in the history of Formula One. 

There are two things I've been kind of chewing on after seeing the movie: one is Senna's fear for driving, and the second is how he discovered his love for God.

Formula One driving looks awesome, but after watching some pretty horrific crashes on screen (at over 200 mph), I think I'll pass. Well, those types of crashes didn't just effect the audience. Drivers watched some of their rivals but friends in racing die. It was more than just watching a companion die for many drivers; it was the reality that, if there was one small problem with the car or track, they could be that guy having to be resuscitated to no avail on the track. This hit Senna pretty hard, and many times those who loved him asked him to stop racing.


These things bring you to reality as to how fragile you are; at the same moment you are doing something that nobody else is able to do. The same moment that you are seen as the best, the fastest and somebody that cannot be touched, you are enormously fragile."  Ayrton Senna

I feel like I could relate this to how we should fear God. Okay, so maybe I'm over analyzing, but the Bible repeatedly talks about fearing God. Throughout my life I've taken this several different ways; fearing God out of reverence, fearing God simply because "if I do good things God will give me good things", or thinking I have to walk around on broken glass when it comes to God. But after watching Senna, I think it's different. Senna was doing what God gave him a talent, love and drive to do, and while it was scary, Senna still loved it enough to never stop racing. He knew how to fear racing and respect it all the while loving it.

Fear is thrilling, but at the same time it makes us constantly question why we're feeling it or if it's worth feeling it. It's easy to take God for granted and entrust that no matter what we do God's up there and He'll forgive us if we ask blah, blah, blah. But doesn't it make sense that a true faith would be one with plenty of fear? Maybe God is scary, maybe that's the only way to really sync with God, to be afraid and realize that this love from Him, no matter what kind of speeds we're forced to go or what walls we might hit is worth it.

The second point is just a little observation I made but thought was pretty cool. In the beginning of the movie, Senna said nothing about God. He was born into a Catholic family, like most Brazilian children of his time. But it was at this one race (a pretty important one, but I forget which one, there were so many) when Senna was about to cross the finish line, he said he felt a sort of powerful presence and envisioned God.

 "...his mechanics heard a kind of crying and laughter, they heard screaming and singing -- language that they could not describe -- and Ayrton, after he stopped the car, calmly admitted to seeing a vision of God as he took the championship." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manish-pandey/ayrton-senna_b_909096.html)

After that race, Ayrton spoke more freely about God; he began to talk about God after victories, and his genuineness and calm in the face of a storm seemed to attest to some inner peace given to Ayrton by an assurance that God was with him and that he was not only racing for himself, but for God.

'When you talk about religion, it's a touching point, very easy to be misunderstood ... But I try hard -- as hard as I can to understand life through God. And that means everyday of my life -- not only when I'm home but when I'm doing my work too" -Ayrton Senna

And yet, even with God at work in this film, it wasn't what I would call a Christian film. In fact, I speculate that non-Christians could see this movie and still walk away with an appreciation for the hero for a poverty stricken and oppressed Brazil.

"Ayrton's spirituality, his faith, and his religion brought people together -- as faith and religions should." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/manish-pandey/ayrton-senna_b_909096.html)

Another pretty cool thing about the film is that the director is a Muslim, one producer is a Christian, the other producer is a Jew, and the executive producer is Hindu.

And the last cool thing I have to say about it is, the morning of his death, Ayrton said he'd woken up and read from the Bible that he would receive the greatest gift of all, God. I feel as though he did receive that gift that race. He went home.

Better late than never?

       I think there are some times when never is better than late, but this time I'm gonna go with the old saying and post about old news: the Gospel as Tragedy.
       I want to talk about a question that was put forth in the song about the girl named Georgia. The guy in that song kept asking "Where was God?", and I've heard that question a lot in books that I've read. Books and stories about war, especially, ask this question a lot.
       If you've ever read Bodie Thoene, you've probably heard one or two of her characters try to answer this question by saying that people did these evil things, not God. I think I used to completely agree with that answer. It just seemed so simple and true; God didn't kill this or that person; He didn't rob them or burn their house down; people chose to do that.
      But it still doesn't completely answer the question of why God doesn't intervene and stop the robbers and the murderers. Some people would say that God gave us free choice, and He's not gonna change that now and step in every time somebody needs protection. But He does seem to step in sometimes, so I think that's what makes some people wonder why He doesn't do it all the time.
     Well, my answer is I don't know why God lets the bad stuff happen. And I don't think I will ever know, atleast as long as I'm on this earth. But I do know that God is good (it particularly says it somewhere in Psalms, I think. I forget where, exactly) and I just leave the question alone, 'cause I can't answer it.
     To finish up this blog, I want to say that I don't think Leeper was trying to get us to come up with an answer to the sad stuff of this world, and I guess that's why this post makes sense for this blog. If you don't have the answers to the sad stuff, it's okay to admit it. After all, who's going to trust a human who thinks he knows everything?

Story Telling

  Storytelling is one the most important things we have in this world and without it the world would be nothing. I never really realized that all the movies that are out today all have the same plot. The main character is always a young man who has to go on a epic journey to defeat this dark evil then he meets up with a mentor who will help him and then the young man finds his true love and lives happily ever after. i can't help but think about the movie Fridge and how the "evil" people took it upon themselves to save a little boy out of a freezer when all of the "heroes" and "good" people were to busy trying to protect themselves or just ignored the situation. If I've learned anything thing from this class is just how dark this world can truly be, but if people could just stop thinking about themselves for just a second then maybe just maybe the world could be be a better place.

When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer

The Learned Astronomer

Just recently I found a poem that I feel really fits into the conversation about expressing art through showing people things rather than telling them.  In this poem a student sits in on a lecturer’s lesson about astronomy and gets bored and inattentive.  But then, something great happens.  As he leaves the lecture hall and comes out of the building in the dead of night, he looks up and sees the stars.  He marvels at them and gains a deeper understanding of what the stars really are than the students in the hall listening to what the lecturer has to say.

This is the poem:

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide,

   and measure them,

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with

   much applause in the lecture-room,

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,

Till rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,

Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

BY Walt Whitman

This, I think, is a great example of what we as filmmakers should be striving for.  To get our audience to understand something that they may not have understood before, because to truly understand something one needs more than a definition, one needs to experience it for themselves.  So as Christians we should have the audience experience an unfailing love, an ultimate sacrifice, and mystery so that even without them knowing it they understand Jesus better than what they had before.  This is the amazing thing about film and animation and things because just like the student who could bear listen to the lecturer’s blabber, people have a hard time understanding the human emotion and what better way for them to experience and understand them fully than through media. 

The Gospel as Comedy

"Laughing is better than crying and maybe not even all that different." Have you ever laughed so hard, that you cried? Maybe, it is because the two emotions are closer than you think. In the reading tonight, the book said that it is inevitable that we will shed tears over the things that trouble us and cause us pain. They are a part of what it means to be human. So, why is it that we often times try to cover up these feelings of pain, and put on a mask so that everyone thinks we are happy, when we are really just hurting inside? This is a question that I find hard to answer myself.

Something that really struck my mind while reading was this, "...though for man it is impossible, for God all things are possible...". I had someone tell me one time, that this statement was untrue. That it was impossible for God to put two mountains right next to each other, without a valley to separate them. Well, here is what I say, even though our minds can't conceive it, that doesn't make it impossible. We are only humans, it isn't our place to say what God can and cannot do. Just because our small minds can't imagine that to be possible, it doesn't make it impossible.

Also in the book, it mentions the parable of the talents, I am constantly reminded that that is the precise reason I am majoring in animation. I have an artistic talent, that God has blessed me with, and not to use it, would be just as good as throwing it away. So, instead I will take a chance and use my talent to the best of my ability. I don't know where it's going to take me, but I'm willing to risk it, rather than keep it safe, because ultimately it is up to God what will happen in my life anyway.

Beauty or Ugly?

I actually never intended for most of my comics to be funny, but Professor Leeper just has some of the best funny quotes out there that I have to use them ^_^ So we'll see how that goes. Also, there's some weird black and white/color action going on in this one. Kinda like Pleasantville, maybe?

 

Actually, though, one of the reasons I used this quote was because of the blog post Prof Leeper is quoting. About the 'ugly things in life'. It really made me think. Just because something is ;ugly' in our life, is it really ugly? Yeah, I know that sounded confusing, but I can't think of another way to phrase it. Basically, what constitutes its ugliness? I know the films we watched Tuesday were full of things people would consider 'the ugly things in life', but I thought they were beautiful. Maybe not because of what they were, but because of how they were shown.

 

Today we talked about story/film as images, which was really reassuring, because almost all of my story ideas start with a single image, or a few different ones. I build off of that, letting things come to me, but they start real simple. But do these images have to be 'beautiful', or can they be 'ugly'? I think they can be ugly. Osamu Tezuka, the father of modern anime and manga, said this "the potential of manga was more than getting a laugh; using themes of tears and sorrow, anger and hatred, I made stories that didn’t always have happy endings." I believe beauty is not equal to happiness. The 'ugly' things can be just as beautiful, like the bittersweet endings of the puppet video we watched, and of course 'The Fridge'.

But people don't really think like that anymore, it seems.



Mystery

Most of my life I think I've believed that God is a god of mystery, but not a good kind of mystery. This is the kind of mystery that makes you pissed off, that makes you want to forget what you stand for and go with whatever makes sense. I came to this conclusion because the good kind, the kind that gives life even without understanding, was so out of my reach and only in my imagination that I assumed God wasn't like that.

The meaningless sufferings that we endure dig through our soft, fluffy faith and interrogate our feeble minds, demanding that we answer the question of why. And, like with Job, God does not really answer, so neither can we.

So, when I hear that mystery is a good thing, and that this good kind of mystery can be adopted, I automatically scream "FALSE!" in my mind....Outwardly I tend to be a little more composed, and even will agree that this is true. But inside there is a battle going on between what I know and what I experience....the truth that God is mysteriously good and the experience that God is mysteriously apathetic.

Now, having read through Buechner's description of the Gospel as a tragedy and a comedy, I am beginning to see that it is precisely the experienced grief and pain that points towards the goodness of God's mystery. For there is irony in the Gospel, when in our inevitable destruction we complain to God that life has to turn out this way....and then life doesn't line up straight and we suddenly find ourselves in a mysterious world....a world that doesn't make sense, but we could care less because the ultimate mystery is grace, and that is the most precious thing in the whole of reality.

I still don't fully have a grip on the goodness of God's mystery, but I think that I am beginning to see a little of just how powerful this absurd, mysterious, beautiful life really is.

Whats Keeping Us Alive/ What is our drive?

What is keeping us alive?
Some might say that what keeps them alive would be sex, drugs, and anything that society has throwing at them aka MTV and jersy shore. But wait thats not us, or me. What keeps me alive is the feeling of possibility and knowing that I have christ in me. But I know I am no theologian or pastor. I know we cant be perfect. I know we cant maintain a clean record. But we can always look and check our selves to see are we in check with God and us.

Where am I going with this. Well as Professor Leeper said are we getting it or loving it? Or something along those lines. I have seen people on the narrow path on the ledge over the chasm of death and sin. They just walk and slipped. I saw them fall and fall and walk down the wrong path of life.

We are right brain thinkers a few of us are left brain artists with an artist. Some of us are trying to move to that side. And most of us over analyze stuff? And we look in the world and think to much. We should take time to stop and see the beauty made by God. I know I struggle with this a lot. And yet I do understand that we do need to die our selves for God, most of us protect what we do and not repent and turn back to God. And then we fall back down the beaten path.

History is His Story, literature is his works and his words teach us then give us answers. And it is never good to make assumptions of who is going to Hell or Heaven.

Birth
Youth
Middle Age
Death
This is a great cycle.


To Professor Leeper, and who ever wants to know more about me.
PS: I have learned about the mono myth, heros journey thing in 12th Grade. It is a great cycle while you were talking about that. It was all coming back to me.

EmilyThornton-Love of stories

Story telling is such a wonderful, grand thing. It's so interesting that no matter how old we get the age old appeal of "tell me a story" never really fades.
When I was a kid, my mom used to tell us stories. Her stories were generally about this white cat, who was incredibly prissy and smart, and about this brown poodle, who would fight with the white cat. I don't remember very much of them, but the fact that I remember them at all is something to be said for the art of storytelling.
When I was about nine, I started making my own stories. Up until that point I had only made up a character or two, but around this age the appeal or the story suddenly grew. The appeal mostly grew out of fear, actually. At this age I was terrified of the dark, and sleeping became a bit of an ordeal, unless I had something to think of. Usually I would think up some short little story, and then begin filling in characters, details, background, until I fell asleep.
Actually, I do that now, even. Although my fear of the dark has faded, (Although it makes me wonder that the fear of the dark is looked at as being something silly. Why wouldn't you fear the dark, or the unknown?) my love of stories has not.
The appeal of the story is different to every person, but it connects us so well together. This comradeship of the human condition, the beautiful mess we have all found ourselves in. The story of the universe, wide, and loud, explodes with us, and within our souls.
I love stories.

The picture of storytelling

Everything starts with images in storytelling. The reading we did of C.S Lewis was so inspiring to me because all of my stories start with pictures and I've always been concerned with not knowing the whole story. Lewis makes a point of showing that all his stories came from pictures. Images of something and he didn't know where that image would take him. He simply knew it was something worth exploring. That's the beginning of every great story. Following it to see where it will take you. Will it follow the nice little path the church says you should take or will take you where it knows it should go? That could be the same the place, but not necessarily. If you have a mind filled by Christ though, it will take you where He wants it to go. That's how I believe Lewis' stories developed. He had what Dr. Leeper called a "fertile mind". He kept his mind alive with stories and with creativity and he was consumed with Jesus. The stories that came out of that had no reason to not show the glory of Jesus to its readers even though he didn't write them as allegories. 

The ability to craft a story from a picture I believe is one of the most crucial skills any storyteller can learn. I am striving to do that. And to follow my stories wherever they lead. If I try and build the framework around my story, especially the parameters of Christianity, then it can only grow so far. If I let the story tell itself and just follow it along for the ride, then there's no limit to how far it can go. The possibilities are endless.

Something Dr. Leeper said near the end of class really stuck with me when he said "You need to get your audience out of their left brain where they can explain their experience with your story. You want them in their right brain where they will experience your story and then might think about it for the next fifty years." That's what I strive for in storytelling. Being able to get my audience out of their left brains and into their right.

And can I just say that Dr. Leeper is an incredible storyteller. I could see the entire story of the Selfish Giant.

Influences

My knowledge of life in general has changed drastically since I started college because of all the deprogramming that has been going on from all my professors especially Leeper. This may be cocky but this summer I thought I had a pretty full grasp of what life was. I was working a full time job getting about 45 hours a week and honestly all I had to pass the time was to think about this DMA program at Huntington and  look forward to it. I actually built it up so much that I never thought it could fulfill my expectations and it didn't. What my previous thoughts were about Digital Media were completely twisted from the truth and I thought this major was to teach you about only film. I am no where near disappointed with my experience so far and actually love the journey of self discovery as cliche as that sounds. Now as to things that actually pertain to the class I love the fact that Leeper shoots straight and will interact with our blogs...even if it is just to make sure that we know were wrong about things. I recently read the script for Sense and Sensibility and  I must say it was an excellent story that mixed both love and satire in the same story. This goes along with the lesson over which their is the seasons which can represent  feelings or types of story. The book is a must read if you would like an example of a literary piece that dabbles in both "Spring" and "Winter."As the amount of feelings that are felt surprised me greatly to the point where at one point I was both laughing and to the point I was crying because of the story. I am in no way one who cry's while watching movies and I can't remember a movie or film that has ever made me cry but this book encompasses things that I never actually thought about especially as a guy because of what the story is based around. Basically I'm trying to open myself up to different type of influences in film and literature so if anyone has a suggestion of something that impacted them in any way at all write a comment for it so I can start making a bucket list of things to watch/read/listen to.

The Huntington Bubble

Leeper's class is one of the few classes that shows me the darker side of humanity. Huntington University is a great place, almost too great. HU is filled with many good christian people. It's hard for me to not get lost in the "bubble" of Huntington University. Huntington makes me forget some of the worlds problems. I go out on campus late at night and feel perfectly safe. Everyone leaves their dorm rooms unlocked and doors open when they are gone. I haven't noticed much discrimination on campus. The people on my floor (Wright Third) are very supporting of everything that I do. Huntington almost feels to me like another planet. A nicer, safer, more christian planet. Steve Leeper reminds me every Tuesday and Thursday that there are many problems in the world, and that not everyone is a believer. He does do a good job of inspiring me to make a difference though.

On Tuesday we watched some very impactful films. The movies definitely made me think. I wish I could say that the second film we watched left me feeling uneasy at lunch, or made me lose some sleep, but it didn't. I haven't hard a hard life. I have been very blessed. Leeper said that we have learned to put situations like the Holocaust in the back of our minds, and I agree with that. The movies we watched Tuesday were very intense. I didn't lose sleep, or feel uneasy simply because I am numb. Every time I turn on the TV another shooting or natural disaster has happened. I have become heartless and numb to all these horrific events. I'm not sure if being numb is a good or bad thing. It keeps me from becoming sad or depressed when hearing about these horrible events, but at the same time I think I should feel some sort of sadness. I want to care, but once I turn off the TV I go to the dining commons and associate with kind christian people and forget about the worlds problems. I guess I just have to keep myself from forgetting that the world is not as kind as Huntington University.

Oddball Statements: Mornings

Question: Have you ever had pancakes right after brushing your teeth with minty toothpaste?

   If you have, then you know that its not the best taste in the world. The mix of the mint from the toothpaste and the sweetness of the pancake syrup creates a really bad taste in your mouth. Now, i'm not saying to eat pancakes BEFORE brushing your teeth, nor am i saying to not use syrup on your pancakes, but to maybe change your toothpaste. Just kidding, what i do is wait until the mint from the toothpaste dulls down a bit before i eat pancakes. 

   The one thing that drives me crazy is when my brother sits next to me in the morning. The reason being is that he likes to stuff his food in his mouth, and to top it off; he eats with his mouth open! When i eat in the morning, i like to eat in silence. But when my brother comes and eats cereal next to me, his annoying munching sound drills through my ears.

   Have you ever woke up in a great mood? Was it because of a dream or something you were looking forward to that day? Its very rare for many people (including me) to be in a good mood in the morning. But to make your day better is why we do wake up in the morning. So if you think my blogs are random and weird.... good. My blogs are suppose to make conversation, not for the superior mind. Like watching a popular t.v show, or an awesome Facebook picture. Please enjoy=3

The use of Language

For me, it's not a matter of staying clean in a personal call to holiness, that's only part of it. I want to be set apart from the world with intention of being noticed. This fulfills the ultimate call of sharing the Gospel. I can't do that if I don't pay any reverence to abstaining from some of the things the world is known to do. There are many examples I could drill into here, but I'll stick with the subject of profanity, since that has been brought up in class and here on the blog.

In reference to the quote Prof. Leeper read in class, I believe it should be questioned. That particular quote asks us to question the importance of how much we care about those less fortunate than ourselves versus how much we care about the use of profanity. Both are important, and both need to be addressed, so in a way, it is completely unfair to judge those who choose to care more about the other side than you do. It is possible to live in such a way that you can deal with your problems as humans while maintaining the integrity of a Christian lifestyle, so that you may be an example of the amazing difference Jesus will make in your life.

I can appreciate the way in which the films we watched on Tuesday relate to the human experience, but as a Christian, I will remain firm in my choice to live differently, not to distance myself from the pain of the world, but to prove that living differently and to be uncomfortable with what I believe is wrong will be seen and will make a difference in this fallen world.

Crap

Watching those films back-to-back… merciless is what comes to my mind when I think of why Leeper did that. When he said today was going to be "rough"… yea, there may have been some truth to that. After watching the animal’s loved ones taken away from them in a second… that was rough. It was. Then it got to watching a child locked in a fridge, suffocating, while humanity did the same as myself: they watched and when they were done watching they went on with their lives. Imediately it got much more difficult, from watching that opening scene to having a completely emotionless man stir up my emotions in a way I cannot even explain. “Rough” may have been an understatement.

I will not forget that last film. I did not understand it at first, but it was on my mind all day. When classes were over I went to my room, re-watched the film, searched for commentary, and viewed some parts of the writer/director's other films all to find some sense I could make out of it, to gain some knowledge I could share about it,  or to find some words I could say about it. I needed a reason why I felt the way I did, and I also wanted something that was blog-worthy. I found some sense, some knowledge, some words, and I was going to attempt to blog about these things. Had I done this,  I would have only been doing so for the sake of sounding profound. It was a bunch of crap. That was all I had: crap. So I still do not understand it, but at least I will remember it. And I guess the only reason I will remember it is because I felt it. I do not know how to describe the feeling, 

but I felt it...

Derek Zurcher

Hello my fellow DMA students. I wanted to start out with my first blog to just introduce myself to the class. My name is Derek Zurcher and I am a freshman film production major here at HU. I am from a little town called North Webster, and it is located about 45 minutes northeast of here.  I love all types of sports. I played tennis and golf in high school, and I am getting the opportunity to continue to play golf here.  I also enjoy watching baseball and Football. My favorite teams are the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears.

I also enjoy spending time with my all of my friends and family. Back home I live on a lake and enjoy boating and skiing. During the winter I like going snowboarding up in Michigan.

            I enjoy all types of TV shows and movies. I enjoy history so therefore one of my favorite TV channels is the History channel, and Discovery channel.  I like all types of movies but my favorites are action movies and documentaries. I also like almost any type of sports movies.

            I can’t wait to get to know all of you and to start making awesome films together.

The Beauty of Tragedy

 

 

 

 

     Outside of the Bible, the Qru'an, and perhaps Pilgrim's Progress, (taking into account that we can't keep perfect tabs on such things), probably the most widely read story in history is Shakespeare's Hamlet. How can a story in which we see incest/adultery, murder, and betrayal, be so popular as to be translated into every major language. How can a play in which nearly every character is spralled dead on the floor at the end, be such a masterpiece of visual storytelling. Simply put, because Shakespeare understood the beauty of tragedy.

     While I am in no way stating or advocating a doom and gloom outlook on life, it would be foolish to say that tragedy is not only a part of the world, but an extremely influential one. It was influential even before the Adam walked in the garden of Eden, when a beautiful and wonderful angel named Lucifer, out of his pride and arrogance, decided to break his Lord's heart, and spread tragedy to all the world. It will be there when this world is no more. I have heard many ideas on the Heaven and Hell, but perhaps the most interesting concerns why it is believed that those in Heaven will be able to see Hell, yet not be a part of it, and vice versa. It was explained to me that the most likely reason is that it will give something that will provide a basis for which to compare Heaven and Hell, similar to how we compare good and evil. Good is that much sweeter when compared to evil, as Heaven will be that much sweeter when one is able to observe Hell. Thus, even in the afterlife, there will be tragedy, even if we are no longer a part of it. Why is this?

     I think that the reason is that because tragedy causes us to think more than the other forms of storytelling; at least think seriously. While the others may cause us to think on there message or content (if there is any), they do not speak to us as tragedy does. Tragedy and misfortune will make you think without ever having to say anything. The final moments of Gladiator and Braveheart, among other movies, illustrate this well. There is a reason that God chooses most often to speak to us in the worst times of our life. There is a reason that the Renaissance paintings of Jesus death are more affecting than perhaps any other paintings in history. Or Michelangelo's scene on the Sistine Chapel where Adam reaches out to touch the hand of God, yet can't quite reach it as God leaves with His cherubs. Tragedy truly speaks to us, often without uttering a word. I leave you with this extremely beautiful song, that well illustrates the beauty of tragedy. 

Thoughts from the Mind of a Learner (Corrected)

"We need to stop parroting what we ought, but say what we feel" ~Professor Steve Leeper

Main Idea of this Blog:
Hey Bloggers! Today, for my blog, I am going to delve into something that hit me wrong (Big Blog Section) that was brought up both in the reading for last Tuesday's class and in the class itself, then wright about some more light-hearted things (Little Blog Section). 

The Big Blog Section:

At first, I did not want to bring up the subject in blog because I thought that maybe, it was just the book. However, after class, I decided to propose a counter reasoning as to why Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus. 

The text (Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner) suggests that Jesus wept because God had let the death of "His only friend", who wasn't a literal follower, die, and that Jesus did not feel God's presence.

This argument would be entirely acceptable, in my mind, if not for two details: who Jesus was, and the Bible. 

Although Jesus was in fact human, He was ALSO God. He could not be separated from His Father even if he tried. Jesus had a unique connection with God that no one else on earth has ever had or will ever have hence forth. For instance, we, who are human, must pray in order to have direct conversation with God, however, Jesus, who was both fully human AND fully God, didn't even need to pray to have direct communication with His Father. This brings me to the second detail and that is of the Bible.

In John 11:3-4, news of Lazarus' illness was delivered to Jesus. The direct quote is this, "³ So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” (ESV). That in it's self, from my view, is evidence enough that Jesus did not weep because He didn't feel God's presence, but I will supply the additional evidence that one might desire. Later in the chapter, Jesus' disciples didn't really want to go because they figured that old Lazzi-boy was going to get better on his own strength from the sickness Jesus mentioned. It was then the Jesus said something fascinating. "¹⁴ Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (John 11:14-15, ESV) What does this mean for the argument Buechner brought up? Well, according to the Bible, Jesus knew that Lazarus would die, and that he was already dead. He stayed the extra two days in the place that He was so that God could get all the glory. This suggests that Jesus knew God's plan all along, and, thus, could not have been weeping because He didn't feel God's presence.

If Jesus wasn't weeping because He did not feel God's presence, why was He crying? Well, a while back,  I heard a sermon by Andy Stanley that really helped answer the question for me, because I knew that he knew God's plan, but why in the world was he crying? John 11:32-35 says this, "³² Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” ³³ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”³⁵ Jesus wept."(ESV, bold and italics my own). Now, that was a lot of info that at first might seem pointless. However, upon closer examination of the word "moved", we discover that the Greek would more accurately transfer as "indignant". According to the World English Dictionary, indignation (–n) means "anger or scorn aroused by something felt to be unfair, unworthy, or wrong". Jesus was not "moved" as though He had just seen Marley and Me, He was angry or scornful because something was wrong.

In the message I heard Pastor Stanley preach, he dissected the passage more then my ability, but I can at least convey why it seems Jesus was upset. He was vexed because the ones he loved dearly did not believe that Jesus was Lord. They knew He could perform miraculous signs, but when it came down to it, they treated Him like a prophet rather then the Son of God. Jesus wept because they did not have faith in what He was able to do. Mary said, "... if you had been here, my brother would not have died." She saw death as the end, rather then an opportunity.

I believe that there is truth in the words Buechner, in that as a fully human individual, He did experience sadness, I am just suggesting that there is more to Jesus' sadness then just that His friend died. He was fully God as well, thus, by the lack of faith shown by the ones He cared about, perhaps even the most, He was grieved.

If you read all of the above, thank you very much for your time! This is merely my opinion, and I am totally up for discussion if you see things differently, though, I ask that you would message me on Facebook rather then get a conversation going on this blog post. Thanks again! 

The Little Blog Section:

So, apparently, I'm rather like a pineapple in that I am brunette on the outside, but blonde on the inside. The purpose of the last blog was supposed to let you know about me, and I did not really understand that. So, this is a fun fact about me blog! Yay!

"To live is Christ, and to die is gain."I live for Jesus, and I try to bring Him glory in everything I say and do. I went on a mission trip to Ukraine earlier this summer, and I fell in love. <3 Drawing is what I do, but I also love music, dance, humor, and surprise. I have a secret passion for making people look good, and for me to be smelling good. I did competitive speech for the last four years out of my twelve years of home education. I am SUPER random at times. My laugh sounds like a goose. I love potatoes.

That's basically me. If you want to know me better, send me a friend request on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kcinderella1194). From hence forth, I will say a random fact at the end of my blogs so that you can learn random, and, hopefully, fun tidbits about me. 

Thank you for reading my blog!

Blessings!

~Katy Seymour

“The truth is not good or bad, it is just the truth.” ― J.B. Thomas, Little Moments Of Truth

https://vimeo.com/48903418

This class has made me rethink all of my preconceived notions of film and art in general. I started out this class wanting to give people my message about life and how I think people should think. Well in about a week and a half I have officially been "Leeperized" meaning that I now know that I know nothing about film and art. I am not to concerned about my lack of knowledge because for a student I think arrogance will always get in the way of true learning. Speaking of true learning I have now been filming things within these few weeks that are completely out of my normal. I'm not worried any more about making something that is spectacular or something that will go viral and make me a ton of money. As an amateur film maker of which I still am, I started making films only to make people laugh and to entertain. I have never tried to work with topics that may make people uncomfortable.  In general I think people try to avoid media that might actually break their "bubble" in which their whole reality lies. Making it even worse they single out those who try to broaden their perspective and most of the time make fun of them because they don't understand. I have never considered myself a dark person yet as of recently my films, if you can call them that are depicting some of the most ugly things in life. I don't expect anyone reading this to actually watch my video or anyone who watched my video to read this blog post because I probably won't read other posts. Although I may read a few because  if this class has taught me anything is the one thing you cannot ignore in art is human nature. Human nature is ugly and despicable, yet once and a while inspiring therefore my art right now is trying to represent that by what I see and leaving any conclusions about the video to the viewer.

Tragedy and Triumph

Wow, Tuesday made me think! The whole subject of tragedy was a wonderful topic to address. Many of the things Dr. Leeper said were jarring and reminded me a truths I knew but had not thought of in a very long time. I'll start at the beginning.

I have been at odds with Dr. Leeper on his belief that art shouldn't get a message out but instead show you how to see. Tuesday, however, he changed my mind pretty drastically when he said "Poets don't give answers, they ask questions. They give you something to think about." This blew me away as such truth. Ever since I became interested in story I figured it was my duty as a Christian to use my storytelling to tell people about Jesus. The thing is though, that's just preaching to the choir. Only Christians are gonna read or watch stories about Jesus. Show them Jesus, however, and they'll come in droves. Everyone wants to see hope. No one wants to be force fed hope. Dr. Leeper said something a few class periods ago: “If your audience is trying to put things together, then you’ve got them.” Maybe art isn’t about telling people about Jesus, maybe it’s about showing them hope.

Now for those films: The Henson one was such a sad film and it does a great job of addressing the unimaginable hurt of loss. I couldn’t connect very strongly only because I have yet to lose someone extremely close to me, but I have seen the tragedy and those who have experienced that loss could undoubtedly connect with that film. The great thing about it is that it didn’t try and answer anything. There was no resolution. It just showed hurting people that hurt is real and it’s okay to weep. Tragedy always comes before joy.

The Fridge video was a difficult video to watch because of how raw it was. Films like that leave me numb. I was depressed for several hours after viewing that movie. But it was exceptional. Beneath the hard, grotesque picture of the suffering the people were going through; behind all the profanity and violence; despite the coldness of all the outsiders; underneath all of that, there was a beauty that a film with none of the filth could not have achieved. Yes it was disgusting. Yes it was cruel. But in the end you were able to view two of those most beautiful moments. When the young man helps the boy out of the fridge, and when the main character caresses his wife’s face lovingly. On their own they were nice moments in film. In the light of the previous debauchery they were absolutely brilliant and rarely matched.

The last video we watched, the one about the German man, was equally brilliant in its delivery. The shock of the first scene never wore off throughout the whole of the film and I was okay with that because it wasn’t shock for shock’s sake. It was for the purpose of showing the realness of the suffering both the victims of the holocaust and the perpetrators had to endure. Without that first scene the rest of the movie would have been comical. In fact I caught myself several times finding the completely monotone description the man gave as almost funny. The scene in the cathedral where he is taking communion completely went over my head. It was brilliant, but my untrained eye missed it. I think that was the crescendo in the film. Without that scene the movie would have been nothing but a cruel reminder of the pain of genocide. With the communion scene that depicted the blood of Christ everything was tied together, given resolution, and the tragedy was given a moment of comedy. The ending scene was equally important in my opinion because without that we would be given the false impression of nothing but happiness after Jesus cleansed us. In reality life can still be just as crappy after Jesus. Paul would attest to that. He didn’t exactly have a great life after meeting Jesus.

All in all this was a depressing class, but a needed one. The reminder to not always speak up immediately was a needed one for me. I think that I have all the answers and that I should jump into the mess and solve everything as if I’m Batman. How arrogant. Jesus is the only one with Truth. He is the only one who brings resolution and I usually just get in the way.

I want to end with a quote from Mother Teresa:
“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”