Story
I love a good story. You can judge what kind of TV I watch, what kind of movie I enjoy, what kind of books I read by the quality of their story. I don't watch "CSI" or "Law & Order" because I could never find an arc or a metatheme there. "Lost" on the other hand is one of my favorite shows of all time because the story is one of the most engrossing I've ever heard.My main quibble with the new Indiana Jones movie is that the story was weak. Beyond weak. It was obviously thrown together from a handful of pitches and existed solely for the purpose of getting Indy back up on the big screen again. Other movies I've watched (or re-watched) recently I find myself coming back to because the stories draw me in, even if I know how they come out. "Iron Man," "Stardust," and "Hoosiers"...I've seen each of them within the last week or so and I have no doubt I'll see them again.
I think a lot of my love of the Old Testament comes from the fact that many of the greatest stories ever told exist there. The stories of Joseph, Esther, Gideon, Elijah, and Jonah should be known by every Christian because, not only do they teach us about our Savior, but they can be shared with anyone, just for the value of the tales they tell.
The stories I read when I was a kid, stories about Peter Parker, Frodo Baggins, Bruce Wayne, Logan and the X-men, the four Pevensies, etc., now exist as some of the highest-earning movies of all time. That's not just because they look good. It's because the stories need telling. The comics I read today are written by Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Brian Vaughn and others. Google any of them and you'll find that they've written stories you know and, chances are, have enjoyed.
Some say that calling the gospel "The Greatest Story Ever Told" cheapens it, that the life, death, and resurrection of Christ are more than just a story. They are, of course, but it's no accident that God's plan for our salvation can be told, that it wraps you up and holds you in its grip. Whether you accept the divinity of Jesus or not, you have to be impressed and enthralled by his biography. And when we tell our stories alongside His...ahh, then the Spirit has something with which to work.
So...heard any good stories lately?
(By the way, Jim, I hereby acknowledge my tagging and promise to respond to it next week. And for the rest of you, know that if I have been tagged then I shall be tagging others soon. So live your weekends in fear.)
posted by Thurman8er @ 10:57 AM
7 Comments:
In our line of work (family funeral home), we hear good stories all the time. One recent story was about a woman who had wanted to go to a horse race and was finally taken by her children on a rainy Southern California day. Only four horses were in this particular race (one of many races that day) and all four slipped in the mood as they came out the gate and fell to the ground. She got up, made the remark, "So that's a horse race?" and went home!
I wonder if sometimes all the world sees is when we're acting our worst and concludes, "So that's Christianity?"
This is why I love the show LOST. It tells a great story.
I just finished a reading of Esther. That's a great story. I have SO many questions!
I can not agree more. I could ramble on about the importance of story, but I would rather just echo your disatisfaction in the story of the new Indian Jones movie.
What a horrible story and worse, a horrible job telling the story. So sad. I'm really growing to dislike George Lucas.
I'm sorry...but "Lost" became lost to me around the 2nd-3rd episode.
Discovering the presence of a "metatheme" is maybe a matter of individual perception of the human condition. It's all in the way you look at it.
I'm sure like all churches, our church seems to be full of "stories." The most recent one was one of our "Dads" finding out he had an 11 year old daughter who up until that time was unknown to him. She was living with foster parents due to a dangerous home situation.
When news of DNA testing came his way, he and his wife prayed, prayed now that the test would be positive for the little girl's sake.
The test was positive and now his daughter lives with he and his wife and 2 siblings. She like all of us through Jesus, has been adopted into as loving family. Now that's a story.
Completely agree with our analysis of the new Indiana Jones. My boy (who had to watch the trilogy prior to watching the new one) enjoyed the movie. It seems his filter is different from mine. My guess is he enjoyed the event more than he cared about the weak story. Probably a lesson there in how our tastes develop and we expect more story substance as we mature.
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