A Year In Narnia – No. 7
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Posts tagged ‘Relationships’
Feb 13
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Movie Quote Monday – Warm Bodies
It’s another MQM first: this movie is still in the theater. You should go see it! Right now!
You guys, I loved this movie and I’m so glad I didn’t wait for the dvd. I hadn’t planned to see it in the theater because I was sure it couldn’t be as good as the previews looked, and I hate to be disappointed. But a few people whose opinions I trust said it was awesome, so I went. And it was.
Two of those guys called Warm Bodies a Zom-Rom-Com, and I guess that’s right. The basic plot is that a zombie called R meets a girl named Julie, a girl that he just can’t kill; it’s zombie love at first sight. As R and Julie interact, R starts to change and become human again. The comedy in this movie is what I think of as quiet humor, subtle and smoothly woven into the fabric of the film rather than big jokes and gags that make you laugh out loud. I smiled most of the way through this movie – for being a zombie film, it’s sweet and charming and funny. Having said all that, while I was watching I never thought of it in terms of romantic comedy.
The powerful impression that Warm Bodies made on me is that this is a movie about being human.
In many ways it reminds me of Stranger Than Fiction, which I suppose is technically a romantic comedy. But really, both movies make huge statements about life and what it means to really live. They just wrapped it all up in a sweet and quirky romantic story, with humor and characters you can’t help but like and root for.
There were so many quotes that I could pull out of this movie, and so many topics that we could explore. Warm Bodies touches on friendship, the power of love, the importance of nurturing one another, letting go of the past, not knowing who or what we are, acceptance, redemption, and the possibility of being so far gone that your life is irredeemable. One moment that made an impression on me is how R reacts when he sees himself from a human’s perspective. I mean, what would I see if I were faced with that “truth”, with literally seeing myself through someone else’s eyes? And a big part of the movie is how the changes happening in R start spreading throughout the zombie community. R and Julie’s connection is like an anti-zombie virus. It makes you think about the power we have to effect positive change in other people’s lives.
In the end, this is the quote that stood out to me the most:
Julie: I can see you trying. That’s what people do. They do their best.
To me, that pretty much says it all. We don’t always know who we are; we don’t always see ourselves very clearly. We don’t always act in loving and accepting and nurturing ways. But there is very little – if anything – that we can’t come back from, from which we can’t be redeemed.
It’s not the end of the world if we don’t always get life “right”.
We just have to keep trying. We just have to do our best.
♦
Items of Interest:
Warm Bodies & The Meaning of Life
– Clay talks about Warm Bodies’ “complex philosophical wanderings” (while in zombie drag and eating brains)
Film Review of Warm Bodies
– JR’s overview and thoughts on Warm Bodies (with movie posters and a clip of the first 4 minutes of the film)
Warm Bodies – a (Quasi) Movie Review
– Chad sees “hints of the Gospel story” in Warm Bodies (a great analysis)
Can People Change?
– Sherideth asks 5 questions about change and redemption (interesting answers in the comments)
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Feb 3
the Infinite Monkey speaks: even if it hurts
Random brilliance from across the blogosphere…
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Choose love today. Choose, even if hurts you–even if it takes from you something you want.
– Chad Jones
from:
Freedom, Responsibility, Liberty, & License
∞
Ensnared by Doubt
I often fall into the trap of doing nothing.
I shy back from words or action because I think I’m not the right person. I don’t know what I’m doing, my words are jumbled up, I’m a nobody, probably my thoughts are all wrong, people will think I’m crazy, I’ll look like a fool.
I doubt myself: my intellect, abilities, emotions, my experience, knowledge, understanding, my opinions, beliefs…my everything.
Sometimes when I’m prompted to do, my confidence gets lost in the folds of these doubts. And so I don’t.
I don’t speak up.
I don’t reach out.
I don’t.
I’ve been following along as a fellow blogger, Alise, prepared to take a step outside of her comfort zone and travel to another country to help young girls who were rescued from a life of sexual slavery. At one point, a commenter suggested that the money Alise raised for this trip could be put to better use by sending trained counselors, or funding a building, or buying food. I don’t believe it was suggested with malice, but it reminded me that confidence-damaging words and ideas can come from any direction, even from people who mean the best.
Doubt can be a snare, small and easily disguised. A slim cord that lays in wait. One emotional misstep and it snaps tight so quickly that you don’t know what happened. Suddenly you’re choked for air. Your mind races through escape routes but the loss of oxygen debilitates to the point where you simply can’t think, and the easiest thing is to just go quiet.
That sounds so scary, and in my physical life I would fight – I would kick and claw and do whatever I could to get out of that snare.
But in my emotional life it’s just the opposite: it feels scarier to fight against negative thoughts than to give in to them. And so I go quiet, I sit still, ensnared by doubt.
Alise is in another country today. In her last post before leaving she said, “I know that there are people who are probably better suited for this trip.” And she wasn’t going without fear, but she was going. Maybe she’s not the most qualified person to go there, but she has something that nobody else can offer, and that’s herself. She is uniquely qualified to offer up her heart and her love and her support to those girls.
A lifetime of experience has taught me not to be myself. But here in the intimate setting of this world wide web, I’m training myself to grow in the right direction. I’m forcing myself to speak up, and reach out, and do. I’m learning that it’s okay to be me. After all, I’m the only one on the planet who can fill that job.
I constantly look outside of myself for positive examples like Alise. And I constantly find them. I also find encouragement and kindness from the friends I’ve made in the blogging community. You all let me be foolish and silly, and occasionally incoherent. You let me change my mind. You let me pursue thoughts and ideas willy-nilly, not only here but in the comments on your own blogs. And you never tell me that I’m crazy or a nobody or that my thoughts are all wrong.
You help me face my fears and fight against the choking power of self-doubt. And that’s pretty darn awesome.
♦
Items of Interest:
The Nitty Gritty (what Alise expects in Moldova)
New Memories (Alise’s last post before leaving)
Risk is scary. Regret is worse. (by Kylie: a great post about facing our doubts and fears)
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steadily skipping stones 