Life, Movies, and the Gospel: Pirates of the Carribean

So, raise of hands, who here loves Pirates of the Carribeans?  I mean, you have a coming of age story, an unlikely hero, a romantic love-interest, a cuckoo captain, black magic, aztecs (a long time before the movies anyway), the aztec's gold, and a whole lot of funny moments.  What's not to like?

This is, of course, only about the first movie.  The second movie was a two-and-a-half hour long advertisement for the third movie, and the third movie was a three-hour-long tie-up-the-loose-threads exercise.

So, let's start with Will Turner.  I really think that he's the main character, because he's the one who actually does stuff.  (You know, character progression?  That kind of thing?)

At the start of the first movie, Will is basically a nobody.  He's the under-appreciated apprentice of a drunkard blacksmith.  He knows nothing about who he is, except that he was taught to fight pirates.  Accordingly, he learns to fight pirates, prompting this interchange of dialogue when he meets the pirate Jack Sparrow:
Jack Sparrow: [looking at all the swords] Who makes all these?
Will Turner: I do. And I practice with them three hours a day.
Jack Sparrow: You need to find yourself a girl, mate. Or perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet. You're not a eunuch are you?
Will Turner: I practice three hours a day, so when I meet a pirate, I can kill it.

Unfortunately, Romantic Interest Elizabeth Swann is kidnapped by pirates, who turn out to be undead, cursed pirates.  With an undead, cursed pirate monkey.
And thus, an unlikely hero in search of his romantic interest accompanies the cuckoo captain to combat the ghastly ghosts.  (Would they be zombies?)  Along the way, Will comes to know who he really is: the son of a pirate.  With that in mind, he really starts to grow.  He returns to combat more pirates, and eventually defeats them.

Now, I'm not suggesting that we should compare Piracy with anything in the Gospel.  Maybe I am.  What I'm talking about is growth.  Let's think about what would have happened had Will just been told he was a regular guy?  I mean, no memory loss, no mysterious past, just a loving adoptive family?  Nothing.

In the same way, were we to just be here on this earth, everything hunky-dory, we would never grow.  We can never underestimate the value of this time here on earth.  We can choose to grow, to learn, and to become more like Jesus Christ.  However, we can also choose to do nothing, become less, and eventually lose all that we have.  It's all up to us.

Life, Movies, and the Gospel: Sauron

Now, I've read the Hobbit.  I've read the Lord of the Rings.  But I've never read The Silmarillion all the way through.  I've only ever read up to the song of creation, and what happened afterwards.  Here's the basics.

Way back when, Eru decided to create some stuff.  The first things he created were the Ainur, incredibly powerful people.  However, during the creation of the world, one of the Ainur named Melkor decided that he knew better than Eru, and changed a few things.  All through the history of this world, Melkor was working on destroying things.

Fast forward a few thousand years.  Sauron, apprentice of Morgoth, apprentice of Melkor, is now a very powerful man.  He's been taking care of things, even now that both Melkor and Morgoth have been destroyed.  He appears to the elves, appearing as a fair character, and teaches them magic.  He creates the one ring, and invests it with most of his malice, power, and evil.  Now incredibly powerful, but at the same time with a crucial culnerability, he takes on the elves.  Fortunately, he is defeated, despoiled of the one ring, and loses most of his physical form.

Sauron in all his Battle Gear.
I wonder how much the helmet weighs.

Much later, he is now ready to take on the world again.  However, he really can't do much.  His physical body is much to weak now to actually do anything, so he has to depend on others.  The Nazgul, the nine men corrupted by the power of the One Ring, do his bidding.  In addition, he corrupts Saruman, the most powerful wizard in the land, and has him create armies of orcs.  Though he himself can do nothing, his armies can do quite a bit.

At the end, for all of his power and armies, Sauron is defeated.  The One Ring is cast into Mount Doom, any remnant of a physical body is destroyed, and he is left as a powerless spirit, defeated and cast into the Void.

In the same way, Satan himself can do almost nothing.  A mighty and powerful spirit of God, he aspired to be even greater, to become God himself.  He essentially stated that he knew more than God, and that people should worship him.  Thrust out of heaven, he will never have the privilege of having a body.  He can do very little to us.  However, he can tempt us to commit sin, to rebel against God.  He can convince other people to see the world his way, and to act as he would like.  We can withstand his temptations, though.  Only when we are vulnerable and distracted does Satan try to thrust in some tentacles.    He wants us to be miserable, as he is.  I imagine that he knows he'll lose eventually, but he's determined to take as many of us as he can with him.

Let's show him what for.

Life, Movies, and the Gospel: Gollum

Next, we have Gollum.  A pitiful creature, Gollum was once normal, a hobbit like any other, named Smeagol.  However, at a chance encounter with the One Ring, and attracted by it, he demanded it of his friend, Deagol.  When Deagol refused, Smeagol snapped and killed his friend.  Banished by friends and family, he becomes a shadow of what he once was.

Gollum is a simple creature, really.  He wants the One Ring, his 'precious,' his 'birthday present.'  He's completely self-centered, lying, cheating, and stealing to accomplish what he wants.

Holding him somewhat in check, later, is Smeagol, the original personality being dominated by this latter deterioration.  While Smeagol is somewhat in control, Gollum is always there in the background, trying to get his way.

Eventually, after Frodo has met Smeagol, and to a certain extent helped him out, things come to a head between Gollum and Smeagol.  Realizing that he doesn't really need Gollum anymore, the following exchange takes place.

In the same way, I think we all have a bit of this inside ourselves.  We have two desires inside ourselves.  We each have our Gollum: the base instincts, the desires to get ahead, pride, all the things that are bad.  On the other hand, we have Christ.  He lifts us up, makes us want to do better, help others, and generally be good people.  On our own, we are helpless.  However, with Christ we can do all things.

I know that through Christ, we can become perfect.  Let's get rid of Gollum.

Life, Movies, and the Gospel: The Lord of the Rings

Today, I'm going to talk about what is arguable one of the best movie series of our days: The Lord of the Rings.

I'm not sure which I like better, the movies or the books.  Don't get me wrong, both are awesome.  I just don't know how they can possibly be compared.  I love them both, but the two really don't mix.

(Just as a side note, my parents, about five years ago, got me the complete trilogy, extended edition, on DVD.  It's about 12 whopping hours of incredible.  I've never watched it all at once.  Maybe once I have a worthy set-up.)

Anyway, this is probably one of the easiest movies with which to draw a parallel with the gospel.  I am not the first, and probably not the last, to suggest this.  Let's start with one of my favorite characters: Gandalf.

Gandalf.  The very name conjures up an image of a mysterious wizard, beloved by all and known by none.  Noone ever seems to know anything about him, except that he's doing what is best for you, even if you don't know it.  He dies to save his friends, and then comes back to save them again.  In a very real way, you could say that Gandalf is the mastermind behind the entire saving of Middle-earth.  If it had not been for Gandalf, no doubt Bilbo would have kept the ring, been caught by the Nazgul, Sauron would have won, and so much for Middle Earth.

In the same way, Jesus is the mastermind and worker of our salvation.  He was sent here to help us all out of our problems.  Basically, we are all trapped by two problems: Sin, and Death.  By ourselves, we can do nothing.  If it were not for Jesus Christ, all of our existence would be painful, pointless, and would end in oblivion.  However, because he died for me, we all will live again.  I know this to be true, and I will testify to my dying day of the same.

Should you so desire, go check out The Baggins Daily Report, another excellent blog about the Lord of the Rings and the Gospel.

Life, Movies, and the Gospel: The Emperor's New Groove

Okay, let's start with the fact that I love movies.  Movies in general.  I especially love Disney movies, and I lean more towards animated movies than live action.  Comedy, especially satiric and smart-aleck, has a special place in my heart.  (By the way, if you ever need to identify a stand-up comic, I've probably listened to all of them.  Eddie Izzard and Jeff Dunham are some of my favorites, in case anybody was interested.)

Anyway, if you put all these facts together, you'll probably arrive at a movie called The Emperor's New Groove.

I just love this movie because it doesn't take itself too seriously.  It's got an obvious family flick turn to it, mixed with teenage sarcasm, goofy animation, and a good message.

Enter Kuzco.  He's that brilliantly smiling guy in the picture above.  Also, he's the Llama in the video.  Yeah, long story.  As you can see in the picture, this movie is all about HIM  He's the emperor, and his way goes.  Incredibly self-centered, he doesn't really care about anyone else.  After all, why should he?  He can do whatever he wants to whoever wants on the slightest whim.  Unfortunately, his ex-Vizier, Yzma, doesn't exactly see it that way.  After he fires her, she turns him into a llama in an attempt to kill him.  He's lost in the kingdom, and is found by Pacha, a peasant whose land Kuzco tried to seize to build his summer house.  He agrees to lead Kuzco back to the palace, on the condition that his land is not seized.  With Yzma and her muscle-bound assistant Kronk in hot pursuit, comedy ensues.  Along the way, Kuzco learns that he really isn't all powerful.  He can't do everything himself.  What's more, his heart is softened a bit, and he really learns the value of friendship.

As the movie goes on, one message stands out.  We're not really important. Sure, we all have problems, but with the power of friendship, we're able to defeat them.  With our friends, anything can be defeated.

However, I think there's an even more important lesson to learn, that of humility.  Instead of being stuck-up and full of ourselves, being proud, we should just let go and be humble.  If Kuzco had not been so proud in the first place, he would have had no problems. 

But then again, if he hadn't been proud, we wouldn't have a lesson.  Or, for that matter, one of my favorite Disney films.

The Three Pints

By Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein

An Irishman walks into a Dublin bar, orders three pints of Guiness, and drinks them down, taking a sip from one, then a sip from the next, until they're gone. He then orders three more. The bartender says, "You know, they'd be less likely to go flat if you bought them one at a time." The man says, "Yeah, I know, but I have two brothers, one in the States, one in Australia. When we all went our separate ways, we promised each other that we'd all drink this way in memory of the days when we drank together. Each of these is for one of my brothers and the third is for me." The bartender is touched, and says, "What a great custom!" The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar and always orders the same way. One day he comes in and orders two pints. The other regulars notice, and a silence falls over the bar. When he comes to the bar for his second round, the bartender says, "Please accept my condolences, pal." The Irishman says, "Oh, no, everyone's fine. I just joined the Mormon Church, and I had to quit drinking."

 
I told that joke to Elder Bingham last night, and it made him bust out laughing.  It kind of reminds me of some times back in Redmond.  I used to work at a grocery store called Top foods, in Redmond.  People always used to invite me to drink with them, assuming that I was an adult.  (That only happened a few days ago.)  I'd have to explain to them that not only was I a minor, I was a Mormon.

There's a lot of evidence for why people shouldn't drink.  It doesn't really do anything for a person, it slowly kills a person's liver, and it makes you do things that no sane person would.  As Elizabeth Swan puts it, "It is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels." 

However, the biggest reason why I don't drink alcohol is because God has told us not to.  In section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants, God revealed that " inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, behold it is not good...again, strong drinks are not for the belly."  I know that so long as we obey this law, we will have fewer health problems.  I've yet to drink alcohol, and I don't plan on changing this fact.

Wouldn't you think about it?

Life, Movies, and the Gospel: The Lion King

Let's play Name That Movie!  A young prince is cast into exile when his uncle kills the king.  There, he makes friends with the local-yokels, and grows to adulthood.  Eventually, he realizes who he really is, and comes back to combat his evil uncle.  An epic battle ensues, wherein the evil uncle is killed, and the prince gets the girl of his dreams.

Nope, not Hamlet.  Hamlet dies, and Simba doesn't.

I think that the Lion King might have been one of the first Disney movies that I ever saw, and is still one of my favorite 2-D classics.  (Some of the others are Robin Hood and the Sword in the Stone.)  It came out in 1994, so that's only 4 years difference between this movie's birthday and mine. 

 A lot like other movies, I see myself in it.  We are all children of a Heavenly King, and have been sent to this world where we can't really see our father.  We have to make do with what we have, here in the jungle, and for the most part, we just go about our lives.  Eventually, we come in contact with God, whether that be through a ranting baboon or a personal experience.  Either way, we start realizing who we really are, and what we have the potential to become.  If we will follow the path that our Father has indicated, we have the potential to become kings. 

Let's go to it.