On Watching Classic Movies

Dear little one,

Thank you for your letter.

You asked about classic movies and their value. Your question was quite mature and so I wish to add a few additional thoughts. The purpose of any film is to convey ideas. Every director produces movies to portray a vision of their world. Good classics represent stories based on a particular world. Fairy tales, for instance, are movies that intend to reach the imagination. G.K. Chesterton, that chubby fella, once wrote that “fairy tales don’t produce fear in children nor give them the idea of the evil or the ugly, it’s already in the child because it’s already in the world.” Your role is to take these ideas and direct them to the good, whether good or bad.

When you bring the image of eternity in Peter Pan, you are bringing a biblical image into the movie. In fact, movies are always reflections of distortions or virtues of a biblical system; and sometimes they interpose both.

Peter Pan does not want to grow old. Why does he not want to grow old? He has decided that youth is the only valued virtue or he has an untiring faith in another world. Which is it? What does the Bible say about that? Also, what kind of world do children create? And why do they create it? Why are children always so curious to establish worlds where we all eternally play? My own position is that the kingdom of God belongs to them, as Jesus says in St. Matthew.

The kingdom of God in eternity is a vision of eternal play. Children are right to desire such a kingdom, but they are wrong in imagining that this kingdom can be achieved here and now. Peter Pan confuses the kingdoms, but his initial desire is a good one that a Christian needs to consider. These are fundamental questions the movie raises that you need to consider.

Second, why should you watch classic movies? Simple. Most things in life that are good are things we never initially liked. We are all on a journey towards growth, which means that we will all grow in our desires and tastes. Classic movies mostly keep you grounded in old virtues and big ideas that help you think more holistically about the world. It teaches you lessons that are clear and shapes your imagination.

There were dozens of things I did not like as a child that I now adore. The point is that certain things created today, like movies, are not meant to shape our imagination but to drive us away from Christ and his word. You see this in messages of women taking over the world and being angry that men are trying to protect them. Don’t fall for these messages. Seek to preserve the biblical order of things and in your watching, you will learn and grow in wisdom.

We need to desire things that are permanent rather than things that change. The world we live in is a world that despises Jesus. Therefore, we need to cherish old things so that we can interpret newer things better. I trust this helps.

Sincerely,

Pastor Uriesou Brito

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