Corinne Beale: Noah

Upon seeing "Noah" I was pleasantly surprised with the film. I had heard reviews from friends of mine that had seen the film and highly disliked it. Going into it, I knew that it was a controversial film. I had heard that it was Biblically inaccurate and offensive. However, after viewing the film myself, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

In our post-film discussion, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. One point that I particularly enjoyed discussing was the "darkness"of the film. I believe so many Christian viewers were upset because they expected the story to be similar to one seen in children's story books with cute little animals and a big rainbow at the end. However, this film realistically portrayed the story of Noah. It showed the story from a real, dark and depressing point of view, which is often overlooked.

Secondly, I also enjoyed the conversation over Noah's character. I thought it was so interesting that the filmmakers portrayed him to be the "bad guy" at many points throughout the film. I think it's easy to look at Noah and think of him as a hero, and in many aspects, he was. However, it is often forgotten that Noah was a sinful human and struggled with daily life issues, just as we do. While he was obedient to the Lord in saving his family and animals, he also was an alcoholic and at times, struggled to hear the voice of the Lord guiding him in what to do. I think that the filmmakers made Noah a very relatable character, and I appreciated that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. I also enjoy seeing how Biblical stories are beginning to creep their way more and more into Hollywood. My hope is that these films maintain their accuracy and portray the reality of the stories.

Tyler Duvall Northfork

Northfork

Wow, what an original take on the often “tremendum” approach of angelic forces. The supernatural beings were very child-like manifestations of angels and very creative.

Themes such as foundation = stability was pivotal. Without the foundation, many of the moving houses represented the fact that the stability is lacking

Additional themes of prophets and seers were evident in the instances where one of the angels would never speak he would only listen to music and inscribe the scriptures was a beautiful way to relay a theme of prophetic seers.

The use of portals was also very relevant to the film as when a man jumped across a gap in a house, hit his head and was instantly viewing the “other side”. Another portal was when the same man was in an outhouse and was contemplating moving his deceased wife to a different location due to the coming flood. In this outhouse the man embraces the stench of poop and has revelation and decides to move his wife.

Lastly, the “Noah” character was a symbol of self-preservation and not like the actual Noah who was destined to preserve all life. The director used humor to poke fun at many themes of religion such as the “Noah” character having two of everything even wives.

Overall, the film was inspiring and humorous and provided a platform to dissect religious themes and virtue.

 

Luke Taylor- Spiritual Journey Reflection (Free Post #2)

One thing I thought was really cool that I wanted to share was how in life we are all searching for some type of belonging, something that makes us feel whole and alive. To some that may look like having the right soul mate. After having a strong desire for the opposite sex we tend to believe this concept that once we get them everything will feel right and all of our constant desires will go away. John Eldredge calls this the theory of the “Golden Haired Girl” in his book, Wild at Heart. We fall for this false truth that once we are able to get that one thing we desire more than anything else we will feel content. Others may see that as finding their fit on campus whether that is seeking a good group of friends or even a fraternity or sorority. We start to think to ourselves that if we just had a place to fit in, a community to call our own, everything else that we want won’t matter as much anymore because we feel like we have a this sense of belonging. We become so wrapped up in these “communities” that we let them take over our identities and we start to find our identity in them. In John, Jesus says that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” yet even then we still look passed that and strive for something on this earth that can bring us a sensational feeling of life. Since being in this class I’ve started to think that this desire we consistently possess and are constantly searching for is part of our own spiritual journey that we don’t even realize we’re chasing after until we achieve it. Until we finally find this feeling of life that is everlasting and not just temporary. I can personally say that in my spiritual journey I was blinded by so many earthly desires until I finally realized what was true. In the film, Cold Fever, that is how Hirata’s spiritual journey was. In fact, he didn’t even realize he had gone on a spiritual journey until it was over. In addition, Dr. Redick once mentioned how during the AT hike the students meet numerous people doing the actual AT hike who give explanations to why they are partaking on the hike but never realize they are actually on a spiritual journey. In life we truly are seeking something greater than ourselves that can make us feel alive. In order to attain that truth we go on a spiritual journey but do we ever realize we’re on this pursuit, this spiritual journey, until afterwards?

Luke Taylor- The Sacred and the Profane (Free Post #1)

In Luke 6:12 it says “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.” As I was reading this passage it reminded me of the profane and sacred time and how the two are very different. Personally, I see profane as this time that one spends living for themselves and not very focused on the bigger picture. However, when I think of sacred time I think of one being much more selfless in the time they spend, that their specific time is very important and has great value. In the passage above it talks about how Jesus went away to spend time with God, his father. He wanted to make time for something so significant and made sure he was isolated wherever he went to spend that time so he goes to a far off mountain. I don’t think Jesus looked at this time as something profane, something that had a time limit. I think he saw it as so much more than that, something very sacred to him. He had no sense of time while on this mountain, in fact, I can picture him being completely carefree and simply enjoying time with his father. Similarly, when I go to spend time with God or have a “quiet time” as some may call it, I have no agenda on my mind. I also prefer to be alone and in my own space so that nothing can intervene with me as I spend time with God. This is a very sacred time for me. I never really thought about the parallel of one’s own quiet to how Jesus went to a mountain to spend time with God. In fact, in both scenarios a very similar concept occurs. In the passage, God gets away from everything and just spends time with his father not worrying about anything else. In my own way, I am also getting away and spending time with my God without weighing down or dwelling on the things going on in my life. Eliade Micrea says in her except, The Sacred and Profane: The nature of religion, that “when the sacred manifests itself in any hierophany, there is not only a break in the homogeneity of space; there is also revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the nonreality of the vast surrounding expense.” When I read what she says, in a lot of ways I see my own quiet time with God being represented by that. I am able to escape my life for just a little bit and live in this “absolute reality” and it just makes everything feel so much different. I feel alive, whole, refreshed, and it really makes me realize how important and evident the sacredness of that time really is. 

Luke Taylor- Noah: An Unworthy Gift (Blog Assignment #3)

There were numerous parts to the film, Noah, that were very powerful. Choosing one was not easy but the specific scene that hit me the hardest was possibly the cruelest part of the entire film. As Noah and his family are safe and secure inside the boat all they can do is sit in a deathly silence of what feels like pure guilt as they hear the horrific shrieks of people outside holding on to a giant boulder for life. The director puts the camera on the people struggling, grasping onto the rock for dear life. They scream of horror and cry out for help as they see a giant ark within distance to them. The atmosphere is almost too uncomfortable to watch and is so loud that the screams are so loud that they pierce my ears. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the camera angle goes off of the people, in fact, we are now inside the ark. Complete silence fills the theater and the director puts the camera on the middle son, Ham. Throughout the movie the viewer begins to dislike Ham more and more. He disobeys his father numerous times, is continuously being the troubled child, and is planning on betraying his father. As I saw him sitting in the ark listening to the shrieks of the desperate people outside I thought to myself how I wish one of them could replace him sitting peacefully inside the ark; as soon as I thought that, it me harder than ever. I realized that I have been, am, and will always be in the same situation as Ham until I leave this earth: broken. Ham by no means deserves to get to be in that boat because he has constantly been sinning and turning his back on God but he is there. It reminded me of how I have the same gift that I do not deserve.  I am a sinner, a broken man, but none of that matters because of how great God’s love is for me. John 3:16 talks about how God gave the ultimate sacrifice by sending his only son to die for me and because of that I have a chance of real life. I by all means should be outside during the flood getting ready to drown but instead I get to sit in Ham’s seat and have the opportunity to live. That moment in the film was so powerful because it really made me remember how fortunate I am to have a gift of life. I am so unworthy and am a sinner but God’s love is so strong, his agape love for me is why I am given life and the film really hit me hard reminding me of that.

 Romans 5:8 says “God demonstrates his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” I hope that I never forget how unworthy I am but with that being said, how loved I am. 

Luke Jeffery: Noah

Our discussion of myth vs. fact was timely, since just weeks later we saw the film Noah.  I couldn't help but think about this dichotomy, particularly in light of the biblical narrative Noah. Many evangelical Christians today are upset with the movie Noah because they see it as "unbiblical." To them, making any deviation from the literal text of the Bible should be considered not true. In response, I would like to highlight two things, first this movie was not based solely off of the biblical text, it was also drawn out of the apocryphal text of The Book of Enoch, which displays a godlike view of Noah. Second, many of the early church fathers had different lists of what was to remain canon and what was to be removed from the canon. This caused controversy within the Church, but many of these different leaders, whose canons were different were considered to be great heroes of the faith.

Myth has long been associated in American culture with lies.  Our culture is so focused on truth, which is much different from many other cultures in the world. For example, Asian culture holds honor higher than truth and will thus lie to save face, because for them it is more important.  Our high veneration of truth has caused a distortion in our view of myth or story. Though it is hard for us to understand this, it is important in the Noah movie to attempt to understand it in light of myth.  Much of the artistic license that was taken in the movie can be drawn from the text of the biblical narrative in conjunction with the Book of Enoch. Additionally, it also adds some great character development to Noah and some of the other characters. This really emphasized their qualities and struggles with the coming flood. Overall, I enjoyed the film thoroughly and would recommend it to anyone because it will challenge us to view the narrative of Noah as mythos and not simply fact vs. fiction.

John Tyler: Noah

Coming into the film I was pretty skeptical and definitely had some reservations based on the feedback from my friends.  However, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie and how badly my friends misinterpreted the message and point of the film Noah.

Probably one of the overarching themes of Noah and the one I am going to address in this blog is the dichotomy between humans as stewards of the earth vs entitled rulers.  This tension is depicted in the movie between the decedents of Cain and the decedents of Seth.  Noah and his family are decedents of Seth while the mass of blood thirsty men devouring the earth came from Cain.  Just like in the Garden of Eden, Noah and his family respect the Earth and are careful not to kill or harm creation but only use what is needed.  Contrastingly, the decedents of Cain strip the forests bare and slaughter animals.  The director clearly and bodily draws the line between the two approaches and it is obviously clear who is in the wrong, that is, the decedents of Cain.  In Ham's conversation with the severely corrupted leader on the arc, the man tells him that it is our right to rule and subdue the earth.  In Genesis, God does say something along those lines to Adam and Eve, however, I believe He intended us not to feel entitled to anything but instead to know our place as sub-creators and sub-rulers under Him.  The corrupt man says that killing makes a man.  No, killing destroys man and violates God's beautiful creation.  The movie drives this point home.  All of the blood thirsty men and abusers of the Earth are swept away by the rushing waters while the good stewards of God's land and animals, Noah and his family, are spared.  God rejoices over imitators of His divine nature, those who create and sustain, not pretenders and defilers.