Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Cove

Becky and I watched the "The Cove" a last week. It won the '010 Oscar for best documentary feature, and boy was it good. It is about the slaughter of dolphins in a cove in Japan, looking at it from two angles: the first is the needless and brutal killing of such a beautiful creature, and the second is the health hazard created by putting the meat into the marketplace (they have extremely high levels of mercury).

I recommend this film both the for compelling story and the quality of the film-making. If you think documentaries are boring, this one isn't. You should watch it.

A week later I find myself unsure of how to respond. I mean, I was genuinely moved by the storytelling and frustrated by the unbelievably convoluted politics surrounding the entire operation. But nothing has changed in my life, and that's got me thinking about the process of change: how it moves from inspiration to action to commitment.

I saw "Super-Size Me" a couple of years ago. Another fantastic documentary. It really makes you reconsider fast food. But I still eat it, still love it, just as much today as I did before I saw the film. Facebook is inundated with cause after worthy cause, but does being a Fan really mean anything?

There are changes that I want to make in my life. Personally and Professionally. Spiritually and Socially. However, we all know that there is a big difference between desiring change and creating change. So here I am at the crossroads between the two... what's next?

3 comments:

Quillen said...

I've wanted to see this and now I want to see it even more. Mirm & I just watched the documentary called "Audience of One". It's about a Pentecostal preacher who "God tells" to make a 200 million dollar Christan Star Wars-like movie. Funny, uncomfortable, and sad all at the same time.

Unknown said...

First off, I have never experienced the best 3 minutes of my day before. Apparently my days have only consisted of 23 hours and 57 minutes . . .

The concept of change is an interesting one. Very few people change much at all once they enter adulthood. It makes you realize even more the importance of raising our children to love Christ, because in all reality, if they don't come to know Christ as a child, statistically speaking they probably never will.

There have been a few things in recent years that have changed me "quite a bit". The books "UnChristian" and "Revolutionary Parenting" changed my views on things fairly significantly (relatively speaking anyway) and becoming a father has changed me quite a bit as well. But overall, I'm still mostly the same person.

The people in my life who have significantly changed once in adulthood all have one thing in common . . . Christ. Christ changes people.

As a culture we are bombarded with movies such as "The Cove" and "Supersize Me". Everyone has a cause they want us to be part of. I think we've grown numb to all the emotional plays thrown at us. But how can we not, really? There are so many conflicting stories and reports all coming at us at the same time, we can't possibly have the time for all these things to put forth the thought and effort required to really change ourselves. But that's where God comes in. He gives us the desire and strength to truly change and to decipher which causes we really should buy in to.

alex said...

Thanks for joining the conversation Nathan. Great thoughts... keep 'em coming!