Stories are the heart of a culture. Stories both reflect and shape civilization by teaching, intentionally or unintentionally, what the people believe and value. Stories have taken different forms through the ages: stories told in the dark around a campfire, traveling minstrels singing long epic poems, and literature consumed through printed books, including poetry and prose. Today, modern values are formed and mirrored through the stories told in film. According to Thomas Kuhn, a culture’s shift in ideas is first indicated through the media. In order to understand our paradigm we can begin to understand contemporary society by studying our art forms, namely film.
Having my children culturally literate is an essential part of their education. Just as Paul used the cultural references of Greece to connect with the Greeks, as found in Acts 17, I want my well prepared adult children to be ambassador’s to Western Civilization for the sake of the Gospel. Not that they won’t be called to be missionaries in a foreign field, but I know at least they will need to be Christian apologists, evangelists, and witnesses right here where we were born.
I’ve chosen the following list of films for their cultural significance, world view lessons, and Biblical implications.
Children (10 and under)
The Wizard of Oz
Mary Poppins
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Sound of Music
Babe
Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World (My favorite movie as a kid)
The Princess Bride
Finding Nemo (Disney’s best animated movie ever, in my humble opinion. It is a great depiction of the Gospel.)
The Lion King (good metaphor for man’s fall)
Beauty and the Beast (Disney’s next best for depicting self-sacrifice)
Toy Story; Toy Story 3 (Toy Story 3 is outstanding, but one must see the first one ahead.)
Adolescent (11-12)
Fiddler on the Roof
Chariots of Fire
The Right Stuff
Rocky (All 6 in order. I will write a blog about how great this is later.)
Superman: The Movie
Iron Will
The Air Up There
Here Comes the Boom
Shackelton
The Untouchables
Gettysburg
Secondhand Lions
Star Wars (episodes IV, V, VI; pretend the others do not exist)
Raiders of the Lost Ark; The Last Crusade (edited)
Batman (Keaton and Nicholeson; edited); Batman Forever (edited)
The Sandlot
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Back to the Future
Middle school (12-15)
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Mission
Cleopatra (edited)
Atilla (edited)
The Matrix
Jesus of Nazareth
Gladiator
Braveheart (edited)
Becket
Henry V
Joan of Arc
A Man for All Seasons
Luther
Les Miserables (Nieson version. Great story of redemption.)
The Last of the Mohicans
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Outlaw Jose Whales (edited)
Cinderella Man
Executive Decision
Die Hard
Napoleon Dynamite
Lord of the Rings trilogy
The Fugitive
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
High school (16-18)
A Few Good Men
Les Miserables (Musical version; rare case in which the book is good, the movie better, and the musical best.)
Castaway
Jaws
To Kill a Mockingbird
Moonstruck (This may not be universal; it may be just to understand the Cali clan.)
Pieces of April (edited)
Pieces of April (edited)
Juno
Hamlet
Citizen Kane
Dances with Wolves
Casablanca
Schinlder’s List (edited)
Patton
Saving Private Ryan
Dead Poets Society
Apocalypse Now (edited)
Woodstock (edited)
Forest Gump
Mosquito Coast
Equilibrium
Ghandi
The Last Samari
Pride and Prejudice
Addiction (very mature but worth it!)
It’s a Wonderful Life
Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises
The Sixth Sense, Signs, Unbreakable, The Village
Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo
Superman Returns
Jerry McGuire (edited)
My nine children are a lot of kids for me to watch these with, so they are obviously good enough movies that I am willing to watch them again and again. This list is arranged by what I believe is age appropriate; it assumes that I’ve had “THE TALK” with my child that I’m allowing to watch by the age of 12. As a parent evaluates the suitability of a movie for his children, pluggedin.com is a great website for finding reviews that identify scenes that need discernment for age appropriateness and sin. I find it exceptionally helpful because it does not make the judgment call for the parent but rather provides enough information for the parent to make his own decision. I’ve chosen these to what kind of sin, violence, or action that I believe they can handle; however, I still edit out sexual content and nudity to protect their eyes and hearts. I don’t do it perfectly every time, but the following are the types of questions that I discuss with my kids when we finish watching them together.
What do you believe is the overall message of the story?
How does the movie define virtue?
What do you think the worldview of the storyteller is? What does it say about good and evil?
Who were the good examples in the story that should be emulated? Why?
Was the antagonist portrayed realistically? How?
What are the important themes in the story? Is there literary aspects of the story, like foreshadowing, symbolism, metaphor, etc.?
What was your favorite scene in the movie? Why?
Do you think the dialogue and the cinematography are well done aesthetically?
Francis Shaeffer says in Escape from Reason, “If a man goes overseas for any length of time we would expect him to learn the language of the country to which he was going. More than this is needed, however, if he is really to communicate with the people among whom he speaks. Only so will he have real communication with them and to them. So it is with the Christian church. Its responsibility is not only to hold to the basic, scriptural principles of the Christian faith, but to communicate these unchanging truths ‘into’ the generation in which it is living.” To be effective in relating to our current culture, knowing film is a necessary tool.
