Ok, so here's my confession. I didn't even remember there being that much profanity in "Fridge"? When the film was over, I wasn't affected in the slightest by the use of language. Am I jaded? Perhaps I am. I can really empathize with those of you who felt offended by this film. 3 years ago I probably would have had a similar, if not the same reaction as you had. I wanted no impurities to enter my head, and I judged the merit of a movie on whether it included sexual themes and or language of the profane language. After all, these no doubt would lead to the destruction of my soul...but as Leeper said, it was time to grow up. If I was going to take myself seriously as a filmmker, I needed to get out of my comfort zone and put myself in opportunities to challenge and grow.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, here I am 3 years later. My soul is still intact (I hope). But I would be the first to agree, that I am not as squeaky clean as I was coming in as a Freshman. I've watched movies and held conversations with people that have radically changed my viewpoints on what it means for me to be a Christian and a filmmaker. For better or for worse, I guess we will see. But I will say this: I feel more like a person. And in a way that makes me feel more like a Christian than I was 3 years back. Indeed, the bliss of what I thought was living in purity has thus been removed from me as I've gone "down the rabbit hole" so to speak. And I don't think I could ever gain it back. That is the price of knowledge. You can't accept spoon-fed answers anymore. You must now experience something for yourself before you can truly comprehend and thereby judge it. My hope for you all is that you will take a note from the characters of "Fridge". That though something may appear to be "dirty" and that no possible good could come from it, you would hold a dialogue with it and give it a chance to prove that it might have more worth than you give it credit. Whether this be a work of art, an idea, or person.
This is essentially the point of college. And if you miss it, you could literally graduate from here without learning a thing. I have greater hopes for you all than that. Yes, there may be times where the foundation of your being is rattled to a point, that you really question why you decided to take the red pill. There may be times where for the first time in your life you are confused about what is truly right and wrong, and want to lock yourself in your room for a week and bang your head against the wall. But I can guarantee you this, though you might not be a squeaky clean as when you started here this semester, you will feel more real than you have ever experienced. And when you're finally at a point of being a real human being, this is when I believe you can truly start living out your Faith.
Thank you for taking time to read my post, please engage me or the subject matter with whatever comments or questions you may have. That's how we start to grow.
Let's start growing.
I don't agree that not caring about swear words means you're jaded, and I especially don't agree that there's something wrong with you if you are not affected by them. It was all casual swearing with no real target. And when there was a target it matched the context of the film. The people being cussed at needed cussed at. And at no point was any of this actually directed towards us. We were just flies on the wall watching events unfold.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm trying to say is, without a target, these are just words. They're not real, just like everything else on the screen. And to say that certain movies will damage us is...well...childish. I am the gatekeeper to my soul and I decide what will be assimilated into it. The good stuff I carry with me, the rest is just trivia in the back of my mind.
Now, everyone take a deep breath and repeat:
It's only a movie.
It's only a movie
It's only a movie
It's only a movie
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ReplyDeleteTo be honest I was offended by the language, but I'm used to it. When I was at my high school I heard the f-bomb dropped all the time. I've talked and associated with people who use profane language, and sometimes if they respected me enough they would tone it down. I'm still sort of shocked every time I hear a cuss word, even though I'm used to it. I'm not ignorant. I know that's how the world works. I also know that sometimes cussing is necessary to get a point across, to really stir things up. My point is that it still sort of shocks me, despite my experiences.
ReplyDeleteI feel kind of the same way Carissa. I heard the F-word literally every 5 minutes at my high school. When I was a freshman, it really bothered me because I wasn't used to hearing that kind of language all the time. But as the years went on through high school, I noticed the foul words less and less. I understand that cussing can be used as a tool to show anger, but it really really really is unnecessary if people use it to be cool. Thus, I felt the cussing added to the dark and moody tone of the Fridge.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Miles that we all need to grow up and just accept the cuss words that we hear. If you hear a cuss word, cringe for a second and move on with your life. I don't enjoy cuss words at all, but we do need to accept them because everyone is going to say what they want and there is nothing we can do about that. We live in a world filled with sin, and we just need to accept that.
Good post by the way Miles.