A Closer Look at Movies, A Closer Look at Life

Every movie has a message. In every film that hits the big screen the writers are making commentary, on either how life is or how life should be, and they do this through the words and actions of characters. In order to best understand what commentary is being communicated by a movie, we must first zoom in for a close-up on its different parts and then pull back for a wide-angle look to see its message.

Most movies follow the same basic pattern. First, we are introduced to the protagonist who has a strong desire about something. We are also introduced to an antagonist who is the external opponent to the protagonist’s goal. Next, we see that our main character has an internal character flaw that is also keeping him from achieving his goal. Our hero’s goal will continually be just out of reach and he will continue on this path until the moment that all is lost. It will appear that our protagonist has either given up or will ultimately be defeated. Then, our hero experiences a moment of self-revelation. It often involves another character, typically a lover or a mentor, who helps the hero understand his character flaw. He finally realizes what his internal flaw is and what he must do to deal with it. It is only in overcoming his internal opponent that our hero can overcome his external opponent. The movie climaxes with our protagonist meeting face-to-face with his adversary and it is at this point that we see whether our hero has truly overcome his character flaw. Finally, the movie will conclude with a picture of how overcoming this internal flaw has changed our main character and what the future might look like for him.

It is typically in the moment that our hero realizes the true nature of his internal flaw that we see the message of the movie best communicated. The message of the movie is what the movie is really about. The movie is never really about overcoming an adversary. The messages of films are really about overcoming internal character flaws. The decisions made by our hero in dealing with his character flaw are what the writers are using to communicate either how life is or how life should be.

As an example, in Top Gun, our hero, Maverick, has the goal to be the best Navy pilot, but so does an equally skilled pilot named Iceman. Thus, Iceman serves as an external opponent to his goal. Both pilots are very confident, if not arrogant, about their piloting skills and they believe that to be the best is an admirable character trait. After his co-pilot, Goose, is killed in a tragic accident, Maverick loses confidence in his abilities as a combat pilot. This loss of confidence is Maverick’s internal opponent. As a result, it appears that all is lost as we see him ready to quit the elite training program. Maverick goes to tell Viper, his Top Gun instructor, he is leaving when Viper says to him, “You feel responsible for Goose and you have a confidence problem – a good pilot is compelled to evaluate what’s happened so he can apply what he’s learned.” Here is the moment of self-revelation for our hero. Maverick then returns to Top Gun for graduation and we think he has overcome his confidence problem. But the movie can’t end here. Maverick needs to prove to us that he has regained his confidence.

We then move toward the climax of the movie when we learn that Russian Migs have invaded American air space. Guess who is picked to repel the Russians? Iceman and Maverick. The Migs get a lock on Iceman and he is now out of the fight. Maverick now has the opportunity to show he is the best Navy pilot if only he has truly regained his confidence. The battle with the Migs is Maverick’s time of testing to see whether he has truly overcome his character flaw. At one point in the final battle Maverick disengages from the fight and we are led to believe that he hasn’t really regained his confidence. But Maverick does find his confidence, reengages in the battle and scares off the remaining Migs. The resolution of the movie is Maverick returning to the ship to a cheering crowd who acknowledge him as the best Navy pilot. Even Iceman acknowledges that Maverick is the best when he says that he would be Maverick’s wingman anytime. Therefore, as evident from the self-revelation section, the message of the movie Top Gun is: in order to be the best, you must learn from your experiences and move on.

Movies follow the same basic pattern because this pattern reflects human life experiences. Good stories mirror life’s realities. That is why they are so powerful. As a general rule, life isn’t easy. We have all sorts of goals and desires and yet we also encounter many obstacles to those goals. I am a follower of Jesus Christ which means I have a goal to become like Christ in my thoughts, words, and deeds. However, I have an Adversary (Satan) who places circumstances and people in my life who work to block that goal. Yet, the external opponent is rarely the biggest obstacle. More importantly, I have internal character flaws that prohibit me from becoming like Christ.

Too often I run from conflict. Typically, at the first sign of conflict I quickly head in the other direction. But the Scriptures tell me to endure (literally, “remain under”) during times of suffering. It is only in enduring the conflict to the point of apparent defeat that I learn the true nature of my character flaws and what I must do to overcome them. Overcoming character issues is not for the weak. The phrase “no pain, no gain” is just as much a spiritual reality as a physical reality. However, these are valuable life lessons that God wants to teach me and you. These are the lessons that forge my character and yours into becoming like Christ which is a life of love, peace, and joy.

So as you are watching movies, pay attention to the structure of the film. Identify the hero’s goal and what is blocking him, both externally and internally, from achieving that goal. Pay close attention to how the main character deals with his internal flaw. For it is in how our hero deals with his internal issue that we find the message of the movies we watch. Likewise, as you experience conflict in life, remain under. Instead of solely focusing on the external opponent, identify your internal opponent. What is it inside of you that God wants to change to become more like Christ? This is God’s message for your life story. It's the life of your story that becomes the story of your life.

How The Moral Premise Influenced My Parenting

As a parent, I want to know how to raise my kids the best way possible. Parenting doesn’t come naturally or easily for me. So I am always looking for tips and advice on how to best parent my kids. Specifically, I get tired of getting on their case all the time. It drains me to always have to say, “stop that,” “get down from there,” “put that away,” “get your room cleaned,” or “you better hurry up and eat.” And I really hate getting angry with them. Sometimes they can push my buttons and really send me over the edge. I know they are young and I do my best not to raise my voice but sometimes I feel that’s the only thing that will get their attention.

I ran across a book recently called Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. The byline of the book is “Teaching Children Responsibility.” One of the main principles of the book is that responsibility is caught, not taught. In other words, kids learn best when they learn the lessons themselves. “Let the consequence be the teacher” is a popular phrase used in the book, which means that children learn responsibility best when they make the choice themselves and experience the consequences, whether good or bad. You can preach at them until you are blue in the face but they won’t take it as true for themselves until they learn it on their own.

I wasn’t sure I believed this principle until one summer I saw it actually work (proof also that it’s true). My three-year old daughter kept walking up close to the edge of the swimming pool without her life jacket on. I must have told her a dozen times to not get close to the pool without her life jacket because she might fall in. Yet, she continued to get closer and closer to the edge, even with me standing right there! So I finally decided that she needed to learn for herself. I watched as she leaned over the edge to look at the water and I knew right away what was about to happen. I quietly walked up behind her and sure enough, she leaned over too far and fell in. I jumped in right next to her and pulled her up just as her head was about to go under. I put her back up on the edge and her eyes were huge from the shock. After that, I never again had to tell her to put her life jacket on when she got close to the pool. Every time she came within six feet of the pool she would run and grab her life jacket and put it on. I could have continued to preach and get angry and send her to timeout but it wasn’t until she learned for herself that she actually changed her behavior.

I recently read, The Moral Premise, by Stanley Williams. The Moral Premise argues that every movie has a message, which can be stated as follows: “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences.” Every movie shows the main characters making moral choices, which then determine how they behave. Their behavior either leads to consequences that are desirable or consequences that are undesirable. This principle is present in every movie because it accurately reflects the human experience. Every day we make choices upon which we then act and which then have consequences, whether good or bad. What better way for me to raise my kids than to start now helping them to practice making choices and understanding that those choices have consequences. After all, this is how life actually works.

So now, as a parent, I look for opportunities to give my kids choices. I allow them to make the decision on what their behavior will be but also help them understand that they will experience the consequences of that choice. This has greatly helped take the anger and preaching out of disciplining my kids. For example, if my kids are jumping off the back of the couch, I could get mad and yell and send them to their rooms but now the focus for them is on my anger and not their behavior. Instead, I look for ways to give them a choice with consequences. Now, I tell them they can either stop jumping off the couch and continue playing in the living room together or they can jump off the couch again and go play in their bedrooms by themselves. I have now given them a choice of behaviors but have also informed them of the consequences of their choice. Now the focus is on their behavior and not my anger.

So if you want to control their behavior, give them a choice between a behavior with desirable consequences and a behavior with undesirable consequences. I am sure you know your kids well enough to know exactly what are desirable and undesirable consequences for them. As I am also sure you well know, it’s different for every kid. The hard part as a parent is allowing them to suffer the undesirable consequences if that is what they choose. However, better they learn life lessons about responsibility at age six with a toy car than at age sixteen with a real car.

Movies and their Message

Every movie has a message. Every film that makes it to the big screen has one central idea it intends to communicate. It may have many themes but it will have only one message around which the entire movie revolves. The message of a movie is often subtle and may not be recognized on the first viewing. But with a little discernment, we can pick up on the movie’s message quickly and be able to articulate it accurately.

In every movie, the main character has a physical challenge that he must overcome. In confronting the physical obstacle he must first overcome a psychological obstacle. Only in overcoming the psychological challenge can our hero conquer his physical challenge. Think of how many sports movies (i.e. Remember the Titans, Miracle, and Glory Road) that show us a group of athletes needing to learn to play together as a team rather than as individuals (psychological challenge) in order to win the championship (physical challenge).

The psychological challenge presents our main character with a moral choice. In this sense, the message of a movie will always be about a choice that is right and a choice that is wrong. For example, in Glory Road and Remember the Titans racial prejudice serves as the psychological challenge for the basketball and football teams. In Miracle, holding on to past grudges and college loyalties serves as the psychological challenge for the U.S. hockey team.

The moral choice made by the protagonist in an attempt to overcome the psychological obstacle will change the protagonist in some manner, either for better or for worse. The nature of the hero’s moral choice and the resulting consequences is where we find the message of a movie. In each of the three sports movies mentioned thus far, each team was able to win the championship because they made the moral choice to set aside their differences. We like movies with happy endings. We like to see the underdogs win the big game. But how would have things been different in Remember the Titans if Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell did not lead the team in getting past their racial prejudices? If the movie is true to its message, they would not have won the state championship and we would not be watching a movie about remembering the Titans football team.

In his book, The Moral Premise, Stanley Williams writes that one way to identify the message of a movie is to discover the virtue (right moral choice) and the vice (wrong moral choice) presented in the movie and the resulting consequences. Williams points out that at the beginning of the movie the protagonist will choose the vice, and as a result, suffer defeat. Then, around the mid-point of the movie, the hero chooses to embrace the virtue, and as a result, starts to experience success. The main character will continue to experience success as long as he embraces the virtue. Again, think about the three sports movies mentioned. In each movie, the teams suffer defeat when they are divided, but once they begin to play as a unified team, they begin to win. The more they come together as a team, the more unstoppable they become.

Williams writes that the ‘moral premise’ of a movie can be articulated by stating that “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences.” So all we need to do is plug in the virtue, vice and resulting consequences presented from the particular movie we are viewing. In our sports movies discussed, we can articulate the message generally of each movie as follows: A divided team leads to defeat but a unified team leads to victory. Again, this is generically true for all three movies. However, each movie presents a slightly different angle on what divides a team. For example, in Glory Road and Remember the Titans we can say that a team divided by racial prejudice leads to defeat but a team united despite its racial make-up leads to victory. In Miracle, we can say that a team divided because of past grudges and college loyalties leads to defeat but a team united who has put the past behind them leads to victory.

So as you watch movies, identify the virtue and the vice presented and the resulting consequences. Pay attention to what behavior leads to bad consequences and what behavior leads to good consequences. Once you have identified these, plug the particulars into the statement: “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences” and now you have the message of the movie.

By the way, I plan on writing a future blog entry on the connection between the tagline of a movie and the message of a movie. But as a teaser, notice the tagline used for Remember the Titans: “Before they could win, they had to become one.”