Excellent Book!
Hollywood Worldviewsby Brian Godawa
I was browsing the local Christian bookstore recently and stumbled across this book. At first I was skeptical (since it was placed among the countless "how to's") but who can distrust an author who quotes Schaeffer in the second paragraph? Surprise! Good things do come from Berean Bookstores! This is absolutely the best book I've read all summer.
Godawa analyzes countless movies through a fantasticly thorough worldview lens. He warns against being a "cultural glutton" (inhaling without consideration) and a "cultural anorexic" (refusal to participate in culture). He first lays out his idea surrounding storytelling, mythology, and the role it plays in today's culture. Then he organizes his film reviews by worldview topic, such as existentialism, post-modernism, etc. He has incredible insight into the meaning of movies and I came away with a completely different understanding of films, some I had and hadn't seen.
Throughout the book, Godawa references his website, which unfortunately isn't updated and I couldn't access some of the information. It does link to his movie reviews by year which I may add to my list of links. Each chapter ends with really interesting, practical applications and different ideas for thinking seriously about our movie intake and processing. For instance, he suggests that a Bible study read Ecclesiastes and then watch Groundhog Day and do an indepth comparison, which I think is a great idea.( Beware, multiple ideas are floating through my head and it may involve you.)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you have any interest in or concern for contemporary culture then this book is a must-read. If you love discussing movies and worldview interpretation then this book is a must-read. If you've ever wished you could understand movies better or maybe don't watch movies because you're afraid of submitting yourself to bad influences, then this book is a must-read.
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As a follow-up, there's a great opportunity coming up to participate in a similar movie discussion. Veritas is hosting a movie screening of Tender Mercies on Butler's campus. The week following, Jeff Sparks, director of the Heartland Film Festival, will be speaking on "What Makes a Truly Moving Picture: Exploring the Power of Film to Move Us." The events are open to whomever wishes to attend and I would encourage you come.
What: Tender Mercies
When: Tuesday, September 5 @ 7:30 pm and Friday, September 8 @ 5:00 pm.
Where: The Center for Faith and Vocation, Butler University.
What: Jeff Sparks at Veritas
When: Thursday, September 14 @ 7:00 pm.
Where: TBA at Butler University.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Labels: book review
5 Comments:
I'm now totally interested in this book. Sounds like it's Sproul's "Consequence of Ideas" meets Steve Turner's "Imagine"....except about movies. Both great books by the way. I tried to see if the christian bookstore in Castleton had it and it was to no avail. So it's off to Amazon!
Josh
I've seen Steve Turner's name pop up and have read about his book "Imagine." So I take it you would recommend it? Then I should add it to my must purchase list.
Also Josh
Godawa says to check out the complete index from ivpress.com which is a handy dandy reference. The ones that surprised me the most were his thoughts on Fight Club, Chocolat, Seven, There's Something About Mary, and then his serious look at Groundhog Day, The Truman Show, and Cast Away. I hope you can find it!
Thanks for the book recommendation, Shannon. It sounds very intriguing.
Hi Shannon, if you remember, what did he say about Chocolat? I saw that movie recently.
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