The political writer Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun Scotland, once remarked, “Give me the making of the songs of a nation, and I care not who writes its laws.”  Imagine, a politician claiming not to care about who writes his nation’s laws!  Reason being, Fletcher knew where the real movement of cultural shift comes from—storytellers.  Fletcher was aware of the enormous power behind a nation’s songs. 

Songs are essentially stories.  They tell accounts of love won and lost, of victory and defeat, joy and sorrow, goodness and evil.  That is, they attempt to weave reality together for us and speak into our worldview.  And while many other areas of culture attempt to do the same (e.g., civic laws, moral preaching, etc.) it is the arts (e.g., music, poetry, film, etc.) which has the strongest and most pervasive reach into a culture.  Turn on your radio, flip on your TV, or step into a theater and powerful worldview ideas are being communicated and are vying for your acceptance.  The tricky thing is that we are often completely unaware of this ability of the arts to do this.  Therefore, we stroll into these settings with our guards down.

Possibly the most powerful storytelling of our day and culture comes through film.  Movies are certainly the highest grossing industry of modern storytelling to the populace.  But again, how many of us are prepared to critically approach the viewing of a movie with the necessary tools to evaluate the worldview ideas woven throughout the story?  For this reason, I so excited about a brand new resource which is literally “hot of the press” which does just this.  Doug Geivett and James Spiegel have edited a new book called “Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen.” 

As a side note, we’re fortunate enough to have Doug Geivett joining us for an event we’re co-sponsoring on January 25/26, 2008, called “Universanity.”  Geivett will be speaking at this worldview conference on the topic of, “Responding to the New Atheism.”  I’ll post more on this event soon.

Therefore, I’d want include a quick note from one of the authors, Doug Geivett, and check out his link at the bottom to find out more about the newly released book . . .

“So who today are our principal storytellers? Not philosophers, but filmmakers. For those who know both the enormous entertainment potential and the culture-shaping power of film, this book will stir mind and imagination. For great stories freight world-sized ideas, ideas worthy of contemplation and conversation. Great cinema inspires wonder. But another philosopher, Aristotle, reminds us that wonder is the true source of philosophy. So perhaps Plato or Aristotle might have a shot at ruling society, even today–if they took an interest in film.

The fourteen essays of Faith, Film and Philosophy explore big ideas as they are treated on the big screen. The book explores classic and contemporary films, together with several major philosophical themes, all from a Christian perspective.

Citizen Kane, Big Fish, and Pretty Woman treat us to a deeper-than-expected consideration of the human condition.

The Truman Show, The Matrix, Being John Malkovich, and It’s a Wonderful Life, and other popular films provide absorbing insights into the nature of knowledge and of the human mind.

Looking at the moral life, contributors peel back layers of meaning in Pleasantville, Bowling for Columbine, Mystic River and The Silence of the Lambs.

In the final section of the book, three chapters trace the theme of faith and religion in relation to science (Contact and 2001: A Space Odyssey), Kung Fu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and other Hong Kong films), and the meaning of life (U2’s Rattle and Hum).

Faith, Film and Philosophy is a virtual film festival for all who wish to nurture the wonder of philosophical inquiry and the love of Christian theology through an engagement with big ideas on the big screen.”
— Doug Geivett

See the Table of Contents of Faith, Film and Philosophy.