Thoughts on Precious

I just got home from watching precious. From what I saw in the trailers it seemed like it was going to be a great movie. In fact, it was perhaps one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year for me. I am a sucker for a dramatic movie. I'm not just talking star crossed lovers torn apart by fate (though that will hold me over just fine.) I'm talking about gut wrenching, rip your heart right out of your chest, stomp on it and make you cry type of drama. I'm talking the greats, Shindlers List, Hotel Rwanda and American History X.

Happy movies just dont do it for me. I can laugh, but I easily forget those movies. I was raised in such a fake culture, where everyone wears a smile as default... that happy almost doesn't feel real to me sometimes. I like drama that will shake me from the shallowness of everyday life and make me feel alive. I do prefer a cathartic cry rather than a good laugh.

Though I do like a good tragedy, I must say that Precious was a major fail in my book. It has to be realistic or at least relatable on some level. Otherwise I will disconnect. I can understand genocide because I've studied it in school. I can understand racism because to a certain extent, I've experienced it. Precious was so overdone, I disconnected and just wanted the movie to end.

At first, it seems right up my ally. Clarice Precious Jones is a 16 year old morbidly obese black girl living in a ghetto. I believe its Harlem, I forget. She is falling through the cracks of the educational system. Shes 16 and still in middle school whats worse is that shes pregnant with her second child and in a physically abusive home where her mother routinely tried to beat her over the head with pots and pans and daily bombards her with messages that shes worthless. This drew me in, and I would be raving about this movie if thats where it stayed... however as the story kept unfolding, I began to disconnect.

We come to find that Precious' first child was actually born with downs syndrome. Her father is sexually abusing her and is the man who has impregnated her twice now. She has been suffering though sexual abuse since the age of three by her father. When her mother sees precious' new child, she holds him and throws him on the floor and proceeds to beat precious and even throw a TV at her head to kill her. Thankfully Precious escapes. She is illiterate and has little prospects for a future, any hopes she may have had are dashed when her mother comes to visit her and informs her that her father (who has been abusing her) has died........of AIDS. Precious gets tested and finds out she has AIDS as well.

imagine two hours of this. where every fifteen minutes another bomb is dropped. There was no resolution in the movie save her walking away from her mother. Life sucks for her and there is no way out. I don't need a happy ending... but I do need an ending. Shindler fled penniless as a war criminal, the war ended in Hotel Rwanda, and Derek's brother is shot and killed after he recants white supremacy. I don't need a happy ending, but I need an ending none the less. There was simply too much drama in Precious to where I could no longer relate and wondered "what's next? is she going to be bitten by a rabid dog too?"

don't waste your money.

I snuck into new moon afterwards hoping to get a decent movie. It was mediocre at best, but hey I didn't expect oscars from them, its a tween novel. I was much more disappointed by Precious.

Does this make me an enemy of God?

I was watching some of the weekend news programs when I was made aware of a convention being held in Copenhagen this December which would seemingly instill a one world governing body that would be in charge of redistributing wealth. In the interest of full disclosure, I will admit that I am an avowed classical liberal... this usually translates to Republican. I believe in a small government and a free market society with little oversight other than to protect the interests of its constituents. I was asked recently what the difference between Democrats and Republicans are. I came to the conclusion that Democrats believe Government is the answer to our problems, while Republicans believe Government is the problem. But, I'll let that end here because this post wasn't about political ideology.

In any case, I have been seeing transnationalism growing as of the past couple of years. I have been hearing rhetoric from our government about being "citizens of the world" and that we should submit to a global community rather than our own self interests. I see this inevitably leading to a one world government. I'll make no bones about it... I am a Christian as well if you haven't been able to tell from my previous posts. According to Christian prophecies, the world is indeed headed toward a one world government and will be headed up by a dictator who will wage war on all those who are disloyal to him and particularly Christians who refuse to worship him. This may seem far fetched, but its becoming more a reality every day.

That being said, I find myself having a little crisis of faith.

Being that I am such a classical liberal and believe in small government. Being that I take every opportunity to speak out against the ever growing government and that I consistently vote for smaller government at every election... does this make me an enemy of God? I whole heartedly do not want to see the events of Revelation transpire in my lifetime. It is apparent that God is working to that end, while I am fighting tooth and nail to avoid it. Should I just stand aside and be led into tribulation and possibly martyrdom? Should I let people be killed in the future one world government simply because I read that's what God's will is? or should I work against it?

I am trying to not take this so serious for my own sanity. But I am interested in any comments?

Enjoying My Time Off

I can finally enjoy my unemployment.

I've got a job and will begin working on November 16th. So until then, I'm posing as a starving artist. Im writing in my Pjs and reading over a cup of tea.

(when I'm not watching Fox News Channel and CMT)

Writing helps me understand God

This month I've undertaken the challenge and joined NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Month) basically its a contest where you write 1600 words a day and by a month, you should have a rough draft of a novel. The operative word is "rough draft" you are going to re-write and re-write until you can't stand your novel anymore, but as Mark Twain once said: "Great novels are never written, they are only re-written"

Anyhow, I find myself amazed by God in my writing. I am having such a hard time figuring out the life of one character. From this one character spring forth other characters I must also create and understand. I am the God of my book. I create the world and its rules. I create my character with its temperaments, and I orchestrate the events which happen in their lives.

I realize there really is a plan. Before the characters came into existence they were in my imagination. Literally... before the foundations of their world, I knew them! I know my characters before they are ever born. I have a good plan for my character though I see the pain they will go through. Even the hideousness of life will be used by me to bring about beauty. Consequently I am learning that I can trust Him.

There is an old story about an encounter Tolkien had with C.S. Lewis. Lewis was once having an argument with Tolkien about God, C.S. Lewis was then an atheist. Tolkien made the following analogy. "Suppose you created a whole world in a story, you grew your characters and loved them. Supposed now that you wanted to introduce yourself to your characters? you are totally outside of their time and space. Your reality is completely separate from their reality. How would you introduce yourself to them? simply, you write yourself into the story." Tolkien was making the analogy that the only way we can know God is through the person of Jesus Christ who is God and became man like us.

I am blown away by how much I've learned about God in these past two days. Truly God is so far outside of my understanding, my reality, my realm and space that there is no way conceivable that I would know Him unless He wrote Himself into my story. He does have a master plan and I should rest in it knowing that I am part of a beautiful story. Even the darkness exists to contrast with the light. There is a hope in the fact that the master author is writing the story. He finishes on sentence, rereads it and smiles because he knows how the book is going to end.