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February 5, 2004
HOW MOVIES HELPED SAVE MY SOUL:
Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in
Culturally Significant Films
Gareth Higgins. Christian Books
Second only to the recently released Looney Tunes 4 DVD set, this book is my most prized
Christmas gift. Author Gareth Higgins sums up the overarching theme of MOVIES very succinctly
with this quote from his friend, David Dark (Mr. Sarah Masen, for all you proud Michiganders):
‘There isn’t a secular molecule in the universe.’
Gareth proceeds from that point of understanding to begin an open-ended discussion of how he seeks
to find themes from both current and classic films, and asks the reader to consider what the
filmmakers are communicating through this pervasive medium. The topic itself is fascinating,
considering that many Monday morning water cooler discussions include the weekend’s box office
take (as if we each had a piece of the profits!).
Fortunately, this is not a commentary on the slew of ‘believer-friendly’ films, which have their
place, but always invariably feature a TV ‘ac-tor’ that has been Missing In Action since the early
80’s (Corbin Bernsen, Yakov Smirnoff, Burt Reynolds, insert your favorite Hollywood Square’s name
here). Gareth instead probes for the spiritual themes expressed in diverse films including Fight
Club, Crimes And Misdemeanors, Minority Report, A Simple Plan and Changing Lanes, and uses humor
and wit to draw attention to what is being said.
It is also helpful that he has split the book into a number of themes, such as Anti-Heroes,
Brokenness, Fear, God, Power and Conspiracy. He has found, as I have, that often there is value
in ‘looking for the baby Jesus under the trash’, to quote U2.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, highly recommended to anyone who likes to watch a film more
than once.
Ryan T. Richardson
How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally
Significant Films
by Gareth Higgins
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