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The Help
Best
Picture nominee The Help, based on a
novel about the African-American servants to wealthy Caucasion families in
segregated Mississippi, asks some important questions. While showing us the courage of people on
both sides of the race line to confront the evil of prejudice and
discrimination, The Help also shows
us characters who agree that the situation is morally wrong, but don’t have the
courage to act on it. The movie reminds
us that people with good hearts can do evil, and that sometimes we are captive
to larger forces. This is what the New
Testament refers to as the “powers and principalities” of the world. This is what causes good people to do bad things,
when they feel caught in something that is out of their control, and it’s what
the power of God works to dismantle.
Tree of Life
Good
people doing bad things is a recurring theme in the most overtly religious best
picture nominee: Tree of Life. This
movie is a meditation on the questions raised in the book of Job, why is there evil in the world, and why do we sometimes commit evil ourselves, against our
own wishes? Tree of Life is an unusual
movie, told in beautiful fragments of memories and images, more like a poem
than a story. Centered on a couple
raising three sons, the movie also reaches back to the creation of the universe
in order to struggle with the two ways of life: the way of “nature,” doing
whatever it takes to get ahead, and “grace” which finds strength in
forgiveness. Tree of Life is available to watch at home. If you’re willing to try a different kind of
movie, one that leaves you thinking without a clear resolution, Tree of Life is very rewarding.
