Josh Benner

Tag: movies

  • Ariel and Jesus: The Gospel in the Little Mermaid

    Ariel and Jesus: The Gospel in the Little Mermaid

    My favorite Disney movie is the Little Mermaid, and part of why I love the movie so much is because of tall of the gospel themes. 

    THE LONGING OF THE HUMAN SOUL 

    Ariel has it all. She’s a princess, she lives in a palace. she’s beautiful, she has an amazing singing voice, great friends, she’s adored. Yet what she really wants is a world that’s above (literally).

    While her hope and aspiration is to be part of our world, her understanding of it is imperfect. She finds various items and turns to her seagull friend Scuttle to explain the things of the world to her. He’s well-intentioned but often ill informed as he tells her a fork is used for hair and a tobacco pipe is a musical instrument. We also see her imperfect knowledge of the world in the song “Part of Your World” where she keeps repeating “what do you call ’em?” “what’s that word?”

    None of that changes Ariel’s desire to know our world. A world where they walk, where they run, where they stay all day in the sun. Sun is noteworthy in her association with the world as light is a nearly universal religious symbol of truth and righteousness. She desires the illumination of the world above over the dark world of the seas.

    A SINFUL HEART

    Ariel has a loving father, the king, but she is also disobedient to him. She goes up to shore in spite of being forbidden. She complains about her father’s rules in “Part of Your World” when she sings: “Bet’cha on land they understand, bet they don’t reprimand their daughters.”

    A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL 

    In order to make it to land, Ariel makes a deal with Ursula, the Sea Witch, who’s a demonic figure. Many had come before Ariel and made various deals with Ursula, only to lose and be turned into polyps.

    Ariel is betting on herself. But it’s a bet she will lose. She cannot ultimately prevail in becoming part of the world.

    A SAVIOR 

    Ariel was always a pawn in Ursula’s game. Ursula wants to rule the world of the seas. When Ariel loses her deal, her father Triton intervenes. There’s only one thing that can save Ariel. Triton exchanges himself for her and is turned into a polyp. He sets aside his crown so that Ariel can live.

    VICTORY

    Ursula is powerful. But she’s not all-powerful. In the end, she is defeated. There’s a resurrection of the people who’s lives she had taken. Triton gives Ariel what she could not give herself. He gives her entrance into the human world. The movie ends like the Bible ends, with a wedding celebration and a choir (only time in this movie) singing: Now we can walk, now we can run, now we can stay all day in the sun. Just you and me and I can be part of your world.

    THE GOSPEL 

    There are great themes in this movie. But it also is just a shadow of the real story. That we are sinful and need grace. Jesus is the one who took the penalty of our sin for us so that we could be forgiven and have our true home in another world.

    Thanks for reading! If you liked, please comment and share.

    Originally published November 22, 2019

  • Lack of substance undermines Christian movies

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    Jared C. Wilson is an author, speaker, and the content strategist for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He’s also the managing editor for the website For The Church. (more…)

  • Confession – I’ve never seen Star Wars

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    I won’t ruin Star Wars for you. In fact, I am so committed to not ruining it, that I have never seen any of the Star Wars movies.

    When people hear this, some have a visceral reaction. To some, that basically comes across like I’ve said I’ve never had a pizza, drank a coke, laughed, or experienced any type of joy ever. “WHAT? You’ve never seen Star Wars? How are you alive?” I’ve had various friends over the years hear that, and say “we need to watch them.” The reason why I haven’t seen Star Wars is not about a lack of access. I’m gainfully employed. I could see them. I’m just not interested.  (more…)

  • Review: the Hangover 2

    With the immense popularity of the Hangover, its sequel which hit the screens this week could not have been anything other than a box office smash hit. Many wondered if it could possibly live up to the original, and while I knew that this was not going to occur, I at least expected there to be a few scenes in the Hangover 2 that had the audience rolling. Unfortunately, the humor was not even in the same realm as the original Hangover.

    I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sequel that had the same plot as its original. I have also never walked out on a movie, I didn’t with this one either, but two thirds of the way into the movie, when it was obvious how it was going to end, and as I came to the stark realization of, ”This movie is not funny, and that is something that is not suddenly going to change,” I strongly considered leaving.

    I really wanted to like this movie, it simply had no redeeming qualities. It was much darker than the original. In the original Hangover, part of the charm was the weirdness of Alan’s character, played by Zach Galifianakis. For the first half of the Hangover 2, I felt that they were trying to have bizarre comments and actions of Galifianakis comedically carry the movie. Even as much as I like Galifianakis, I don’t feel that can work for a major comedy. It certainly did not work for this one.

    Some people will disagree with me, and I have even heard people say it was almost as good as the original.

    Could they be right? No.

    This movie had so much hype and people were so excited to see the sequel to the beloved Hangover, that for many, the opinions of this movie are skewed. It’s also important to consider the context in which people watched this movie. Across the country, moviegoers packed theatres, and eagerly watched this movie, ready to laugh. In that type of festive atmosphere, and in a crowd, it is much, MUCH easier to find something funny than it would if a person were to rent a movie and watch a DVD alone.

    To that end, people who have seen this may recall laughing and having a good experience, but I firmly believe that is much more a product of the festive theatre environment than it is of this movie actually being funny.

    I think the reasons people are saying this movie was good are from a subconscious desire to be seen as normal instead of out of an objectively favorable view of the movie. Plain and simple, the Hangover 2 was horrible. I don’t know how much more clearly I can express that opinion. It is not worth seeing. And in the coming weeks when the initially large theatre crowds wane, it will become abundantly more clear over time just how unfunny this movie was.

    As I have already said, the sequel has the same plot as the original. The only real difference is that the original was funny.

    jrb