Hollywood Worldviews
Brian Godawa (InterVarsity Press: Jul 2009), 261 pages.Do you watch movies with your eyes open? You buy your tickets and concessions, and you walk into the theater. Celluloid images flash at twenty-four frames per second, and the hypnotic sequence of moving pictures coaxes you to suspend disbelief and be entertained by the implausible. Unfortunately, many often suspend their beliefs as well, succumbing to subtle lessons in how to behave, think and even perceive reality. Do you find yourself hoping that a sister will succeed in seducing her sibling’s husband, that a thief will get away with his crime, that a serial killer will escape judgment? Do you, too, laugh at the bumbling priest and seethe at the intolerant and abusive evangelist? Do you embrace worldviews that infect your faith and then wonder, after your head is clear, whether your faith can survive the infection? In this thoroughly revised and updated edition of his popular book, Brian Godawa guides you through the place of redemption in film, the tricks screenwriters use to communicate their messages, and the mental and spiritual discipline required for watching movies. Hollywood Worldviews helps you enter a dialogue with Hollywood that leads to a happier ending, one that keeps you aware of your culture and awake to your faith. ~ Product Description
Table of Contents
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- Foreward by Ralph Winter 9
- Preface: God Loves Movies 12
- Introduction 19
- Act 1: Storytelling in the Movies
- 1 Sex, Violence & Profanity 32
- 2 Stories & Mythology 60
- 3 Redemption 79
- Act 2: Worldviews in the Movies
- 4 Existentialism 92
- 5 Postmodernism 119
- 6 Other Worldviews 146
- Act 3: Spirituality in the Movies
- 7 Jesus 176
- 8 Christianity 199
- 9 Faith 224
- 10 Spiritual Warfare 238
- Dénouement: Watching Movies with Eyes Wide Open 250
- Index 257