Monday
Jul282008
Is this all?
Monday, July 28, 2008 at 11:13AM
There's a quote I've been trying to find for a week now. I can't remember where I read it, or who said it, but I'd like to get it right and give them credit.
There was so much hype for the new Batman movie and I was all caught up in it, but walking out of the theatre, my thoughts turned to this quote. (If you are familiar with it and can direct me towards the original, I'd appreciate it.)
"There comes a point when one must say of all the things of man, of Shakespeare, even of Mozart, is this all?"
Is this all? Hundreds of millions of dollars, IMAX film, great writing and visuals, some of the best actors alive, and even the haunting power of a final performance, and you know what? It was just a movie. We gave our money, ate our popcorn, and headed back out to the parking lot to drive home and see who was on Conan.
Not that it wasn't a good movie. It was. But it revealed to me, (again and again, will I never learn?) that I put my hope in the wrong things.
Was I really putting my hope in some movie, you might say? Hoping it would do do what? I don't know, honestly, but I do know I was disappointed that I wasn't different after watching it, that it hadn't changed me. Which means, at some absurd and obviously flawed level, I was putting my hope in a movie.
And this is something we all do. Whether it's Batman or the new Coldplay or U2. We can put our hope there. Or we can put it in our pastor's sermons or our small group's honesty. We can put our hope there. We can put it in the girl that got away or in making love with the one we married. We can put our hope there.
We have some bit of hope that it will change us, make us better. Or we're trapped in some cycle of secrets and habits we can't escape. Maybe this thing will curb our appetite for the sins that we feel define our secret selves, or at least it will let us not think about it for a while. Or at least it will make us feel. We've been so numbed for so long, for some unknown and hated reason, that we can't feel anymore, and maybe this thing will connect us, revive us.
And at some point we'll have to look at this thing, this movie or relationship or feeling, however truly good it may be, and say: "is this all?"
There was so much hype for the new Batman movie and I was all caught up in it, but walking out of the theatre, my thoughts turned to this quote. (If you are familiar with it and can direct me towards the original, I'd appreciate it.)
"There comes a point when one must say of all the things of man, of Shakespeare, even of Mozart, is this all?"
Is this all? Hundreds of millions of dollars, IMAX film, great writing and visuals, some of the best actors alive, and even the haunting power of a final performance, and you know what? It was just a movie. We gave our money, ate our popcorn, and headed back out to the parking lot to drive home and see who was on Conan.
Not that it wasn't a good movie. It was. But it revealed to me, (again and again, will I never learn?) that I put my hope in the wrong things.
Was I really putting my hope in some movie, you might say? Hoping it would do do what? I don't know, honestly, but I do know I was disappointed that I wasn't different after watching it, that it hadn't changed me. Which means, at some absurd and obviously flawed level, I was putting my hope in a movie.
And this is something we all do. Whether it's Batman or the new Coldplay or U2. We can put our hope there. Or we can put it in our pastor's sermons or our small group's honesty. We can put our hope there. We can put it in the girl that got away or in making love with the one we married. We can put our hope there.
We have some bit of hope that it will change us, make us better. Or we're trapped in some cycle of secrets and habits we can't escape. Maybe this thing will curb our appetite for the sins that we feel define our secret selves, or at least it will let us not think about it for a while. Or at least it will make us feel. We've been so numbed for so long, for some unknown and hated reason, that we can't feel anymore, and maybe this thing will connect us, revive us.
And at some point we'll have to look at this thing, this movie or relationship or feeling, however truly good it may be, and say: "is this all?"
Reader Comments (18)
And here I was looking up your blog with the hope it might fulfill me. "Is this all?. Amen. Sounds like another idea for a vol. II song if your not done yet.
Excellent post. I find myself doing the same thing and don't realize it till I am asking myself "Is this all?". For some strange reason it reminds me of the quote made by Yoda... "Do or do not, there is no try".
Oof. Thanks for that.
I love how two people can look at something -be it art, people, relationships,...whatever -And have a totally different reaction to it. It shows the diversity of the body that we were created to be a part of.
I walked out of Batman amazed; not at the special effects, or directing, or even necesserily the acting...but at the deep philosophical questions posed. I won't go into it because I don't want to ruin it for people who may have not yet seen it. But everything from the boat scene to the story of Harvey to the persona of The Joker...it was an incredible insight into the way the world views humanity. There was a great picture of depravity and ultimately our need for redemption outside of our own ability to make things right.
It was a reminder that the world -even if they don't admit it or know it -recognizes that things are not right or the way they were created to be. Ultimately it's a reminder that we are all in God's world and though we know the truth we supress it. I left the movie if nothing else longing for the day when things will be restored.
I guess in a way that's the reaction Andy had...recognizing that there is more than the world has to offer; and even that which is "the best" hollywood has to give us will never satisfy us -only Jesus can.
Andy, I think that's why the divorce rate is so high in this country.
Andy,
Brant Hansen had a post about the Batman movie that shared some similiar thoughts and was worthy of reflection- I actually read it before I saw the movie and couldn't get away from some of his words even as I watched it. I think Shaun Groves linked to Brant's post too one day because he was so taken by it as well.
http://branthansen.typepad.com/letters_from_kamp_krusty/2008/07/the-long-dark-knight-of-the-soul.html
And as a guy with a very short buzzcut too, I kinda dig the new look, even if it was by accident!
Not to start a big debate, but I read that article and the only problem I had with his argument is this: The Dark Knight is the middle part of a possible trilogy. The middle of these kind of stories is always darkest. If they came out with a third next year that wrapped everything up like Return of the King did for LOTR i doubt anyone would have those things to say about it.
I saw TDK as a movie that shows us depravity and how ugly things can get if humans try to fix the world on their own.
hey brother, thank you for saying what i feel. cursed conviction. :) God bless you.
One of my all time favorite songs by Charlie Peacock deals with this topic. I highly encourage you to listen to it and study the lyrics. It convicts me nearly every time I listen to it! The song is "William and Maggie" off of Charlie's "Everything That's On My Mind" album. I'll give you just a few lines that I like..."It seems we've suffered one too many dreams of things that weren't so bad, it's just they were never things that we could trust. Are we still pretending they're enough?"
God Bless!
Andy, I'm almost certain the quote is attributed to Aldous Huxley, agnostic and author of "Brave New World." I first heard it one Sunday when Scotty Smith at Christ Community there in Franklin quoted it in a sermon. If you have a way to contact him, he might know better its source. The web is strangely silent on any search angle I've tried-- and I've tried for a half hour (since I've used the quote before too.) It could be this is one of those "urban legend" quotes that floats around and ets attributed to a few different sources, but is an almagamation of a few different people's sentiments. As for me, I'd certainly prefer it come from Huxley. Hope this helps you track it down. If I come up with anything else, I'll let you know.
I think the best we can hope for of ANYTHING in this world is that it reflects some of God's glory into our eyes. There is a scientific term called "albedo". It refers to the amount of light that an object is capable of reflecting. A mirror has a high albedo while a black piece of cloth has a low albedo. The most satifying art, or the best friend, or even the best lover can only acheive a certain albedo where God's glory is concerned, but we have to keep looking for those reflections and striving to increase our own albedo for others.
thanks
Funny, I never felt the film was just violent for violence sake. I definitely thought the writers had a point to make about good and evil and the slippery slop that divides them. Don't buy into the idea that violence is new in our culture or that it has gotten worse. I would bet historians would tell you that we have one of the least violent cultures in history (watch Braveheart as a reminder). I'm not saying violence is ok for any reason... so don't mistake what I'm saying. I'm just simply saying that things are not worse now than they used to be.
There are several things I look forward to and I don't think they are all bad things. Ultimately, our hope must be in Jesus. When I was in college, I often got through semesters by looking forward to that next Caedmon's show and whatever Aaron Tate would write next. I now look forward to Saturday morning breakfasts with my family and Sunday morning worship at my church. I really love worship. I run sound at my church and love to turn down the singers at the end of the communion songs so you can hear the worshippers above them. You don't often get that in church anymore, where engineers maximize the volume like they are mastering a CD. I like dynamics and I love to hear people worship.
[On the lesser side of things, I also look forward to the next seasons of 24, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost. :) ]
that should be slippery "slope". :)
Thanks for that. Just what I needed to hear...always do. It just brings such life to be reminded of the gospel. I guess that is what true life is, coming back to the truth of hope in Christ...and preaching the gospel is bringing us back to true life. Preach on.
Thank you for this post! It's such a great reminder...how easy it is to transfer our hope from Jesus to other things...I love how you even used churchy things as an example.
On a side note, I read Brant Hansen's post before going to see the film so I had the world's lowest expectations and therefore was pleasantly surprised by just how thought provoking it was for me.
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
Andy,
I screamed out at The Dark Knight
Hoping I believed what I believed
Cause it all seemed too simple
And it all seemed too wild
And we go on...