Ticket for one, please

Today I did something that I haven't done in a very long time. I went to a movie alone. When I worked at FBC Gulfport, I often found myself alone with nothing to do on a Saturday night and eventually, out of shear desperation, I started going to movies alone. It was odd at first and I was worried about what other people were thinking, but I overcame that and actually began to enjoy the independence. The only down side is that you don't have anyone to analyze the movie with after, but it makes for a very introspective experience.

I've been wanting to see Crash for a while now, but no one around here has expressed much interest. Bonny would have seen it with me but she lives in Houston, so that was kinda out of the question. I really wanted to see it, so I decided to go on my own.

Ok, funny story...Did anyone realize that I can pass for a 16 year old?! I guess I was dressed pretty casually in a red top, jean capri’s and flip-flops. I walked up to the ticket booth and asked for a ticket, and the ticket guy asked to SEE MY ID! I was carded at the movie theater!! I don't think I've EVER been carded at the movies! At least not in this decade! I just laughed a little and gave it to him, because at this point, how can that ever be an insult? I was dying to make a smart comment, but I held back. The guy was just doing his job and it's good to know that they still card people at the theaters, but it just cracked me up!

So here's my review of the movie...Crash is not a movie for everyone. It is rated R mainly for language and mild violence (it was mild considering what's out there today). If you're one who dies a little every time you hear the F-word, you'll be dead in the first 30 minutes. Yeah, the language is a little rough (Thanks, Brian for toughening me up! ha!) but the 'not for everyone' disclaimer is for a little more than that. At the start of the movie, everyone is a mess, and it ends pretty much the same way. It's one of those movies that raises as many questions as it answers and there isn’t a ‘happily ever after’ kind of ending. It's about racism and all of the issues relate back to that subject, so it can get a little overplayed, but once you realize the focus, the storyline makes sense.

It's a large ensemble movie and it's kinda funny that they all interact with each other in some way, seeing as it’s set in LA and that's a pretty big city. It’s hard to tell you what the plot consists of because there are several seemingly unrelated incidents that lead to other incidents and the plot builds from there. It basically presents various stereotypes and then somehow both blows them out of the water and makes them seem completely accurate at the same time. It’s a message about people losing touch, and how even if you think you know someone, you don’t know them as well as you think. And how good can come out of bad and how a simple, innocent action can lead to something very ugly and messy. It’s about realizing what’s important, and how what’s most important can be the most painful choice. It’s about how whatever someone is upset about is usually only the tip of the iceberg. It’s about people being frail and making mistakes and regretting those mistakes but not having the strength or wherewithal to change the circumstances. And how good guys don’t always make it or don’t always get the credit they deserve, and bad guys don’t always get what they deserve either. And how no one falls neatly into either category.

Overall, the message that hit me most profoundly is that we need to work at bearing each other’s burdens. (Yeah, here’s my little sermonette on the ‘potty mouth’ movie I just saw! Ha!) In watching the movie I was struck by the realization that so many of these incidences could have been avoided if the people involved would have taken the time to focus on the other person rather than themselves.

This is obviously not a new issue amongst humanity, as Paul mentions it in his letters to the Galatians. In Gal. 5:14-15 he writes, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” Then in 6: 2-5, he makes an interesting and seemingly contradictory statement. “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. The he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.”

I haven’t done any official study on the difference in the two terms (or if there even is a difference in the Greek--good grief, I miss a good exegesis!) but there seems to be a difference between ‘burden’ and ‘load’ at least in the context in which they are used in that passage. I’ll give you the official Beth commentary: Each of us has a unique set of circumstances in which we live. Some are harder than others; some are less fair than others, but each person has his own load to bear. But burdens are something entirely different. Burdens are the things we face on a daily basis as we’re busy carrying our loads. We can’t always affect another’s load but we are to share each other’s burdens. I can’t do anything about the circumstances of anyone’s life, but I can choose to encourage them and help them as best I can.

The movie does a good job of showing how disconnected we’ve become, but it doesn’t really give any answers as to what can be done to alleviate the problem. It hints at some ideas, but as I said earlier, there are no ‘happily ever afters.’ I suppose that’s the mark of any good social commentary. It asks the questions and allows for the recipient to develop his own conclusions.

Ok, that’s my long-winded and meandering commentary/sermon o’ the week. Hey, it’s my blog…I can write about whatever I’d like! ;)

And if you'd like to see an official review of the movie, www.supercalafragalistic.com is my favorite site for movie reviews.