Boys in the Hood (my Fatherhood, that is)

A VEGGIE NUGGET TALE

Do you know what this is?

Yes, it's a video tape (yes, we still have a VCR too). But that's not what I want you see. Look closer...

Do you see it? Zoom in and focus on the spool of the videotape. It’s supposed to be round.

Figure it out yet?

It took me a while at first too. The other day I was trying to put in a video for boy 2—"Veggie Tales: Madame Blueberry,” to be specific. It’s a good story about contentment and Mr. Lunt’s “Cheeseburger” song is priceless—a favorite in these here parts, but I digress… Anyway, I started to shove the tape into our VCR (yes, we still watch things on it) when something caught my eye. The video’s spool was more of an oblong shape rather than its typical roundness. Closer examination revealed what appeared to be a bite of a chicken nugget somehow wedged between the reel and tape.

Think about it—just how in the world could a former member of Chick-fil-A four-piece kid’s meal wind up in this position? There’s no point of entry. Even if there was, how could the video tape get perfectly wrapped around the nugget and the spool? It defies all logic and laws of physics. I couldn’t even come close to getting it out. How long it’s been in there is a mystery solved only by… I have no idea... carbon dating?

Instead of trying to figure it out, I just took in the moment, thinking this was actually some kind of unique acheivement for whoever did it. Honestly, I didn't know whether to be proud of the fact that history will probably never witness something else like this again or if I should be a little afraid of what else I might discover in the future as these boys grow older and get into more things.

Moral of the story: By all means, eat more chicken. Just keep an eye on your kids while they’re doing it.

BTW—We didn’t bother seeing if the tape still played, fearing that somehow the nugget would be forced out and into the bowels of the VCR, which has had (and probably still does) its share of Hot Wheels and Legos inside (but it still works). This is yet another reason why we only buy DVDs now.

FAITH ON FILM FESTIVAL

Much of the Religious Right claims that Hollywood has this thing against Christians. I’m sure there are some legitimate merits (such as The Golden Compass), but for the most part, I really disagree. If there’s a bias against believers in Showbiz, I think a lot of it is self-induced, and also has more to do with the world in which we live rather than Tinseltown specifically. So instead of calling for more faith-based flicks to be released in theaters each week, such as Facing the Giants (which I liked but was pretty hokey), or railing against the system for reasons that are often more political than genuine, what everyone really needs to do is just open their eyes: faith is on film everywhere.

I certainly agree there is a huge void of family fare, but the last thing we need is an onslaught of movies stamped with a fish sign that are full of diluted quality for the sake of presenting a message. Also, as believers, if we really want the world to listen, we don’t need any more movie efforts seeking to draw the line even deeper in the sand with a single audience in mind. While I’m sure those types of movies are well-intentioned, all they really do is segregate the Gospel’s open message of hope, grace and redemption from the rest of society. It’s just a die-hard truth that your next door neighbor who doesn't give much thought to religion isn’t going to plop down ten bucks to go see some faith-based flick like The Last Sin Eater--which was an excellent novel from Francine Rivers, but I didn't quite buy it as a movie (maybe it was the incredibly cheesy special effects). But chances are that non-believing neighbor sees a lot of mainstream films on a regular basis. If we want to have intelligent, comfortable, yet relevant conversations with others about what we hold most important, we've got to be on level ground with them, and movies create that shared medium.

So in that vain, I’m establishing a virtual film festival (cue the orchestra...) celebrating the faith-based messaging we see in movies more often than we probably realize. While there is a niche in which a studio or two caters to the Jesus crowd with offshoots like Fox Searchlight after The Passion box-office phenomenon, overall, including biblical themes is not an agenda most Hollywood producers carry. Yet, it’s impossible for them to avoid, because these elements are deeply woven within the very fabric of human life. Some of the greatest films ever made, and many of my favorites that are not quite as critically acclaimed (The Three Amigos anybody?), are anchored by aspects of faith: redemption, sacrifice, unconditional love, grace, truth, purpose, hope, the sanctity of life and more.

So that’s what will be recognized here: movies that either blatantly or unintentionally present these elements in varying degrees. OK, it's not really a film festival--it's just me sitting in the recliner tapping away on my laptop in between glances at the TV screen. So it won’t ever be Sundance, Tribeca or Cannes, and you’ll have to get the popcorn, Twizzlers and coke on your own. But check these movies out if you get the chance, look for the aspects of faith on film, and use them as a springboard for conversation.

We'll kick things off with one of my favorites, a movie that was brilliantly adapted from the pages of a well known novelist. Tune back soon.