Well then

Since we didn't have any showings or readings for this week, and I'm not sure if I was supposed to blog or not, but I'm going to do it anyways. I've noticed a lot of people blogging about The Three Uses of a Knife and saying how dangerous it is and how people shouldn't read it. At first it made me laugh. Now it just makes me sad. I can see where people's gut-reaction of 'no this is bad' comes from, especially if they are a Christian, but that reaction means that they read it without comprehending a tiny bit. Which I guess for those of you that aren't DMA, it might not be as easy for you to understand some of the sentiments in this piece. The piece itself, from my understanding, is not telling you that art cannot have a message. Art is a story, a form of communication. It will undoubtedly have a message of some sort, some sort of story to tell. BUT what it is saying is you shouldn't go out of your way to go 'ugggggh I need to make a film/animation about *insert message here*, I have to make sure people understand it, I have to water down everything else in order to get to that'. Obviously most people when they have a clear message for their works in mind do not consciously think that they need to water down everything else for the sake of the message, but it is something that they will do unconsciously. Believe me. I've seen a lot of the Christian movies that have come out in the past year. Human beings, when they create, always say something about their view of the world around them when they do it, even when they aren't consciously trying. So, a Christian creating something will do the same - whatever they create will tell a lot about their worldview. So instead of worrying so much about making sure the message is evident, and creating a lesson plan instead of a work of art, why don't you just focus on making a really good piece of art? Telling a really good story? Because believe me, people will more likely be touched by a good story than by a thinly veiled hit you over the head with the Bible movie. One of the reasons why Lord of the Rings is so popular. Tolkien's beliefs are very evident in what he writes, but he doesn't have to spell it out with big letters and have none of the magic and wonder or trick people into going to read it. My two cents. When I'm going to a movie I'd rather see a movie than a sermon.