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Movies/Scenes
Representing Suffering Servant Types
- The Green Mile
(1999)
- The Matrix
(1999)
- Neo is beaten up and killed. He comes back to life to
save the world. (Luke Gibbs)
-
Pleasantville (1998)
- "Trial" scene. The boy is a
Christ/Jesus figure who has no attorney (no fair trial). He's being tried
because he's been stirring up the people and changing the status quo--which
those who don't want change find threatening. The difference is that in this
scene the boy finally does present his own defense and in the process
"saves" everyone (the town and everyone in it is now in living color). (Alix
Pridgen)
- The Fifth Element (1997)
- Leeloo takes on the sins of the world.
- Sling Blade
(1996)
- Karl and Vaughn are both scorned by
Doyle for their kindnesses to Frank and Linda because they are
"unclean" characters.
- Phenomenon
(1996)
- A great "Messiah" movie. Think
of Jesus before Pilate when George Malley is being interviewed about his
"gifts." Think about Mary anointing
Jesus' feet when Lacy washes
George's hair and shaves his face. Think about
communion when George's friends gather at the end
of the movie for a commemorative meal. Etc., etc., etc. (Jim
Somerville, Pastor, First Baptist Church,
Washington, D. C.)
- Powder (1995)
- Powder as despised, afflicted healer.
- The Stand (1994)
- Nick Andros is attacked as he attempts to be
compassionate to the other prisoners (DVD, part 1)
- Rudy (1993)
- Rudy is the suffering servant for the Notre Dame football
team. His effort and heart earn him a place as a walk-on on the prep team.
This means he is essentially a tackling dummy for the A-Team.
Rudy will not allow the A-Team defense to ignore him. When his fellow
players urge Rudy to tone it down and not be so aggressive (because he makes
them look bad or he's going to get hurt) Rudy explains to them that if he
doesn't insist on taking the hard knocks, then he's not doing his job to
help them be their best. At the end of the movie,
a caption states that Rudy was the first member of his family to go to
college. His five younger brothers followed in his footsteps and went to
college. Rudy's hard work opened the way - he was their pioneer.
Heb 2:11-14. (Chris Benjamin)
- The Giant of
Thunder Mountain (1991)
- Eli Weaver, "the giant," lives like a hermit
on thunder mountain, due to the hostility, gossip, and rejection of the
local townspeople, who, without evidence, accuse him of murdering his
parents. A young girl, Amy Wilson, seeks to turn the tables by
befriending the giant–learning that Eli was innocent of the tragic
deaths of his parents. Eventually, she succeeds in winning his heart,
and Eli agrees to visit the townspeople again, only to be rejected and
cast out a second time. However, Amy and her brothers persist in keeping
their friendship alive with the giant. Through a series of
suspense-filled events, which are totally misunderstood by the
townspeople, a lynch mob erroneously hunts down Eli. However, the truth
is revealed in the nick of time, and Eli is instrumental in capturing
the real criminals, associated with a travelling carnival. The
townspeople, finally accepting the truth, regard Eli as a hero. Eli, in
several respects, comes across as a Christ-figure in the movie:
suffering many hardships from the rejection, scorn and derision of the
townspeople, reminding me a little of William Butler Yeats’
"rough beast" exterior, contrasted with the biblical tender,
gentle Jesus who loves and welcomes children. Themes:
How destructive hasty judgments and gossip can be to an individual’s
reputation (Matthew 7:1ff., James 3:5ff.), think before you speak and
act, external appearances are often very deceptive and have tragic
consequences, God’s and Christ’s love for the outcasts of society
(Matthew 11:19, Luke 15, etc.), risking one’s life and loving others
(John 15:12ff.). Highly recommended for family viewing. (Reviewed by the
Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson)
Index of Movie Titles
Index of Movie Themes
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