Seeing Life in 3-D

I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. Psalm 119.125 (TNIV)

It seems these days that in order for a film to do well, they feel the need to release it in “3-D”. I guess we didn’t learn in the 60’s. This trend is coming back with films like Avatar, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and the latest Narnia film all being released in 3-D. You have to pay extra and wear those ridiculous glasses to see a minimal difference from the 2-D experience you have enjoyed for years – all so the story writers can have someone pull a cheap gag like throwing water into the audience as we gasp! After the film is through, you throw the glasses back into a box at the exit and wait for the next film to be released.

What we really need is a pair of those glasses that would help the way we see - or rather interpret - the world. It’s not just films that could benefit from a 3-D enhancement.

As I consider this article, one area that continually rises to the surface is our media saturated culture. From the films we watch, the programmes we follow, the songs we hear, the articles we read, right down to the conversations of which we are a part, I would like to introduce you to a set of “3-D glasses” you can always wear for everything you contact in media.

The Centre For Parent-Youth Understanding in Elizabethtown, PA has put out an excellent and simple resource for parents, teens -- any discerning individual – to use in understanding the message inherent in our culture. It’s a way to “use your head to guard your heart”; they outline it as follows:

3 Media evaluation Steps … Discover; Discern: Decide

In step one, we seek to learn [Discover] what is underneath; what are the messages, assumptions and the worldview of the film/song/book/person with which we are engaging. Second, we then compare those messages against those of a biblical world and life view [Discern]. Last, you then choose [Decide} what to do with the song/book/film/friend. If we can seek to use such a simple process for discerning our media, then we are in control of it [subject to God] and not the other way around. It is the tendency for us to suspend our disbelief and be entertained; we should “always be ready’” [1 Peter 3.15] and choose to dwell on the influences that will ultimately benefit us and eternity. [Phil 4.8]

Along with putting this 3-D guide to use, bear in mind the excellent book by Brian Godawa titled Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment from IVP; let it be a further aide as you interact with the media around you, regarding the film world in particular, this month. Despite its date [1996], he has done a great job of exposing some of the philosophies that are rampant in the films we still watch, yet helps us to better understand the God we worship, encouraging us to “watch movies with your eyes wide open”.

I feel, coupled with the 3-D guide as well as Brian’s thorough and provactive treatment of the film world, we as Christian are equipped to set our minds to heaven as we consider what our culture offers us.