How Hollywood strengthened my faith.
I was born in 1983 and grew up with 5 older sisters and no brothers. Being 7 years younger than my youngest sister, I spent a lot of time entertaining myself and watching TV. The first actor and show that influenced my faith was Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven.
The next influences came first in the Star Wars triology and then The Matrix movies. I watched Star Wars as a kid and The Matrix as a teenager. Let me share a few themes in these movie plots that strengthened my faith:
The premise of a teacher and a student in Star Wars is emblematic of a great spiritual leader. Yoda teaches Luke the power of faith, of believing in The Force and wielding it for good in the world. The Jedi Knight is another manifestation of a guardian angel, a protector with immense power that they use only for the benefit of humanity.
The Matrix solidified my psychological understanding of my faith. It reflects the idea that each of us have unique gifts that we must combine with other humans to save the world. In the end, neither Neo or Jesus were able to eliminate evil through their self-sacrifice. It is the inheretence of our collective beliefs that guide our path and define our purpose in our life. Each generation has at least one Jesus or Buddha or any other changemakers that have come before us. We all have our part to play.
Star Wars and The Matrix both hold that humans have supernatural powers via their minds and beliefs. This is consistent with the image of a muster seed and our ability to move mountains with our faith. Also, that each of us can provide shelter to others in our tree branches, as we may be called to do if we have immense faith.
I grew up with the core belief that my purpose was to know, love, and serve others. This is the message echoes in these movies and in hero narratives for over 2,000 years.
The power of the arts to strengthen our resolve, to inspire, and to reinforce shared cultural values and principles is key to restoring faith in each other and our nation’s leaders. We need great shows and movies now, more than ever.