Director's cut: Conflict in movies

If you've seen the July print edition of ec, you know that our cover story deals with conflict and conflict resolution. With that in mind, we thought it would be a fun idea to take a look at conflict in the movies. So that's exactly what ec writer Justin McCord did in his article on page 30 of the issue—and now you can read it here!

“Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” wrote Oscar Wilde, the famed Irish poet and writer.
Does life imitate art? Do our lives regurgitate the contents of the movies, TV, books, and culture that we consume? Or does art imitate life? Are the movies that we watch simply reflections of the world around us? (Deep, huh?) 

Have you ever thought about how movies handle life issues? Yes, most movies are fiction, but characters still deal with the same conflicts that we do in everyday life. In fact, movies can give us examples of how we should (and shouldn’t) handle conflict.

Napoleon Dynamite
(Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2004)
Lovable, yes, but let’s be honest—Napoleon is ­different. He deals with a lot of the same pressures we all do in high school, and he’s kind of an outcast. He has a different look than the other kids, and he spends his downtime ­doodling mythical creatures like the Liger.
Among Napoleon’s many conflicts is the pressure to fit in. Napoleon isn’t an athlete. The cheerleaders don’t pay attention to him. Napoleon could have easily conformed to the world around him. Napoleon could have chosen to dress and talk like everyone else around him. He could’ve chosen to blend into the crowd. But he didn’t.

Napoleon chose to be himself even if he was different. By choosing to be himself, Napoleon found friends who liked him for who he was rather than who they wanted him to be.
First John 2:15-17 tells us to avoid the cravings of sinful man. Certainly, the desire to be well liked and popular is something we all face. Instead of conforming, look at the example of Napoleon Dynamite, who chose to always be true to himself. Even if that meant wearing moon boots.

Twilight
(Summit Entertainment, 2008)
Bella and Edward. (Sigh.) Like Romeo and Juliet, these two star-crossed lovers find themselves bound together but torn apart. Their conflict rests in that they shouldn’t be together. He’s a vampire. She’s a human. Bella and Edward have to put barriers between them to make sure he doesn’t break out in an ice-cold vampire sweat, thirsty for Bella’s blood.

Temptations take on many forms in relationships. We know that we, even as ­believers in Christ, are going to be tempted.

In fact, Jesus Himself was tempted. In Matthew 4, Jesus goes into the desert to be tempted. Remember, Jesus was flesh and bone like we are. He faced the same temptations that you and I face.

You’re going to face temptations, but know that Jesus did, too. Instead of giving into temptation, choose to glorify God through your life choices.

The Breakfast Club
(A&M Films, 1985)
This movie chronicles a group of students from different social circles stuck in detention together on a Saturday. There’s the jock. The nerd. The criminal. The princess. The outcast.

The five spend their eight hours and 40 minutes gradually opening up to each other, discovering that they have more in common than they realized. They all have strained relationships with their parents and don’t want to make the same mistakes they’ve seen the adults around them make. The group comes together and realizes they are individuals, no longer confined to the stereotypes or cliques in which they’ve been living.

Have you ever considered the lives of Jesus’ disciples? They were fishermen and tax collectors (See Luke 5). It would have been easy to pass judgment on these men based on the labels we give them. Jesus saw them for something more. He saw their potential for changing the world, which is what they did in the Book of Acts. (See Acts 1–2.)

You might think you’re just a label: Jock. Princess. Criminal. You’re not. Like the disciples, Jesus has a bigger plan for your life.