Author: Breeze Richardson

My workshop this week has been a really nice experience, facilitated by Gareth Higgins (author of How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films) and Warren Cooper (owner of Music Media Ministry).  Titled, “How Does Pop Culture Reinforce Conflict or Encourage Healing”our time together focused on Walter Wink’s Myth of Redemptive Violence and how that false truth – that order comes from chaos – has been the key belief of all human cultures.  …and how this has played out in pop culture, especially film.

I think my main take away was a new appreciation for the idea that the context in which you see something affects how you perceive it.  So if you look for a message of peace, or reconciliation, or hope, or integrity… you might just find it.

Here are 7 films Gareth recommended, all which challenge this notion that violence can be a cleansing experience:

– Hero (Ying Xiong) (2002)
– The Full Monty (1997)
– The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
– Munich (2005)
– Protagonist (2007)
– ScaredScared (2004)
– Gran Torino (2008 )

Can you add to the list?  Or Comment on any of these you’ve seen (or see them so you can comment!), and share your thoughts on what take-away message you found?