The Devil Wears Prada

Yesterday my wife and I went to see the new movie The Devil Wears Prada.  The story is based on the best-selling novel by Lauren Weisberger.  My 26-year-old daughter expressed surprise that I would go see this movie and she is right.  It isn't my typical movie fare.  But Kathryn wanted to see it and I was curious, so we went.

Truth is, I enjoyed the movie, perhaps more than Kathryn did.  Meryl Streep was absolutely brilliant in her role (as usual) and I found the story fascinating, with a happy ending no less. While it was a "girlie" movie that focused on fashion and the like, I thought that it was really a movie about a young girl who went to work and found her values being challenged at every level of life. 

I found it interesting, however, that this young assistant to Meryl Streep, played by Anne Hathaway, was so troubled by the lack of ethics in the fashion industry that she quit a job that, as they repeatedly stated in the film, "millions of girls would want to have."  Yet this same character had no qualms about living with her boyfriend and having a one-night sexual encounter with a famous writer while on assignment in Paris.

I am intrigued watching the non-Christian world struggle with the issue of values.  In the movie, stepping on someone to get ahead professionally is shown as evil, but fornication is presented as acceptable, even natural.  Why is one worse than the other?  Who makes that decision?  What if a movie were made to show that fornication is wrong and getting ahead at any cost is right?  Which movie would present the correct view?  Who would know?

Truth is, there is only one source of values and that is God Himself.  And He is a good communicator of what He wants and doesn't want.  Truthfully, greed and sex outside marriage are both important issues to Him and they are both wrong, if for no other reason than He forbids them.

At any rate, I enjoyed going to a movie where the "f" word wasn't employed once and the ending did have some redemptive value.  But today, we are making up for yesterday's movie by going to see Superman Returns.  I'll report to you on that movie later this week.

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The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Yesterday, my family and I went to see Disney's version of C.S. Lewis' classic tale, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This was the first volume of Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, which I had read many years ago. I thought the movie was a delight to watch for the most part. As I sat and watched the movie, however, I had this urge to return home and start writing. I felt we were in the theater not celebrating Disney's movie magic, but rather celebrating the legacy of a gifted Christian man who impacted not just the church in his day, but all of British society and much of the world.

I wanted to go home and write because I have this nagging desire to produce something (or things) that will touch many people. I want to create something that will bring a smile to people's faces, that will last longer than I do. I know that this is something that I just can't do--it is a gift of God and a product of His grace.

I sat watching the movie, saying to myself, "Way to go, C. S. Lewis!" I was proud on his behalf and wondered if he would have been pleased with the rendition of his work. I sat and thought what a marvellously crafted story the movie represented. I was also delighted that another Christian work--after The Lord of the Rings and The Passion of The Christ--was making an impact on the world stage.

So here I am on Christmas morning, writing an entry for my blog. Is that weird? I hope not. I just didn't want to put off writing for a day, because if I'm going to produce what the world wants and God can use, I must become a better writer. Most importantly, I must simply keep writing, for I don't know what I will produce that God could use one day to touch a lot of people. That is where the faith comes in. So I will write and hope God will bless it, and maybe one day my work will be seen or read by many, some of whom will say, "Way to go, John Stanko." Who knows, it could happen tomorrow, or it could happen after I'm gone, or not at all. I can live with the results as long as I feel like I made my best efforts to produce the best work possible.

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