Reading Journal 2024: My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement Author: Willie Mae Brown
There are qualities that make this book compelling, and qualities that act as a deterrent. Beginning, perhaps, with the choice of perspective. This is a Memoir, and it is mostly told through the eyes of a young, 11-12 year old Willie Mae Brown growing up in Selma at the height of its racial tensions and the famous march. She writes as an adult, but it captures her perspective as a child, creating a bit of a rift between the two vantage points gjven the limitations of that childhood perspective. That perspective is true, of course, to what she saw and experienced, but the book is not intended to function as a studied examination of that perspective. She is not looking to impose things on to that childhood perspective that she wouldn’t have understood or seen at the time. It is meant to put us in her shoes, to see things from that limited vantage point. Which has its merits and its obstacles, especially where the adult voice does break through.
It should be said, if the subtitle of the book suggests “stories”, the chapters are all sequentially connected In a way that reads as a singular story. At the same time, each chapter retains its own distinctiveness, so as to stand apart. This does create a bit of dissonance, and at times it’s hard to follow, which subsequently makes me wonder if this might struggle to land for the younger readers that represent its primary demographic.
As a portrait of a single, authentic childhood, growing up as a young black girl coming of age into womanhood during a volatile time in Selma (which she sees more at a distance rather than as a participant) the book does work, and it’s on this level that the prose proves endearing. When I was able to fully resist placing any external demands on the authors approach, I found that’s when it was most able to speak, content to simply take us inside the inner workings of a world that existed within the conflict unfolding around it, both in its normalcy and in its particularities.
Reading Journal 2024: The Beatitudes: Living In Sync With The Reign of God Author: Darrell Johnson
“On first reading [the Sermon on the Mount] you feel that it turns everything upside down, but the second time you read it you discover that it turns everything right side up. The first time you read it you feel that it is impossible; the second time, you feel that nothing else is possible.”
An easy read that affords readers a significant window into a familiar text. Johnson’s approach is a bit paradigm shifting, and there are places and points where I remain unsure about some of his assertions, but he nevertheless offers an intriguing way to read the beatitudes in light of some long standing disparities and disagreements, most of which revolve around the the theoretical differences between Matthew’s addition of the Spirit and the, at least by appearances, more socially concerned nature of Luke’s summation of the same teaching.
To start, Johnson alludes to the larger paradigm through which he sees the Beatitudes to be operating- the kingdom of God having arrived in Jesus. It is here, then, that he pushes back against certain normative readings which want to see the Beatitudes as saying, do this and you WILL inherit the kingdom of God. Rather, he sees the Beatitudes as the outcome of participating IN the Kingdom. The beatitudes don’t exist as a set of requirements we must meet in order to be saved, they exist as part of the proclamation that Jesus has in fact done a saving work in bringing about the promised kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. And these beatitudes are expressions or markers of the character of this kingdom. “Makarios (blessing) does not refer to how you and I assess ourselves or our condition; makarios refers to how God assesses us and our condition.”
It’s not, do this and be blessed, it is blessed are those BECAUSE this is the character of the kingdom of God in Jesus. As Johnson notes, “if we separate His Beatitudes from the context in which He first spoke them, His words, meant to give life, become either frustrating idealism or oppressive legalism.” Words that are actually, meant to imply freedom and liberation.
If, indeed, “He speaks His Beatitudes in the context of gospel,” and if it is true that the call to repentance, or turning around and moving in a different direction, that proceeds from the Gospels proclamation emerges from the following: “The gospel according to Jesus is the announcement of a great fact that impacts all other facts. The gospel according to Jesus is that in Him, and because of Him, history has reached a major crisis point—“The time is fulfilled.” We are now passing from one era into a whole new era. The gospel according to Jesus is that in Him, and because of Him, the long-awaited, glorious, re-creating reign of God is invading the world.”
Then, “The clearest sign that human beings are in fact “turning around and believing” is that they are becoming “Beatitude people.” The clearest sign that human beings are in fact making a U-turn and embracing Jesus and His gospel is that they are becoming “blessed-are people.”
The other aspect Johnson challenges is the notion that the Beatitudes are describing different kinds of peope. “Jesus is not describing eight different persons, but is describing eight different qualities of the same person.”
Further, and this is what he will flesh out in the rest of the book as he walks through each beatitude, “one Beatitude flows into the next.” He sees in the construction of the Beatitudes a clear, literary design, anchored on one side by the “poor in spirit”, and the proclamation of the promised kingdom of God on the other.
Meaning, if you have one then you have them all, as each one is predicated on the other by their nature. One of the reasons he insists on this reading is because, any other approach creates division and turns things like poverty into virtues. More than that, the minute we seprrate them is the minute we find ourselves stumbling over the disparate nature that a descriptive like poor and a qualification like meekness or pure in heart creates. Rather, he says that poor means the same thing in both Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospel, underscoring this simple truth about the beatitudes- the proclamation of the kingdom breaking in begins with the truth that there is an enslaved creation this kingdom needs to break in to. We live in a world enslaved to Sin and Death, therefore we need Jesus to liberate it from this enslavement. Poor (in spirit), a phrase that denotes a lack of something, or a position defined by a lack of something, must be the natural starting point for the blessed life to take root. Blessings emerge not because of the poverty but in response to it. Which allows us then to mourn, not because mourning is a virtue, but because the blessing shines a light on the current state of things. Which creates meekness (or gentleness), a hunger and thirst for what is wrong to be made right, which flows through mercy and the pure of heart. All things which ultimately represent the upside down nature of the kingdom, which faces resistance from that which oppresses the world, a resistance ultimately layed powerless by Jesus.
In the beatitudes we find the great evangelical Word that the Gospel brings to all people in all times- the kingdom has arrived, therefore the blessed (right side up) life is now, even in the midst of the poverty it is responding to.
This does afford the beatitudes a nice narrative punch. And it seems to make sense, even if it feels like some elements of this reading don’t quite feel convincing (certainly when it comes to bringing a social context into the picture). I feel like one reading that makes sense to me is paralleling the beatitudes with the ten commandments, which has a natural break in terms of the two sumations- love God and love others. Johnson’s approach has definitely challenged my own percieved paradigms, though, and that’s certainly what one would hope for from any worthwhile read.
Film Journal 2024: Ordinary Angels Directed by Jon Gunn
A perfectly good, above average faith-based movie based on a true story and boasting an advertising campaign that had it showing up everywhere for what feels like a solid six month period, is barely able to find an audience on its opening weekend. Meanwhile, no stone was left unturned to make sure Sound of Freedom’s numbers were known by everyone and their dog.
Turns out when a film doesn’t have a political agenda no one cares.
In any case, Ordinary Angels is a good film. It checks all the necessary boxes- a heartwarming true story with solid performances, a decent script, a family and community oriented story, redemptive notes, and a good message. It deserves more support.
Film Journal 2024: Drive-Away Dolls Directed by Ethan Coen
Definitely missing the other half of the Coen brothers. Seems like there’s an intriguing vision here that doesn’t quite translate beyond the film’s extremely surface appeal. This is basic plot point stuff, taking its story from point A to point B, without much I the way of surprises, intrigue, depth, or nuance. Which is surprising given this comes from one half of the modern cinematic legends.
The film also struggles a bit on the technical front, employing some visual flourishes and editing choices that feel more scattered than cohesive. Those choices, including some digitally enhanced sequences, seem designed to add some artistic presence, but ultimately just end up feeling forced.
I knew nothing about the film and its subject matter going in, and for me, I wanted far less of its clear obsession with sex (it seems like it was trying to push the envelope and establish some noted humor) and far more of its characters. More of the two friends going on a roadtrip in the face of some unconventional circumstances, which could have been a decent basis for having some fun.
Not only that, but given the flavor of the film, it seemed odd for the story to ultimately bind itself to what I would describe as a clear sexual ethic. To be honest, it’s an aspect of the film I appreciated, as it’s rare to find a film willing to be honest about the nature of sex devoid of covemtal language. It just didn’t jive with what the film seemed to be going for in terms of its overall explicitenesss and exessivenesss. It was a weird message and moral to emerge from the film, even if it was a welcome one.
There are some moments that work, to be sure. It’s still a Coen afterall. But it ultimately felt pretty muddled, distant, and shallow as a film overall.
Film Journal 2024: The Taste of Things Director Tran Ahn Hung
The camera work in this film is nothing short of stunning. It not only soaks in every minute detail of its set design, it captures every nuance of the unfolding drama, seamlessly traversing the spiritual nature that exists between human connection and our connection with food. If both might find in themselves the trappings of a carnal nature, this film makes the case for the transcendent.
As it is with transcendent realities, such truths hinge on necessary revelation. Truths that are hidden. Truths that are revealed. Truths that are thus transformative in their nature, which bind us to the mystery. As the central character, an aging man living a storied love affair caught between trying to understand the mystery of human connection and the power of the culinary craft, suggests, we come to such Truths through a fusion of culture and memory, both of which are shaped by our experiences. There is one panoramic shot that does a full 360 through the kitchen, at once binding the present moment to the past in a way that embodies this observation in a visual sense. An example of how this film utilizes the form in a powerful way,
The beauty of the way the filmmakers shoot this film is that that the shared focus on the intimacy and the nuances of cooking food, and the equally stated intimacy of its complex human journey are paralleled in such a way that they tell the same story. The richness it finds in the art of creating a meal becomes a window into the richness of creating human relationship. Both ways in which we experience the world, and likewise each other.
More so, both ways in which we experience the transcendent. Together it drew my attention inwards and outwards simultaneously, reminding me that the space I occupy in this world by way of participation is one that rests in the reality of the transcendent. What we create binds us to that revelatory truth, and becomes a way of knowing the mystery that gives our experiences, our existence, meaning, especially in the face of its tragic notes. As the film so poignantly underscores, human ambition and human creativity can’t save us. However, such things can point us to and reveal that which can.
Film Journal 2024: Suze Directed by Dane Clark and Linsey Stewart
Anyone looking for an alternative to the behemoth that is Dune Part 2, this charming, good humored, big hearted drama is definitely worth checking out. It features an unlikely friendship between a middle aged single mother with early menopause and her daughters ex-boyfriend, explored through two likeable performances and a good dose of chemistry.
It’s always great to see films tackling a niche demographic, but the film has far reaching appeal as well.
Film Journal 2024: Dune Part 2 Directed by Denis Villeneuve
I’m not sure it says much to state Dune Part Two is a very good, and even exceptional film. Much more relevant to call it an event. The science fiction nature of the story might not be your thing, and you may have certain thoughts and opinions regarding how the film matches up with the book, but it is nevertheless the sort of thing that has the power to captivate the cultural conversation in one way or another, even if you never see it.
And certainly, for those who do see it, the cinematic spectacle is undeniable, from the visuals to the scope to the scale. Its impressive from start to finish.
I know the film has been compared many times over to Lord of the Rings. For me personally, my love and appreciation for the story doesn’t exist on that level, however I can say that the last time I encountered a story this big would probably be the epic finish to the LOTR trilogy. If its not quite reaching to that level for me, I can imagine it would for fans of the book and the science fiction genre.
I’m sure there are things to nitpick here or there, but they would be inconsequential to the experience at best, and a distraction at worst. It’s worth noting how seamlessly Part 2 flows in tandem with Part 1 as a singular arc. If Part 1 felt incomplete, this retroactively makes it that much better. At the same time, the transformation that occurs with the films central characters sets Part Two apart, allowing it carry much of the films climatic push. Thematically too, the film adds layers to the messianic motif, even establishing it as a timely message about the nature of holy wars. There is much to say here, as I noted in my review of the first film, about how Jesus occupies the messianic role in contrast to Dune’s enigmatic “savior”. In Part 2 it places such questions straight within the reality of the kind of motifs that surround Jesus, particularly when it comes to the realities of enslavement and power or rule.
If hope is to be found, it is to be found in the unexpected places that resist the allure of retaliation and Empire, not within it. What becomes even more apparent in Dune Part 2 is a world caught in such perpetuating cycles and needing a promise that can break it.
Didn’t love the non-linear approach, but for every moment I found myself wavering there was an encounter with a page, a plot turn, a section, a conversation that grabbed me and pulled me right back in. It is those moments of beautiful and inspired prose that govern the larger narrative, providing a powerful reflection on the nature of the forces of life and death. Yes, it is in its own way a horror story about a vampire. But this is a long ways from your atypical stories of vampires. This is, at its heart, an essential human drama facing down some of the hard questions of human existence.
Here are portions of the book that, for me, outline and shed light on the meta-narrative that resonated for me:
“They aren’t just for me, you know- the visions. I see, on occasion, what is always there is always true. It’s all there right now: this world the lower branches of a beautiful, fruiting tree, and the perfect glory of God filtering down through the branches, radiant creatuers filling the air, everything singing with joy, and all of it pulling us up, me and you, into love.”
He laughed softely, threw a twig into the fire. ‘I used to never speak of it. I knew it made me sound like a madman. But then, it stopped mattering. People thought I was mad no matter what, so I stopped hiding it. I began just to offer it, to say “the glory and the love that surrounds you, that you breathe in with every braeth, it’s there, if you want it. ‘ What I see is yours as much as it is mine– if you want it…. I have my God. I have my painting. I have my love. I have the world. It’s too much goodness.” – excerpt from Jacqueline Holland’s The God of Endings
“Like you, I have sensed the pursuit of both Czernobog and Belobog for most of my life– not singly, but as one. I have heard and seen strange and terrifying and wondrous things, just as it seems you have, but I have noticed a pattern– and this is a conclusion, mind you, so place no blind trust in it– but the pattern I have seen is that the Emptier must empty before the Filler can fill, a space must be cleared for a gift.”
“… We children do not like emptying, clearing. We do not want Czernobog’s darkness, only Belobog’s light. Even us very old children. We forget that light, without shadow or variation, is blinding. We malign and fear and slander the Emptier, Czernobog, the Dark One, the god of endings. Perhaps we would do well to wait, like children learning patience, learning trust, and see what fills the space he clears, what light breaks into his darkness.” – excerpt from Jacqueline Holland’s The God of Endings
“One short sleep past,” reads the line in the stone, “we wake eternally. And Death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die.” We wake eternally. Vano was right, as always. A new way, a gift I could never foresee. And his beloved spirit- I can feel iit near me now like a hand in mine, a gentle midwife, speaking reassurances and coaxing the trembling laborer through the loss of all that was and the birth of the unimaginable.” – excerpt from Jacqueline Holland’s The God of Endings
Film Journal 2024: Suncoast Directed by Laura Chinn
Totally my descriptive, not the films, but dang it if this thing didn’t quietly stake its claim for me as one of the best “faith” based films I’ve seen in a long while. Raw, vulnerable, uncensored, and real. Unafraid to bring nuance and empathy to a complex portrait. The mature elements (which are present) befit its subject matter and its approach.
A tender hearted coming of age drama that becomes a studied examination of grief and family. Boasts a quiet but confident lead performance that we should still be talking about at the end of the year.
Film Journal 2024: Sometimes I Think About Dying Directed by Rachel Lambert
“Its tough, you know, being a person.”
“The more I think about the movie, the more I like it.”
If the overall execution of this film is uneven and disjointed at times, which is definitely felt in the films deliberate pacing early on, the vision for this film remains abundabtly clear. And the more the film goes on, the clearer, and stronger, it becomes.
I found the films visuals and its aesthetic captivating and mesmerizing. The way it weaves back and forth between different perspectives, using different camera shots and angles. The way it pauses to capture these staid external shots and moments, soaked as they are in atmosphere and imagery. Striking might be the best word.
These visuals also help to establish the tone, including employing a patient and curious approach to exploring the subject matter. It follows a young woman working at a menial office job, navigating a stated and ongoing struggle with social anxieties and inarticulated internal battles with depression. The way the filmmakers help to capture the essence of these things, including a willingness to sit in silence and in a plethora of awkward moments, is super effective. It demonstrates how such struggles can leave one feeling trapped inside their own mind. Which is what makes the different perspectives so poignant and important. Sometimes we get her vantage point, either of the world around her or of herself. At other points we see from the outside looking in at her, an element that establishes this tension between who she sees herself to be and who others see her to be. And then sometimes we see from the perspective of the camera, watching the whole in a more concrete and objective sense.
I really came to appreciate Ridley’s performance as well, tackling a sheltered and protected persona with care and sensitivity. Given how much her character closes herself off from viewpoints other than her own, something which she then keeps guarded and out of view from others in the film, the performance depends on her leaning into the subtleties, and Ridley manages to capture this so well, never allowing her character to slide into a singular conception or expression. She does a lot of work with facial expressions, especially with her smile, which becomes probably the clearest window into her emotions.
It’s not perfect, and it has a defintie indie vibe, for better or for worse in this case (for me I grew to appreciate it more and more as the film went on). It definitely is doing some interesting things on a conceptual and technical level though. Where it ultimately hit for me was in the way it helped to validate experiences with anxiety and depression as real and important.
The Stories of my Life 