I LOVE watching movies. As a kid I remember listening to my parents try and find gospel principles presented in some of Hollywood's blockbusters.
Lame!
Well, at least I thought so until suddenly I found myself doing it too. Remember when Luke used the force to get his lightsaber to come to him while he was hanging upside down in the cave? I remember asking my Dad if that could ever happen and of course he then spent the next -what felt like hours - describing water being turned to wine, mountains being moved, waters being parted and the dead being raised through the power of the priesthood.
Whoa. It's real. The force is real.
Maybe finding gospel principles in the movies isn't so lame after all. If you love movies (and the Gospel) as much as I do then continue reading on as I give you 5 great connections between different movies and the gospel....
5. Name this movie quote : "With great power comes great responsibility..."
Did you get it?
Spiderman. (Not one of my favorite movies, but a solid gospel connection nonetheless)
We're taught that because we have the Gospel, we are held to a higher standard. We are more accountable. We may not like it, but it's the truth. Embrace the responsibility.
4. I'm a HUGE fan of the way Christopher Nolan has revived the Batman series. And each of the new movies have had little gems perfect for gospel comparisons.
Remember when Bruce Wayne was chastised by his friend Rachel? "It's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you..." Ooohh, zing! It's easy to talk about doing good, but how many of us back it up. Heavenly Father would rather have 1 doer of the word than a million eloquent speakers talking about doing good.
3. Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yeah, the entire trilogy. Look, we watched roughly 8 hours of good vs. evil (more like 12 if you watch the bonus footage). The beauty of the movies is that they show that no matter how much it looks like evil might win.... good will always prevail. The story of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that no matter how much it might seem like evil is winning - good will always win. ALWAYS.
2. Just in case you thought I only watch action movies, I've thrown Sabrina on here. Sabrina, my favorite RomCom of all time. Thanks in large part to the fact that my mom watched this movie a lot when I was a kid and we listened to the soundtrack on almost every family drive we took. I highly recommend it. So, the main family is ridiculously rich and has practically anything you could ever want, except for something you can't really ever buy, love. At the end of the movie as Harrison Ford's character is chasing his love he says, "I need her.... and I don't need anything." The type of love we're all looking for is the kind that can't be bought. But it's the only kind that can last eternally....
1. And now to my absolute favorite, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Harrison Ford in his glory days (before the weird hoop earring he now wears) and Sean Connery as his father in the best Indiana Jones of the trilogy (yeah I know there was a fourth, but it was so bad I don't acknowledge it). The scene where Indiana has to step out and make the "leap of faith" in order to reach the holy grail still gives me goosebumps. We talk about faith in Sunday School and sometimes describe how it is similar to stepping into the darkness and having the path lit as we move forward. The scene in the movie literally depicts Indiana stepping into the unknown hoping that the path would be there.
I know it might sound kind of lame - but I promise once you try looking for some way to see the gospel in your favorite movies, you'll actually enjoy them even more.
I know there are tons of examples that I've left off the list - what are some of your favorite Gospel/Hollywood connections?
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Kyle Aldous is the Marketing Director at Blickenstaff's Vintage Toy & Candy store located in Provo, Utah. He loves to bboy and read in his spare time.
Photo Credit: Barnaby Wasson
