Soul: Finding Joy in the Little Things

 by David Keating

The Keating Files – December 31, 2020

 

A few days ago, I finished watching the Pixar movie Soul and really enjoyed it. The reaction among critics and audiences alike seemed to be pretty positive. The movie itself focuses on a man that has a near-death experience and, in an attempt to escape death, must mentor another “soul” as it makes its journey to earth. 

In the film, a soul can only make its way to Earth upon finding its “spark.” The main character in the film misconstrues “spark” for “purpose.” Through the adventures that he and his pupil have, he discovers that a “spark” is really about finding joy in whatever it is that you are doing. The message of the film is that one doesn’t need to become famous or important in order to find joy in life, but instead joy can be found in an appreciation for all of life’s little moments. Most importantly, joy stems from the relationships that we have with our cherished loved ones, friends, and our family.

 

I came away thinking that Pixar hit the mark in terms of what they had set out to convey. Imagine my surprise then when, among various clergy friends, there seemed to be quite a bit of controversy surrounding the film. Most of the complaints among my Christian brothers and sisters stemmed from the fact that the movie wasn’t theologically accurate in terms of its view of the soul. 

 

This seemed, to me at least, to be a remarkably thin criticism. I don’t think that Pixar was setting out to craft a theology or philosophy for themselves. Instead, through a somewhat abstract lens, they seemed to be aiming to tell a tale that contained a moral that many Christians, and in particular pastors, would find helpful and encouraging. 

 

What do I mean? At the climax of the film, our main character assumes that by playing in a jazz quartet of some renown, he will finally find purpose for himself. To his surprise, he finds playing with the group to be enjoyable, but not as meaningful as he had hoped. 

 

What ends up providing meaning then? This character also doubles as a band teacher and his sense of purpose and meaning seems to stem more from teaching his students and mentoring the lost soul that he encounters, instead of becoming a famous and important musician. 

 

Why do I think this is applicable and perhaps encouraging to pastors? Most pastors are not going to be great theologians, professors, or authors. But, many that I meet also want to do something religiously significant having drawn inspiration from Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Martin Luther. The reality is, there are very few Luthers, Bonhoeffers, or Melanchthons out there in the world. But this doesn’t mean that the work each pastor does is meaningless! Instead, we understand that our vocation is important because it’s what we have been called to and because a pastor doing something as simple as teaching just one confirmation student makes all the difference in the world. Is it a small thing? Yes, it often is. The encouraging thing is that these small acts of kindness and of teaching can have all the meaning in the world for the person who is learning.

 

So, take a deep breath. Pixar’s Soul may not be a perfect theological treatise. Much of our entertainment isn’t. When last I checked, Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel were not meant to inform our theological worldview. But these movies can still provide us with entertainment and occasional insight. The message of Soul certainly proved encouraging to me given that my work won’t change the world or the country. It might not even impact my community all that much. However, it can still be a joy because it is in small moments like preaching to a few people or teaching a Sunday school class that a “spark” can be found. 

 

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The Reverend David Keating is pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Curtis, Nebraska.

 

Recent by Pastor Keating…

 

“The Pivotal Players – Models of Faithfulness for Catholics and Non-Catholics”

 

“Watchmen: The Miracle in One’s Life”

 

“How Does DC Comics Wrestle with Theodicy?”

 

“Arrival: If You Knew the Ending, Would You Embrace the Journey”

 

“Star Wars: What the Rise of Skywalker Got Right”

 

“Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Dante? In the Tradition of Christian Art”

 

“Faith and Family in Fargo”

 

“Death and Resurrection in Game of Thrones”

 

Star Wars: What the Rise of Skywalker Got Right

 by David Keating

The Keating Files – November 6, 2020

 

While it seems longer, around this time last year, audiences were eagerly gearing up for Disney’s The Rise of Skywalker. While messy in so many ways, there’s more in this film to reflect upon than most moviegoers acknowledge. 

 

Despite the profoundly mixed response to the sequel trilogy put forward by Disney and Lucasfilm, the discussion surrounding the film had certainly ramped up. With no clear trajectory mapped out for the sequel trilogy, audiences had no idea what to expect from the final film in the three-part series. 

 

In 2015, moviegoers had mostly reacted in a positive way to The Force Awakens. Star Wars fans were happy to see old, familiar faces returning, and were intrigued by the promise of where the newly introduced characters would go in their journey.

 

The Last Jedi caused the studio and Star Wars fans more trouble and sparked more division than any other movie that I can recall, at least in recent memory. Much of the promise of the first film and the mysteries that were set up to explore were promptly tossed out the window in the name of subverting expectations of fans and critics. In many ways, tossing out the plot points of The Force Awakens did more to doom the director of The Rise of Skywalker than Rian Johnson, the director of The Last Jedi. 

 

The Rise of Skywalker was a movie tasked with a long list of things to accomplish. The movie had to reintroduce story beats and mysteries that were thrown out by the previous movie. While The Last Jedi was uninterested in answering questions like: “Who are Rey’s (the main character of the new trilogy) parents?”; “How did Snoke (the evil emperor and this trilogy’s version of Emperor Palpatine) come to be in a position of power?”; and “Can Kylo Ren (formerly Ben Solo) be saved?” The Rise of Skywalker was now in charge of answering these questions as well as attempting to get audiences to reinvest in the questions that the previous film tossed away. 

 

As a result, The Rise of Skywalker ranks as chaotic from a narrative perspective. It creates new “mystery boxes” that need to be unwrapped by the end of the film. It forces answers to those questions set up by the first film that clearly weren’t thought out all the way and ended up being shoehorned in. It borrows from previous movies in the Star Wars franchise in order to remind audiences of the nostalgia they have for much better and more well thought out installments in the franchise. But, for all those faults, I still appreciated The Rise of Skywalker much more than the previous movie. Why is this?

 

Partly it came down to character work and the enjoyment I got from seeing our heroes interact in a fun and adventurous way. More importantly, it came down to the way that the movie drew from classic elements of good storytelling and dramatic character arcs. 

 

One of the key relationships that highlights what I’m talking about is the relationship between Rey and Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren had, over the course of the last two movies, seemingly taken the plunge into full-fledged villain. He had murdered his father, Han Solo, as his dad attempted to pull him back from the dark side. He had attempted to crush the fleeing rebels and murder his former master, Luke Skywalker. And now, by the final film, he has found himself as head of the First Order, ruling the empire in a way that Darth Vader could have only dreamed of. The Rise of Skywalker begins by pushing Kylo Ren into even darker depths, as the character seeks out the barely living husk of Emperor Palpatine, who in this movie is the embodiment of the Sith and of the dark side itself. 

 

Rey’s arc in the movie puts her on a collision course with Kylo Ren. Much like Luke Skywalker, Rey is wrestling with whether or not there is still good in Kylo Ren and whether he can be saved. Eventually, the two find themselves clashing lightsabers as they come into conflict during their search for a Sith wayfinder. Rey has dealt a deadly blow to Kylo Ren and the series’ villain seems doomed to die. It’s at this point that the movie makes a dramatic shift. Rey uses the force in order to heal Kylo Ren from his injury. The act of compassion changes Kylo Ren, healing his body and perhaps restoring his soul as well. Rey departs to face down the emperor and Kylo Ren is left wondering what just transpired. 

 

After a brief interaction with the ghost of his father (I can only imagine how much money Disney had to shell out to get Harrison Ford to return as Han Solo), Kylo Ren casts off his villainous title and mantle, and returns to his roots as Ben Solo, a Jedi knight. Ben follows Rey to defeat Palpatine and the forces of the Sith for good, but before either one of them can save the day, Rey is killed in battle. Ben transfers his lifeforce to Rey (using the same force healing technique that Rey used on him previously), and the two share a kiss before Ben Solo dies heroically. Rey (as the embodiment of the Jedi) goes on to defeat Palpatine and save the day.

 

Why did I love the last interaction between these two characters? Because it represented a return to what made Star Wars so great in the first place. In 1983’s Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker behaved in the same kind of way. He goes to the Death Star in order to face down evil on behalf of his friends. Instead of striking a killing blow to his father, Darth Vader, Luke throws down his weapon and willingly gives up his life in order to redeem his father if need be. Vader, seeing his son’s sacrifice, turns on Palpatine and defeats evil, redeeming himself in the process. The same theme emerges in The Rise of Skywalker. Ben, rather than dealing a killing blow to the Emperor, gives up his life as a sacrifice so that Rey might live. 

 

I remember sitting in the theater almost a year ago being struck by the almost biblical imagery involved in this final scene. Ben Solo ends up being the ultimate hero in this sequel trilogy because he behaves in a Christ-like manner that ends up elevating this scene to mythic heights from which the rest of the films fell well short. As Ben gives up his life for this woman whom he has grown to love, I was reminded of the book of Ephesians: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

 

Was Disney or JJ Abrams aware of the biblical parallels in this scene? Probably not. But, traditional storytelling often taps into themes and virtues that Christianity holds to and loves. And it’s a comforting thing for me, as a moviegoer, when I see a character behave this way. Ben’s sacrificial death for his would-be “bride” should point us toward an even greater version of this story and that is Christ’s sacrificial death on behalf of his bride, the Church. In both instances, our hero rescues the helpless from death in order that they may have life and a final victory over evil itself. 

 

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The Reverend David Keating is pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Curtis, Nebraska.

 

Previously by Pastor Keating…

 

“Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper and Dante? In the Tradition of Christian Art”

 

“Faith and Family in Fargo”

 

“Death and Resurrection in Game of Thrones”

 

“Greta Gerwig’s Church Nostalgia: Why Does Hollywood Miss Christianity?”

 

“Interstellar: Love, Time, and Space”

 

“Mad Men - What is Happiness? Don Draper and St. Augustine”

 

“Zack Snyder’s Messy Super-Jesus”

 

“Short Message: How Do, or Should, Christians Witness?”

 

“Amazon’s ‘The Boys’ - Does Christianity Have a Culture Problem?”

 

“Reflecting on 9/11: Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?”

 

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #10: Streaming Fueling the Nerd

Ray Keating goes full nerd in this episode, mainly focusing on how online streaming services are fulfilling many of his nerd dreams pertaining to DC comics and movies – the Snyder Justice League cut! – Marvel comics, movies and shows, Star Wars, Star Trek, film stuff, and yes, Chuck. Join Ray, and embrace your inner nerd.

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #2: Don’t Waste Your Vote, More Star Wars, Picard – Good or Bad?, Coronavirus Divisions, and NFL Draft Observations

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #2: Don’t Waste Your Vote, More Star Wars, Picard – Good or Bad?, Coronavirus Divisions, and NFL Draft Observations – Ray Keating is on a roll in this second episode. First, he wants to know why voting according to your conscience is considered a bad thing? He also gets his sci-fi nerd on with Star Wars and Picard. Keating is annoyed by coronavirus politics, but he also is enjoying the NFL Draft, including what the Jets, Packers and Vikings did in the first round.

Tune in here or click on graphic above.