february26

MEDIA PRESENTATION

Movie: "Super 8" -- final session

THE COMMAND TO RESPECT

The Gospel

JOHN 1:3-5

All things came to be through [the Word], and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Gospelthink: I instituted all life, and my light always shine through in everything. Have I respected everything of creation as I should?

The central thought of the movie "Super 8" deals with how the principal characters work with the monster who is on the loose. The monster is obviously very powerful and at first sight, mean and interested in human destruction. But as one discovers in the movie, it is nothing more than a lost creature who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Further, the military has held him captive so that they could study him. As Dr. Woodward said, "This creature is more sophisticated than any of us and...he has been treated without compassion or respect. We have taught him to hate us all; we have turned him into an enemy." Middle schooler Joe Lamb finally got across to the creature that not all human beings are bad.

The poetic beginning of John's Gospel is a statement of God's involvement with the human race. God's light has shown upon the darkness of creation and has forever made it good and holy. As one of the early Christian commentators reflected, "For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Colossians 1:16-17).

Without too much imagination, such was the thinking behind the way Dr. Woodward and middle schooler Joe Lamb treated the horrible monster in the movie "Super 8." They realized that no matter what the creation of God looks like, it is still a creation of God, and deserves the respect and honor that we offer to ourselves and the things that we do not understand. It presents a tremendous lesson to those of us who claim to be followers of the Word.

The lesson is obvious, but not so easy to carry out. All of creation deserves our respect and love. It includes our friends and family, the people whom we dearly love, the people that we do not like and the ones who do not like us, those that we look upon as "enemy." It includes the world we live in and everything about it from animal to atom. The Christian will automatically be interested in a healthy environment, not from a political point of view, but from the thought that God has created everything and everything is good.

The world is made up of things and people. If we remember that ultimately everything can be traced back to God, our attitude toward the way we treat our world and everything in it may be a bit better than it is.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you command us to love one another and to have respect for everything that you have created. Give us the grace to treat everything and everyone with the respect they deserve. Be with us, we pray.

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GUIDE FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT

Theme: One of our goals in life must be to treat everything with respect.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
(session: approximately 52 minutes)
1. What scene during this session of the movie is most striking? Why?
2. Project: outline the prologue of John's Gospel, showing the significance of each stanza, namely, the Word, the Word and creation, the Word and the world, and Word made flesh and in the community.
3. Thinking of the image of light and darkness, what are some "darknesses" connected with the following "lights": beauty, peace, love, happiness, friendship. Why did you choose the way you did?
4. In your locale, do most people believe that God created the world? Yes or no and why?
5. What is the greatest good in our world right now? What is the greatest evil?
6. Do you agree that even the most terrible monster should be shown respect? Yes or no and why?
7. What is your opinion about the necessity to be conscious of our environment a little more? (Project: offer a presentation on an environmental program such as "Greenpeace.")
8. In general, do people have a true respect for our earth? Yes or no and why?
9. Dialogue analysis: Alice: (Speaking the thoughts of her Dad that he wished he had died instead of Joe's mother) "Sometimes I do too." Why do young people often feel such feelings about their parents?
10. Analysis: Alice's father has a problem with alcohol. What can a young person do about an alcoholic parent?
11. Scene analysis: Charles is jealous of Joe's relationship with Alice. What is the best way to control "jealousy"?
12. Dialogue analysis: Dr. Woodward speaks of the creature: "Instead of giving him the help he needs, we've held him as a prisoner." Why did the military do this? Were they at fault? Yes or no and why?
13. Scene analysis: Jack forgives Louis. Why is forgiveness one of the most necessary virtues in our world today?
14. Scene analysis: Joe "lets go" of the locket. Why is the action a symbol for Joe's future life?
15. What does the movie "Super 8" teach young people?

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike