final days forum

Bernie Mac and 'Hot Buttered Soul'

We won't be able to replace the two icons of African American culture -- comedian Bernie Mac and singer Issac Hayes -- who died this weekend. Newcomers may arrive on the scene and follow behind them, but they will be the branches of the tall trees these men rooted among us.

Both men were to be featured this November in a new movie, "Soul Men," which is named after the song, "Soul Man," which Hayes wrote with David Porter, according to TVGuide.com.

Bernie Mac, born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, had that gift to dig insightfully into the cracks in human nature and find humor in it. "The Bernie Mac Show" on television, and the film, "Guess Who?" and the "Ocean's" film series display his gift at its best. How Bernie Mac intrepreted parenting is refreshing and authentic in his television series. TV Guide named him #47 among the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time"  in 2004, according to The Internet Movie Database. In "Guess Who?," Bernie Mac is the face of Americans across the country, growing in his understanding of his daughter's choice to pursue an interracial marriage, yet, by the end of the movie, displaying fatherly wisdom to her fiance. In the Ocean series, he was a fitting player that helped give the films their comic strength.

Issac Hayes will always remind me of growing up in East St. Louis. I remember days cleaning up the house while his album, "Hot Buttered Soul" played on the stereo, a melodic accompaniment, a soundtrack for my adolescence in the 1970s. Hayes represents what I miss most now in contemporary music. So many singers then (think Marvin Gaye, Nancy Wilson,  Dionne Warwick, Nina Simone, Curtis Mayfield, and Donnie Hathaway, just to start the list!) sang of angst, loss, hope, tenderness, and struggle. Play songs like "Walk on By," the theme from "Shaft," or "Soul Man" and I'm immediately transported to my teen years and home.

Bernie Mac and Issac Hayes, thank you for planting such tall trees for us.

Judy Howard Ellis

Links courtesy of www.idmb.com, www.groovesharklite.com, http://www.ninasimone.com/, http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Donny%20Hathaway.html, http://classic.motown.com/artist.aspx?ob=ros&src=lb&aid=1, http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/curtis-mayfield, http://missnancywilson.com/, http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Bernie-Mac-Dead/800044883?rssDate=12345678, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul_Man_(song)

Mirror, mirror: Who's the fairest of them all?

Narcissism lures us with gloved tentacles, and it's not just John Edwards who fell captive. Anytime we operate in the world with excessive self-interest, we are like the young man in mythology who falls in love with his own face,  or the conceited queen in Snow White, whose worldview centers on her rivals because life is a perpetual beauty pageant.

Last week I watched Mr. Skeffington on Turner Classic Movies, which told the story about how beauty is only skin deep, and that selfishness is more shallow than that. Bette Davis powerfully portrays Fanny Trellis, whose beauty brings throngs of men into her presence -- even after she marries the dour Job Skeffington (played by Claude Rains) -- as she basks in their adoration. Fanny is cruel, selfish, and throws away the love of her husband and daughter as she pursues passion for her own face.

The story takes a twist when diphtheria ravages her face. She transforms into a ghoulish figure of eyeliner, mascara, face creams, and wigs as she childishly attempts to adorn an aged face. One crazy scene is when a ringlet falls from her head as a former suitor from her youth woos her again. Fanny soon learns that the cash-strapped suitor always wanted her because of her looks. Now he wants her for money.

Even those of us who call ourselves Christians can be choked by narcissism's gloved, but brutal grip. While we wag a finger at the Paris Hiltons of the world, shake our heads at the egotism of politicians (take your pick: Senators Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton or former President Bill Clinton), and pooh-pooh the indulgences of the megarich and celebrities, what rages inside our own hearts? Are we narcissistic about our own religious practice? Is our concern for others based on our love for them and our understanding their inner brokenness? Or is our concern based on our own narcissistic standards of performance? When our pursuit of youth surpasses the needs of our children, who need our time, our direction and our example, are we living in vain?

I thought I understood beauty blossomed from within. Sure, Lord. I got this. Your word says in Proverbs 31: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  (NIV) But then I contracted Graves' disease, which later caused my eyes to bulge. I began to experience the truth of that verse! I'll never forget when a friend I had not seen in years could not believe it was me when he saw me. His surprised reaction stung. But it was a good thing. The memory of that encounter and others force me to submit to God's beautifying work inside me and give that the priority. Even if God heals me right at this moment, may I continue learning His beauty lessons.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in the land is fairest of all? Jesus...the image of the invisible God.

Judy Howard Ellis

 

Links courtesy of: http://www.pantheon.org/, www.wikipedia.org, www.courant.com, www.imdb.com, http://www.tcm.com/index.jsp, http://www.bettedavis.com/, http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Park/6771/, http://www.parishilton.com/,www.barackobama.com, www.johnmccain.com, www.hillaryclinton.com, http://www.clintonfoundation.org/, http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/hyperthyroidism/HYE_eyes.html, http://www.ibs.org/bible/

'The Dark Knight' & the Agent of Chaos (Part 2)

Day 147. May 26., originally uploaded by Maryam S..

"The Dark Knight" offers several themes that could be elaborated on, but I'm focusing on the characters of the Joker and Harvey Dent. As I said in yesterday's post, the Joker gives us a pattern of some of Satan's schemes.

Applying the struggles of Dent's character to the Christian experience, Satan wars against men and women -- made righteous by the blood sacrifice of Jesus -- who seek to repair the causes of inner brokenness instead of burying them behind glamourous facades. As God's enemy, and as the enemy of the souls of the redeemed, Satan relishes in having followers of Christ wallow in pretense. He hates authencity. He likes Dent's outward glow -- golden but shallow!

In "The Dark Night," the Joker presses his crazed fingers into Dent's inner wounds, the places Dent didn't get healed before he became Gotham's righteous crusader. Had Dent possessed the world view that God ultimately wields all justice and corrects all injustice, and then found rest in that world view, he would not have sought his own revenge when the pain of losing his girlfriend -- and losing the war against crime -- was more than he could bear.

Dent's story is a well-told cautionary tale within a larger, complex story about Batman. (Isn't it funny where we can learn a truth of God?) As Dent shows us, outward change without the constant inward working of the Holy Spirit falls short of the authencity God desires and plays into the religious pretense Satan loves to produce. Satan knows that when the Christian is real, self-aware of his weaknesses and focused on the complete strength of God, the Christian is formidable.

I love this quote from one of my favorite preachers, Charles Spurgeon, about Joel 2:13. The passage refers to rending our hearts, not our garments, and turning to God. Spurgen is quoted on the site, www.gracegems.org, as saying:

"Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulations; for such things are pleasing to the flesh; but true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the time of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven."

Judy Howard Ellis

'The Dark Knight' & the Agent of Chaos (Part 1)

 

Trailer for "The Dark Knight" courtesy of XxjalaldevilxX

Brutal, excecuted with cinematic skill, and obscene in the violence of intimidation that it infers, the message of "The Dark Night" sobers the soul.

As critics already have raved, Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is worth an Oscar nomination. As an actor, Ledger traveled to an unseen realm to achieve a form of artistic expression that reveals the twisted, thirsty and never-satisfied place of evil.

The Joker exists with no rules, no honor. He names himself an "agent of chaos" to the grieving, angry, and maimed Harvey Dent character, skillfully played by Aaron Eckhart. Bereft of his love interest, his handsome face cruelly deformed by fire, Dent is the character that followers of Jesus should study.

On the surface, Dent seems to descend from righteous prosecutor to reckless vilgilante because of the loss of his girlfriend, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who was killed while he survived. His descent began earlier in the film, when he could not rest because Batman (Christian Bale), had a close, and enviable, relationship with police officer Jim Gordon (Gary Oldham). Dent also delighted in the humiliation of his enemies -- the criminals he sent to jail -- an always dangerous path to tread.

By the time the Joker informs Dent that he is an agent of chaos who stirs the fears of people, the Joker doesn't seem just like the neighborhood wacko killer. His intentions are methodically satantic as he probes the inquity in Dent, along with the simmering anger, control issues, and flawed sense of justice squirming beneath the surface of the Dudley Do-Right prosecutor image.

Satan, like the Joker, wants us to settle for surface change in our lives. Surface righteousness is an open doorway for Satan to generate destruction as an agent of chaos.

More tomorrow.

Judy Howard Ellis

Links courtesy of msn.com, wikipedia.com

Five reasons to remake the original 'Star Wars'

OK. Just so everyone knows. My husband, Oscar, often listens to me as I work out ideas, and constantly makes great observations. Typically, I always respond with: "That would make a great post!"

This time, Honey, I give you all the credit for this one.

We were watching "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" last night and Oscar observed once again that George Lucas should remake the first "Star Wars" offerings. Technology, Oscar said, has caught up with Lucas' storytelling and those stories ache for a redo. Check out this 1977 trailer of "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" :

Video courtesy of antisubliminal on YouTube.com

Oscar is so right. Mr. Lucas, if you happen to read this post (I wish!) I thank you for a robust Web site, StarWars.com, and, of course, the upcoming animated series, "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." (View a sneak peek video.) Your recent Q&A about the film was very cool. August, the month of the film's release, looks wonderfully bright!

But fans of the movies thirst for more. Please consider five reasons you should reinvest in the "Star Wars" dream:

• Just because. It's not often we get to "play it again," but gathering an outstanding cast (with the consultation of any living stars from the older films) and employing today's technology to enhance the story -- not tell the tale -- would be an extraordinary experience for sci-fi and fantasy fans. Take time to figure out who has the soul of Luke Skywalker, the daring of Princess Leia Organa, and the menace of Darth Vader. Please don't follow the Hollywood game of choosing a known talent or popular music celebrity who lacks the chops for the role. Although usually considered a commercial move, offering audiences a well-told and well-acted tale will bring in tons of money.
• Fans miss the epics.  Just last night my sister, Stephanie, was surfing channels and longed for some epic action on TV. "The Lord of the Rings" triology kept lovers of epics satiated for awhile, but after The Hobbit hopefully keeps up the tradition in 2010, we will need another larger-than-life story to compel us to line up at midnight showings of great movies. An inspired, updated, and well-made "Star Wars" would blaze new territories at the box office as the film attracts fresh audiences.
• "Star Wars" is great for political world peace. This might seem a stretch, but the galatic lifestyle of the "Star Wars" characters, how they worked (and warred) with various life forms -- is a teaching moment for this generation. What "Star Wars" hinted at with its galatic point of view, we're now experiencing through our global economy, culture and conflicts.
• "Star Wars" is  a powerful example of the battle between good and evil. Mr. Lucas, good and evil themes may merely be storytelling devices for you, but I believed God used you. Really. The crafty Emperor's manipulation of Darth Vader, and his attempt to control Luke, reinforced the idea that there is a reason to cling to the straight-and-narrow. You may not have intended for a Christian interpretation of the films, and others say they are New Age-oriented, but as a young believer, I knew who the Emperor was to me. The Emperor's creepy temptations were just like Slew Foot's.
• "Star Wars" featured a major character who was black. Some sci-fi yarns have made me wonder if people of color had been exterminated from the universe. Billy Dee Williams's role helped change that. Bring back Williams's character through a solid actor and create roles for other actors of color.

Thanks so much for reading, Mr. Lucas. If you need more ideas, Oscar and I would be delighted to take your call. Just delighted.

P.S. Please don't resurrect Jar Jar Binks.

Links courtesy of StarWars.com, imdb.com, lordoftherings.net, and wikipedia.com.

Let Hillary Clinton get emotional; we all need a good cry

I have not decided whether Final Days Forum will participate in the mass of punditry online, so this is not a politically driven post. But the so-called emotional moment by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton yesterday, and her defense of it today on CNN, made me reflect.

Clinton says she was moved Monday by an apparent supporter who asked her how she was doing. Of course, tearing up publicly is not new. President George W. Bush, former President Bill Clinton and late President Ronald Reagan did it. Public expressions of emotion can be healing, when those expressions are honest and not manipulative.

More heartfelt moments like those displayed in rich films such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington would be a welcome elixir right about now. Although the film's director, Frank Kapra, had his cheesy moments (as the trailer from The Internet Movie Database shows), a bit of Kapra might do America good. 

A more passionately civil and less calculatedly partisan discourse would be a balm for the republic.

The church could check its emotion-meter, too. The world has seen much of our tough-love politics, fierce denunciation of sexual sins and righteous grip on the literal message of the Bible. But when was the last time we made mega-headlines for publicly weeping over the poor, the homeless, the jobless, the uninsured, the chronically ill, the illiterate and the crime-ridden?

Tears may cleanse us of our cynicism.

The dirty business of pure Christianity

I read this post today by Jill Austin on The Elijah List and almost went through the roof. She certainly is giving a word from the Lord when she encourages believers to be what God called us to be. We should be passionate about living out the dreams the Father has given each of us.

God loves us deeply, gifted us aplenty and commissioned us to move forward into the world. That's right: move forward into the world, not just into churches or safe Bible studies and feeding-frenzied Christian conferences and conventions. God wants us to mingle with the unlovely and shine clarity where there is a lack of knowledge.

Authentic Christianitity can be dirty business for religious perfectionists because real Christians brush shoulders with a cussin', fussin', co-habitatin', lyin' world, which cares less about our G-Rated lifestyles or family values.

They don't know Leviciticus from Galatians and they may only know Jesus through a spate of goobly-gook at a New Age coffee shop,  a loveless, rules-burdened believer who spouts Bible passages like Google,  or the latest television program or special magazine edition challenging the birth, life, death, resurrection and claims of Jesus.

What the world does hunger for is transparent people who have been kissed by Righteous Love. And that's the beauty of our experience with Jesus.

In the world, it's whacked to think of the divine condescending to care for us, unless there is something in it for the deity. I think of the sheer perversity beneath the fatherly tones and manner of Seymon in the crime drama Eastern Promises. Our God could be duplicitous and mercurial and cruel.

 The Lord could be justifiably repelled by decadent humanity. Remember the black-spectacled Agent Smith getting yukked up by the slobbering and vulnerable Morpheus in The Matrix? Agent Smith the machine almost wretched touching Morpheus of human flesh. God could relate to us as Agent Smith. 

Thankfully, He doesn't "roll" like Seymon or Agent Smith. And neither should we. We should, as Austin wrote, get on with the God-things we are ordained to do. He has given us all we need.