A  Twilight  Re,lection  on  Oscar  Nominated  Films  2014  

Sr.  Rose  Paca,e,  FSP  SisterRoseMovies.net    

What  do  they  have  to  say  to  people  of  faith?  

Criteria  Human  and  Gospel  values  

•  The  Bea7tudes,  Works  of  Mercy    •  The  Deadly  Sins  

Criteria:  Human  and  Gospel  values   Bea$tudes  Mt  5  

Blessed  are    •  the  poor  in  spirit    for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.    •  they  who  mourn    for  they  shall  be  comforted.    •  the  meek    for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth.    •   they  who  hunger  and  thirst  for  righteousness    for  they  shall  

be  sa$sfied.    •  the  the  merciful    for  they  shall  obtain  mercy.    •   the  pure  of  heart    for  they  shall  see  God.    •  the  peacemakers    for  they  shall  be  called  children  of  God.    •  they  who  are  persecuted  for  the  sake  of  righteousness,  for  

theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.”    

Spiritual  Works  of  Mercy  

Mt  25    

Beatitudes    Matt.  5  

It’s  easier  to  ,ind  the  sins  and  sinners  than  saints  and  beatitudes    in  cinematic  drama  and  comedies  but  it’s  a  starting  place  

Deadly  Sins  

Then  there’s  the  shorthand  

The  bottom  line:  character  

•  Va7can  II  tells  us  that  the  spiritual  is  built  on  the  human.  •  “Character”  is  built  on  the  value  of  “empathy”  •  To  be  a  person  of  character  means  to  do  the  right  thing  even  when  no  one  is  looking  

Empathy  •  To  be  a  person  of  character  means  to  walk  in  the  shoes  of  another:  

•   “How  would  you  feel  if  someone  did  that  to  you?”    

•  is  the  very  least  norm  for  being  an  authen7c  human  being  

Entertainment,  story-­‐telling,  context  •  To  be  all  these  good  things  you  need  to  show  the  shadow  side  

•  But  when  the  conflict  is  resolved  what  are  we  leN  with?  

•  (And  will  you  remember,  or  even  care,  tomorrow?  Does  it  even  ma,er?)  

Criteria  Summary  •  Empathy  •  Character  •  T.H.I.N.K.  •  Catholic  Social  Teaching  •  Deadly  sins  •  Works  of  Mercy  •  Bea7tudes  

The  ,ilms  

•  The  Wolf  of  Wall  Street  •  American  Hustle  •  Captain  Phillips  •  Dallas  Buyers  Club  •  Nebraska  

The  ,ilms  

•  Her  •  Frozen  •  The  Croods  •  12  Years  a  Slave  •  Philomena  •  Gravity  

The  Wolf  of  Wall  Street  •  Sa7re  •  “Greed,  for  want  of  a  be,er  word,  is  good.”  •  All  the  deadly  sins  •  Saving  grace?  •  An7thesis  of  bea7tude  •  Total  lack  of  empathy  •  (Ma,hew  7:12)  

American  Hustle  •  “Treat  people  the  way  you  want  to  be  treated;  didn’t  Jesus  say  that?”  

•  “My  father,  he  taught  me  that  all  people  were  good  and  to  be  good  to  all  people”  

•  We  hustle  for  respect,  love,  and  to  survive  –  but  how?  

•  We  all  make  choices  •  It’s  all  about  “the  hair”  •  Enough  deadly  sins  …  but  some  conscience  going    

Captain  Phillips  •  A  movie  about  Davids  and  Goliaths  •  But  who’s  who?  •  What’s  the  bigger  picture?  •  Not  just  an  episode  on  the  high  seas  but  a  sign  of  endemic  injus7ce  between  the  rich  and  poor,  those  who  have  and  those  who  don’t  

 

Dallas  Buyers  Club  •  Dying  and  death  •  Homophobia  •  Human  dignity  (though  it  doesn’t  start  off  this  way)  •  Broader  social  issues:  Big  Pharma  and  Government  vis-­‐à-­‐vis  medical  care  for  people  

•  Kindness,  respect  

Nebraska  •  Americana  •  Dreams  “I  didn’t  know  he  wanted  a  million  dollars.  If  he  did  why  didn’t  he  work  for  it?”  

•  Family  •  Greed  •  Life  

Her  •  Samantha    •  Aramaic:  Listener  •  Hebrew:  Listener;  the  name  of  God  

•  Theodore    •  Greek:  God-­‐given  or  God’s  GiN  

 

Her  

•  A  metaphor?  God  and  the  person?  •  Rela7onship  •  Human  dignity  •  The  meaning  of  life  •  “I  was  in  prison  and  you  visited  me”  

Frozen  

•  Family  •  Differences  •  Freedom  (family,  community  •  White  people  win  again  •  Causes  of  climate  change  :-­‐)  •  Paren7ng    

The  Croods  •  What  it  means  to  be  human  •  Fear  and  survival  •  Consciousness,  innova7on,  survival  •  Family  (respect  within  the  family)  •  (They  ripped  off  Plato’s  “The  Republic”    380  BC)  

12  Years  a  Slave  •  Injus7ce  •  Human  dignity  •  Equality  •  Family  •  Survival  •  Hope  •  Deadly  sins  •  Bea7tude  •  Owning  the  darkness  of  our  history  •  Prejudice,  racism    

Philomena  

•  Injus7ce  •  Lust  or  indiscre7on  of  youth?  •  Intolerance  •  The  common  good?  •  Truth  •  Adop7on  rights  •  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit  •  Reconcilia7on  •  Misuse  of  power  •  Motherhood  

Gravity  

Gravity  

•  Survival  •  Over  coming  fear  •  Contempla7ng  life,  dying,  death  •  Prayer  •  Reborn  •  Life  •  Hope  •  The  beauty  of  crea7on  •  Harming  the  environment  

What  do  the  Oscar  nominated  ,ilms  for  2014  say  to  you  as  a  person  of  faith?    •  Bea7tude  •  Works  of  mercy  •  Deadly  sins  •  Character  •  Empathy  

Which  ,ilm(s)  does  it  best  for  you?