2015 was a strange year for the world. Historic court decisions in the US, riots and political uprisings throughout the world, Wars, terrorism, political civil wars, and terrible tragedies. It seems that the world as we know is crumbling around us. The new year didn’t bring anything that new, but simply a pause to our heated discussions over race, violence, politics, and our very way of life. And it seems that there is no hope for the world, even in the midst of the lies we are told and keep telling ourselves.
However, a different story told on the big screen this year. It seems that Redemption was a major theme in movies this year. From Mad Max: Fury Road to The Hateful Eight, to Star Wars: the Force Awakens, to The Revenant, redemption was a major component in these story lines. I do not wish to argue that this is the central theme of all these movies or that this is the authorial intent behind all of these films, but I am suggesting that it seems these films are all communicating something similar—that we are in need of redemption.
In Mad Max: Fury Road, we catch a post-apocalyptic and dystopic view of our own world. Humanity is enslaved and in need of redemption. As the protagonists escape and are heading to their version of the promise land a crucial dialogue ensues:
Max: What are they looking for?
Imperator Furiousa: They are looking for hope.
Max: What about you?
Imperator Furiousa: Redemption.
Yet, redemption was not found at the end of fury road, but at the beginning. Humanity cannot simply outrun their problems and escape from them. This film suggests a different form of redemption— you cannot ignore evil, you must fight it.
In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, redemption is something that is experienced and struggled with throughout the film. Finn’s journey from stormtrooper to resistance fighter is a clear example, whereas Han Solo’s struggle in the redemption of his prodigal son is then anti-type (at least as far as we know!). Although this is just the beginning of new trilogy, this story begs the audience to hold on to hope because redemption is not long off.
In the Hateful Eight, redemption is certainly a theme behind the scenes. In the midst of the blood, gore, and witty dialogue, the audience can feel the palpable racial tensions in the post civil war setting. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, a Major in the Union army, is forced to stay inside a cabin with a former Confederate general and a southern soldier.. However, when it goes from bad to worse, the characters must set aside their pasts if they want to survive. Although a lot is going on in this film, it seems that racial reconciliation is what is needed for not only survival but redemption as well.
Finally, in The Revenant, redemption is offered in the anti-thesis. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is seeking revenge for his murdered son after he is left for dead by Tom Hardy’s character. At a poignant scene, Hardy says to DiCaprio,
You came all this way just for your revenge, huh? Did you enjoy it, Glass?… ‘Cause there ain’t nothin’ gon’ bring your boy back
In this quotation, the audience realizes that violence solves nothing. The whole movie shows the ineffectiveness of violence and revenge. In this film, redemption is found wanting because all violence, even the most warranted, cannot bring true redemption.
2015 was a year in turmoil — and I believe that our world and our culture has felt it. Racial tensions are as palpable as they are in the Hateful Eight, violence and blood as abundant as in The Revenant, systemic oppression as tangible as in Mad Max, and the sense that the enemy is just too large and too great to defeat as in Star Wars. Yet, what all these stories have in common is that they are narratives that point us to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. At the root of all these stories is that evil is real and it is not just going to go away. What we really need is redemption. What we really need is salvation. I am not saying that these films are explicitly about the gospel or about Jesus, but that they point us to our need of redemption. Our current situation as a civilization is one of distress, but not despair.
These gospel glimmerings on the big screen speak to the greater reality that our world is desperately searching for redemption. Yet, while governments offer it in the form of policies and presidents, while corporations offer it in the form of products and profits, while religions and philosophies offer it in the form of prudence and prescriptions, the Church can offer real redemption in the good news of Jesus Christ. This news, as opposed to something accept, buy, or vote for, is that Jesus is the very redemption we have hoped and longed for. It is in his death, burial, and resurrection that we see the beginnings of the redemption and restoration of all things. Jesus has now tasked his people to work with the Holy Spirit in this redemption and ministry of reconciliation. And even when we have tumultuous years like we did in 2015, we can still confess the gospel: that Jesus is alive, ruling and reigning on his throne, who will one day return and make all things new.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.