A Reflection on Being Salty
by LewisWhich do you think is easier — to be a preservative for the world or to simply let it rot?
The world is rotting, you know, decaying morally and spiritually in many places in many ways, and it is happening all around you. Can you see it? Can you smell it? Do you even notice it in books, in magazines, on television, in movies?
The reaction I see from most Christians is hand-wringing, sometimes accompanied by a little bit of flag-waving. What I see too rarely is salt-shaking. But just the other day I came across a fairly long, obviously heartfelt, statement about language in movies that had me smelling the salt air, and it was as refreshing as standing on Carmel Beach. The writer was one John Ware, founder of the 168 Hour Film Project.
I’ve known about 168 for several years, and been on their mailing list for perhaps four of their five years of existence, but perhaps you don’t know them. Their web site states that “The 168 Hour Film Project is a competition where producers have 168 hours (1 week) to film and edit and 11-minute movie based on a theme and a Bible verse. All films are created during production week to premiere at the 168 Film Festival.” Pretty cool, eh?
But in John’s blog he wasn’t writing about film-making per se, he was writing about language. What should the judges do, he wondered, about film-makers who wanted to included bad language in their films? Producers could often make the case that such language was “necessary” to the film and the development of some particular character in the film, and I’m sure you can see that they could. But ultimately John decided to draw the line in the sand, and to deny any such film a place in the festival that included any such language. Not an easy call to make, I know, but good for him for making it and holding back the decay.
Too many of us might have taken the easier path of allowing those producers to make the film they wanted to make. After all, what could be the harm in a little dirty language sprinkled here and there in a film? But how much better to have the salt sprinkled instead!
Try to do that in your life and work. Don’t be one of those Christians for whom “slightly rotten” is the new “fresh.”
Tags: 168 hour film project, Christianity, John Ware, language, salt
July 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
What a punchline! It’s amazing how you can say all this without sounding holier-than-thou.
I tell my kids this kind of language is simply “ugly,” meaning not beautiful or uplifting or encouraging. I also tell them that nearly all words have their place, but that most “bad language” should wait on the shelf as long as possible. So far, they haven’t felt the need to pull out any of those words to emphasize what they can already express eloquently and colorfully.
I’ve seen one DVD’s worth of 168-hour stuff. I thought it was excellently done and thought-provoking. Kudos to John Ware for making a place where great art can fluorish within some salty constraints.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Thanks, Susan. Glad you liked the punchline and the post.
And well taught to your kids! I had a youth group teacher who taught us basically the same thing, and it made a difference in the way I talked. Interestingly, one of my classmates took notice of that and told me how much he admired my “clean” speech. It was the first time I remember ever being complimented for not doing something!
July 11th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
We’ve all heard the saying about grandmas - “if you can’t think of anything nice to say, don’t say anything”
I am wondering what she thought of me because she never ever said anything to me.
Wait a minute. I think I got it now.
Huh?!