I was raised in a Christian home with Christian ideals and a Christian viewpoint on what is right and wrong, which, I have to say, I am incredibly thankful for. My parents did an incredible job of raising me and I am eternally grateful to them for helping me turn into the man I should be and the man I will become. I went to Ecola Bible School last year, which was wonderful, and only reenforced those ideals that I had been raised in and even built more upon them, which was perfect timing in my life because during the previous year, I had started the typical "playing with the line of morality" that most teenagers go through. After last year, seeing that my whole world lined up with what right and wrong are, I had no problem holding onto those ideals.Then I spent a summer on the road, being a mentor and friend to various younglings at 8 different camps, only reenforcing everything I had learned that year.
But then I came to film school. I went from an environment where everyone I knew believed the exact same thing I did. (Now, that probably sounds like a cultish environment or whatever, but I assure you, it's not. When people come together to learn more about why they believe the way they believe, especially when that way is the truth in life, it's mind boggling how much God works.) First of all, Christianity feels different here in the mid-west than it does back west. I can't put my finger on what exactly it is (trust me, I've been trying to figure it out for 6 months now), but it just is different. Of course, it also may be that I have no ties to this place previously, and that I've going to a school where pretty much everyone around me believes something different. Anyways, as I dove into the world of film, I discovered that life isn't as black and white as I had previously thought.
First off, the very idea of art is a lie. Art is taking something, anything, and using it to invoke a particular emotion, thus manipulating the audience. And I would say that film is an extreme of that. In my opinion, film is at least one of the most powerful of the arts, if only because it is the furthest reaching and causes the most impact on people's lives. So if art is a lie, does that make it right? Well I would say that it's a different type of lie. After all, God is perfect AND an artist. I believe it's what you do with that art that determines whether the lie that you are telling through your art is wrong or not.
Which opens up a whole other discussion: What should we be ok with watching? We accept seeing so much violence in movies, yet threaten death at the thought of seeing sexual content or homosexual content in movies. God says that whether it's a small lie, committing adultery, or killing someone, it's all bad. It's all sin and all separates us from God. For example, one of my favorite movies is "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World". Many Christian people condemn the movie because of the homosexual content it contains, yet, we are ok watching something like "James Bond" or "Firefly" because it's "not as bad". I disagree. Frankly, "James Bond" and "Firefly" are WAY worse, content wise.
Going beyond that, here's another question: As an artist, what is ok and not ok to do in art, specifically film? Where is the line between artistic choice and immorality? For example, if I put swearing into my film, will it lessen of intensify the impact? A film example of this is the contrast between "Ides of March" and "The Grey". "Ides of March" had quite a bit of swearing in it, which really put me off because it didn't seem to fit the movie. I felt like they were putting it in there just to put it in. Meanwhile, in "The Grey", there was twice as much swearing in it as "Ides", but it fit the movie, and thus made the movie feel more accurate, powerful, and meaningful.
These are all things I'm grappling with this year. If art is a lie, where is the line? Should I be even be paying attention to the line? Or should I be trying to stay away from the line completely? If I do that, will my art's impact on the world suffer because of it? What should be my goal? And how am I supposed to ultimately use it for God's glory?
My entire goal in life is to praise and reflect God in my craft, without shoving what I believe in people's faces. I believe that God has put a passion in me for using film to reach people where they are. And I desire that so incredibly much.
But life isn't black and white. As much as I want it to be, it won't be until Christ comes back. So until then, I will keep seeking the answers I desire, and pray that God will show me them, so that I may apply them to the craft I am shaping, so that I may be used to create the most impact in people's lives.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Dreams for the Future
Dreams for our lives. We all have them, or at least have had them at some point.
We grow up all looking to people beyond and above ourselves, and we aspired to be like them. As boys, it's firemen, policemen, superheroes, etc. (I don't know what exactly girls consistently aspire to be, but girls reading this will understand what I mean.) As we grow older, our dreams start to change, turning into things that line up more with who we are growing to be. Then, so many, there's a dead zone at about the middle of high school where we have no idea what we want to do. Some come out of that quickly, some don't figure out what they want for years after that. I was blessed enough to figure it out during my senior year.
Film. Movies. TV. Most people can't even imagine all of the work that goes into media, and thus they take it for granted. And that's ok! Media has two extremes to being there. On one end, it's there to be art. And on the other end, it's there to just entertain. Some what to think too much about it, and some what to not think about it at all.
I desire to tap into both sides of that spectrum during my life. I want to go out and make films that people can enjoy, that will wow people, that will take people to a place they have never been before. I also want to make films that make people think about their lives, what sort of consequences their actions have, and about who we are deep inside. Most of the movies we see today are shallow and story-less, only really there to make money. I hate that. I want to bring back good story telling, to bring back life to Hollywood. People don't even realize that when they attend 'Transformers' and 'Twilight', they are feeding the machine of soulless crap that has taken over Hollywood. I want to show the executives that we need good story and good characterization back, that we need to have a reason to make films besides the shallow reason of making money.
I desire, above all, to bring glory to God. So many think that Christianity is irrelevant to life and culture, that it's all just a crutch. I assure you it's not. It's a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle that, if approached in the right mindset, is more grounded in reality than most non-Christian thinking. And that's all we need to show the world: That God knows what's up and wants to help us through this life. He wants to guide us to Himself, but we have to let Him.
As Christians, we come across to the world as "in people's faces".
That's not what we're meant to be. We are meant to reflect God's love and show people the good news that He has for them.
So that's my dream. I write this today for not only you, but for myself in the future. I can't wait to see how God changes me to more like the man he wants me to be, and to be more like Him. I can't wait look back years from now, see what God has done in my life and the lives of others around me, and return the praise to Him! :)
We grow up all looking to people beyond and above ourselves, and we aspired to be like them. As boys, it's firemen, policemen, superheroes, etc. (I don't know what exactly girls consistently aspire to be, but girls reading this will understand what I mean.) As we grow older, our dreams start to change, turning into things that line up more with who we are growing to be. Then, so many, there's a dead zone at about the middle of high school where we have no idea what we want to do. Some come out of that quickly, some don't figure out what they want for years after that. I was blessed enough to figure it out during my senior year.
Film. Movies. TV. Most people can't even imagine all of the work that goes into media, and thus they take it for granted. And that's ok! Media has two extremes to being there. On one end, it's there to be art. And on the other end, it's there to just entertain. Some what to think too much about it, and some what to not think about it at all.
I desire to tap into both sides of that spectrum during my life. I want to go out and make films that people can enjoy, that will wow people, that will take people to a place they have never been before. I also want to make films that make people think about their lives, what sort of consequences their actions have, and about who we are deep inside. Most of the movies we see today are shallow and story-less, only really there to make money. I hate that. I want to bring back good story telling, to bring back life to Hollywood. People don't even realize that when they attend 'Transformers' and 'Twilight', they are feeding the machine of soulless crap that has taken over Hollywood. I want to show the executives that we need good story and good characterization back, that we need to have a reason to make films besides the shallow reason of making money.
I desire, above all, to bring glory to God. So many think that Christianity is irrelevant to life and culture, that it's all just a crutch. I assure you it's not. It's a lifestyle. It's a lifestyle that, if approached in the right mindset, is more grounded in reality than most non-Christian thinking. And that's all we need to show the world: That God knows what's up and wants to help us through this life. He wants to guide us to Himself, but we have to let Him.
As Christians, we come across to the world as "in people's faces".
That's not what we're meant to be. We are meant to reflect God's love and show people the good news that He has for them.
So that's my dream. I write this today for not only you, but for myself in the future. I can't wait to see how God changes me to more like the man he wants me to be, and to be more like Him. I can't wait look back years from now, see what God has done in my life and the lives of others around me, and return the praise to Him! :)
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
VIDEO LINK: Art Vocation Worship Video
This is a worship video Bree Brincat and I made for Art Vocation class. It's not nearly as good as we wanted it, but it's pretty :)
Art Voc video on YouTube
I hope you enjoy it!
Art Voc video on YouTube
I hope you enjoy it!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
SMT, Part 9= Camp Elohim- The Grand Finale
It's been a little over 4 months since I began blogging about each camp I went to during my 8 week adventure on SMT. It's taken longer to cover each leg of the journey than I meant to, but then again, I'm sad that this is the last post in the series about our summer. Of course, I will mention my experiences in future posts, as it was 2 months of my life that profoundly changed me forever.
We left Oregon from Camp Morrow and made our way up to Rhianna's house once again to stay there over night before we headed up towards northwestern Montana. To be honest, I don't remember a lot from that weekend. We continued from there up to Troy, MT, which was the location of our final camp, Camp Elohim. It was a cute little camp, very rustic. I liked the staff well enough (though there was some tension at points for Matt and I, but it really doesn't matter now, so I won't get into it). The first night, I had one camper in my cabin even though the camp didn't start till the next day. From my conversation with him, I knew that the people in that state were in a different mind set than I, one of those city folk. But that was ok, because Matt and I got to sit with him and just talk about life, which would prove to have been needed later in the week.
The next day, campers arrived! It was a high school camp (a great way to end it all!). I had four campers: Ryan, Josh, Tyler, and Devin, four great guys! :) I remember having some great and deep discussions with them at night. All of them were already Christians, so once again, it was my job to help build them up in whatever way I could (which I pray that I did) That week felt so... in tune with God. I was so lead in what I talked about during cabin times and what and when to do and say things. It was such a great week for me spiritually. Now of course, since it was our last week, we were dead tired. And the camp started earlier each day than any of the previous, so it was painful getting up in the mornings, but once I did, the days were worth it. The activities were so great! Archery, shooting .22s, a long hike to a waterfall, and rafting... ahh it was great! And I loved the speaker, John Wallace. I got so much out of his teaching of Acts, a class I wish we had gotten more into at Ecola, but he really changed my perspectives and knowledge on that book! And I found out that his father founded Sonrise Church in Hillsboro, OR, a branch of which my family back home in Oregon now attends! Plus, I really loved their kids! Peter and Andrew were so awesome to hang out with when I had a little free time during the day :)
(Also, I still insist I saw a bear at campfire the last night. That was no deer or elk I saw!!!)
The last day of camp was so surreal. It didn't feel like it was supposed to be over yet, and yet I was ready, ya know? Soon the campers were gone and we were packing up the van for the last time. Man that was a weird feeling... SO we said our goodbyes, got one last camp picture as a group, and we headed out.
We took three days to get back to Cannon Beach. First we drove to Moscow, ID and stayed at a girl from Ecola's house, who's name I can not think of for the life of me... Anyways, it was a very pretty neighborhood and house. That night, a bunch of us went on a walk around town, and I had a fantastic and deep conversation with Katie, a conversation that, in my opinion, solidified our brother/sister-ship forever and ever. :) The next day, we drove from Moscow to Newberg, OR, where we stayed the night at Matt and Katie's aunt and uncle's house. And finally. The final leg back to Cannon Beach. We drove into Cannon Beach blaring "Take Me Home Country Roads, which made me cry (and still brings tears to my eyes today as I think about it). We drove to the beach and ran into the ocean. (the whole thing is on my Facebook page under videos) After that last hurrah as a group, we drove to Ecola and met up with the other group and the staff. We sat down and discussed the summer.
And then it was over.
Just like that.
After disbanded, I couldn't believe it. But it was truly over. We all went to Casa del Sol for Mexican food, to hang out as a group. I spent that night in my friend, Zach Ricks' room, but not before I walked on the beach that night, trying to get a grasp on what was next. The next morning, my family came for me, whom I had not seen since the memorial service for my grandma a month and a half before. I felt sick. I felt like crying the whole time. I only saw Rhianna that day because everyone else was out at the time I was leaving CB, but they knew I'd see them again in a few days.
The last time I saw Matt, Katie, Rhianna, and Lisa was at the Ecola Campout in Sisters, OR 4 days later. That was five and a half months ago. I miss those 4 so much. I miss them as much as I miss my own family. I love them so much. I pray and think about them all the time, and I can't wait to see them again.
I write this to all of you who read my blog and are interested in my life. But I also write this to my SMT family: the man and the three women who kept with me and put up with me for two months straight. It was one of the best summers of my life, and the rest of the summers I experience will have a hard time beating it.
I love you guys.
We left Oregon from Camp Morrow and made our way up to Rhianna's house once again to stay there over night before we headed up towards northwestern Montana. To be honest, I don't remember a lot from that weekend. We continued from there up to Troy, MT, which was the location of our final camp, Camp Elohim. It was a cute little camp, very rustic. I liked the staff well enough (though there was some tension at points for Matt and I, but it really doesn't matter now, so I won't get into it). The first night, I had one camper in my cabin even though the camp didn't start till the next day. From my conversation with him, I knew that the people in that state were in a different mind set than I, one of those city folk. But that was ok, because Matt and I got to sit with him and just talk about life, which would prove to have been needed later in the week.
The next day, campers arrived! It was a high school camp (a great way to end it all!). I had four campers: Ryan, Josh, Tyler, and Devin, four great guys! :) I remember having some great and deep discussions with them at night. All of them were already Christians, so once again, it was my job to help build them up in whatever way I could (which I pray that I did) That week felt so... in tune with God. I was so lead in what I talked about during cabin times and what and when to do and say things. It was such a great week for me spiritually. Now of course, since it was our last week, we were dead tired. And the camp started earlier each day than any of the previous, so it was painful getting up in the mornings, but once I did, the days were worth it. The activities were so great! Archery, shooting .22s, a long hike to a waterfall, and rafting... ahh it was great! And I loved the speaker, John Wallace. I got so much out of his teaching of Acts, a class I wish we had gotten more into at Ecola, but he really changed my perspectives and knowledge on that book! And I found out that his father founded Sonrise Church in Hillsboro, OR, a branch of which my family back home in Oregon now attends! Plus, I really loved their kids! Peter and Andrew were so awesome to hang out with when I had a little free time during the day :)
(Also, I still insist I saw a bear at campfire the last night. That was no deer or elk I saw!!!)
The last day of camp was so surreal. It didn't feel like it was supposed to be over yet, and yet I was ready, ya know? Soon the campers were gone and we were packing up the van for the last time. Man that was a weird feeling... SO we said our goodbyes, got one last camp picture as a group, and we headed out.
We took three days to get back to Cannon Beach. First we drove to Moscow, ID and stayed at a girl from Ecola's house, who's name I can not think of for the life of me... Anyways, it was a very pretty neighborhood and house. That night, a bunch of us went on a walk around town, and I had a fantastic and deep conversation with Katie, a conversation that, in my opinion, solidified our brother/sister-ship forever and ever. :) The next day, we drove from Moscow to Newberg, OR, where we stayed the night at Matt and Katie's aunt and uncle's house. And finally. The final leg back to Cannon Beach. We drove into Cannon Beach blaring "Take Me Home Country Roads, which made me cry (and still brings tears to my eyes today as I think about it). We drove to the beach and ran into the ocean. (the whole thing is on my Facebook page under videos) After that last hurrah as a group, we drove to Ecola and met up with the other group and the staff. We sat down and discussed the summer.
And then it was over.
Just like that.
After disbanded, I couldn't believe it. But it was truly over. We all went to Casa del Sol for Mexican food, to hang out as a group. I spent that night in my friend, Zach Ricks' room, but not before I walked on the beach that night, trying to get a grasp on what was next. The next morning, my family came for me, whom I had not seen since the memorial service for my grandma a month and a half before. I felt sick. I felt like crying the whole time. I only saw Rhianna that day because everyone else was out at the time I was leaving CB, but they knew I'd see them again in a few days.
The last time I saw Matt, Katie, Rhianna, and Lisa was at the Ecola Campout in Sisters, OR 4 days later. That was five and a half months ago. I miss those 4 so much. I miss them as much as I miss my own family. I love them so much. I pray and think about them all the time, and I can't wait to see them again.
I write this to all of you who read my blog and are interested in my life. But I also write this to my SMT family: the man and the three women who kept with me and put up with me for two months straight. It was one of the best summers of my life, and the rest of the summers I experience will have a hard time beating it.
I love you guys.
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