"To live would be an awfully big adventure."
I'm in a transcendence in film class and we had to read an article about active spectatorship. This is a journal I wrote for the class, based on two interesting points from that article. One point the article discussed was how film is spiritual vessel to the divine. One particular point that really made an impact on me was how our “understanding of how God works in our lives is expanded and clarified through film” and how film is a useful tool in considering out spiritual nature. People normally consider film as a form of entertainment, but it is an educational tool to help us reach more divine perspectives. As we watch films, we step into the shoes of other people and see through their eyes. We understand the world in a whole new way. Surely learning everything we can about this life brings us closer to the divine. Film helps us understand important things through visual storytelling. It is like a parable: there is the surface story, but when you search deeper there is greater depth and meaning.
This point becomes significant as I watch Peter Pan (2003). The story of Peter Pan is one that has always resonated with me because I think the concepts are so universal. This film is an incredible tool in considering my spiritual nature. Peter Pan represents all that is innocent, a boy stuck in childhood forever. Captain Hook represents adulthood, and all the scary things that come with it, like wisdom, power and greed. Peter Pan is constantly struggling against Captain Hook, resisting adulthood and the scary things that come with it. Yet through the whole film the children play house and pretend to be grown up, because they desire to be adults. An example is when Wendy and Peter appoint themselves parents of the lost boys and insist that they take their medicine. I feel like this is a similar struggle that the spiritually minded face. Do we keep our innocence and stay close to the spiritual, or do we venture out into the scary world and try to make it a better place. Peter Pan, to me, represents spirituality and innocence. Neverland is the happy place in my heart where I commune with Heavenly Father. Captain Hook is the world, and while I want to hide from the world and not face the evil in it, I must face it like Peter must face Captain Hook. Those that are spiritually oriented need to go out into the world and conquer evil, without becoming evil. It is our duty and quest to conquer Captain Hook and make the world better.
A second point that I found interesting was that “the film experience consists not only of our watching the film but of later reflecting on it personally and discussing it with others, in various contexts.” In order to gain a greater understanding of our spiritual nature through film, we must reflect on the film after the viewing experience and decipher what it means to us, what that meaning says about us and how we can learn from that. It is our responsibility to reflect on the films that we see to learn these things about ourselves and see what may be blocking our path to further insight, learning, and growth.
This point is also significant as I watch Peter Pan. I am drawn to every film that derives from this story, like Hook and Finding Neverland. I frequently find myself pondering the similarities and differences between these stories and why I am so drawn to them. I love this story, and I think that says a lot about who I am and the fears that I have. I am drawn to the fantasy world of Neverland and I wish I could go there sometimes and see the mermaids and Indians. I think this is my desire to escape the world and live somewhere where life is easier. This is something that blocks my growth, a constant desire to remain a child to protect myself from difficult things. I am terrified of new experiences and of having to be an adult, but like Peter I have to face my fears. In reflecting Peter Pan I find something that blocks my growth: my fear. This meaning of childhood and the fear of adulthood that I derive from the film draws me to a closer love of the story. It acknowledges all of my fears and tells me how to face them. I love to discuss the different stories of Peter Pan because they resonate with me and who I am, and upon deeper reflection I can learn more about myself and about how to overcome my fears.
