MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2024 - MOVIES

 MONDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2024 - MOVIES

I am not a big moviegoer.  I have a hard enough time to make time to play Words With Friends, do Duolingo German, check my Facebook and e-mail - and walk 5 miles. (And, this week, I’ve only walked five miles twice).

My friend Janet invited me to go to a movie last Friday evening. Janice is a movie aficionado. She said she goes twice a week. 

So, first, I saw the movie White Bird last Friday night. In it, a grandmother tells her grandson (who has had social and acceptance issues in school) about her difficulties in France as a Jew during World War II.  

I “preach” Love Wins - and World War II was when hate overflowed. Here the grandmother’s family is taken away by the Nazis. The girl (grandmother) escapes. She gets help from a crippled classmate that she has snubbed all through school - because he is crippled. Ultimately, she learns love from the boy. Alas, about the time the Allies free France, the boy gets taken and shot. “Hate is strong”. The grandson listens to his grandmother and changes his ways.

I was born after WW2. I’ve read the stories of concentration camps, of hatred. I know the flood swept away some Nazis. Aside from that, my friend Andre, who was in the USSR, was a member of the Communist Party. He needed to be to get his position as a professor. We call it brainwashing or propaganda- but I sense we aren’t much different.  

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” Proverbs 22:6

It can be fun to be a member of the in-crowd. The in-cross can be bullies and get away with it. 

Learning to love is the answer.

*****

The second (not entirely a) movie was Wil and Harper on Netflix. Will Ferrell (who started his extensive career on Saturday Night Live, learns that one of his closest friends from SNL transitioned to being a female.  

Will and Harper take a cross-country road trip. They meet up with old SNL friends, go to a biker bar, go to an NBA basketball (and shake hands with the governor who has recently signed strict anti-transgender legislation. Along the way, Will and Harper talk about Harper’s transition.

One of the big points for transitioning is “Do I pass?” Harper worries about passing. A few times, she doesn’t pass, and it hurts her; sometimes, she does pass, and people accept her.

*****

Both of these movies were moving. The White Bird was dark with a dark cloud of hatred over the people of France (and in particular, the Jews of France and Germany and Europe). Will and Harper get into the topic of Gender Dysphoria and passing.  

*****

It seems as though, recently, I haven’t “passed” well as a woman. At my Bible Study (which tends to be liberal), one of my friends said, “He <something>” - referring to me. In my bridge group that has been together for six years, some say “he” or “him” frequently -referring to me. 

Yes, at 6 feet 2 inches, I am tall for a woman. I have broader shoulders than women, and my shorts don’t fit well as I don’t have a big enough butt and hips to keep them up.  

I stick out in a crowd. I doubt myself as a woman. (I’m so glad I have a support group). 

I think of a Biblical character who stood out. This person ate bugs (locusts) and wild honey. He dressed strangely, and he seemed okay being outside the norm. I stand out and am outside the norm!!!

Some think I am weird when I say forgive all and love all unconditionally. 

Don’t be a hater, be a lover. 

Don’t fight back - turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, love your enemies.

Allow God to transform your mind, and be willing to be different—not just different but different from yourself! 

 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44

LOVE DOES WIN

It may take eternity, but LOVE WILL WIN.

LOVE TRANSFORMS

Romans 12:2 -:-Be transformed by the renewing of your ming

Karen Anne White, October 14, 2024