Ok, I have to admit it, I was seduced by a radio ad. I should have known better. The ad was for the movie "Seven Days in Utopia" and it made it sound so interesting that I went out and bought the movie. Somebody is laughing all the way to the bank and it isn't me.
It isn't all bad. It was filmed around Utopia, Texas (apparently that is a real place) and the scenery is just as beautiful as the promotion promised it would be. It's the kind of small town that in my wandering days I would go out of my way just to check out. And I have seen worse. The plot is actually somewhat cohesive and the acting not too shabby. But--I was took!
"Seven Days" is about a young golfer (Luke) who has a meltdown in a tournament and drives off in a huff. A stray bull in the road sends his car careening through a fence into a field near Utopia. Enter "Johnny" played by Robert Duvall. He takes Luke under his wing and for the next seven days teaches him all about golf. Now, I don't play golf, don't know anything about it, but apparently you can learn to become a tournament player by fly fishing, painting pictures and other stuff that seems unrelated to the subject. Hey, it worked for the Karate Kid, so why not? He even gives Luke a magic mantra to use, but it's ok because it's Christian magic. Then he takes Luke to a cemetery and has him bury his lies in a grave and carve this mantra on the stone.
Now Luke is ready for the big tournament. He finds himself tied with the reigning champion. All he needs is one more putt. He takes the special club Johnny has made for him (is this even legal? Most competitions I know of have very strict rules regarding equipment), swings, and . . . the screen goes dark. Did he make the putt? Does it matter? says the narrator. Well, if you really want to know, go to this website, www.didhemaketheputt.com, and find out.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the movie, but still want to, read no further. Because I am going to save you a bunch of time.
OF COURSE, he makes the putt. But to find this out you have to sit through a seven minute video full of some of the biggest Christian BS I have ever heard. Stuff like it really doesn't matter, because there is only one real champion and we all know who that is. Champions can fall from grace (sure they can, look at Penn State), so strive for the glory that matters. But if striving to be a champion is a waste of time in the eternal scheme of things, then why not let Luke miss the putt and show what happens from that point on? I find it ironic that this movie talks about burying lies (oh, by the way, you can write down all the lies you want to bury and send it to Utopia and they will bury it in their cemetery) when it is perpetuating a myth of its own? The myth that all that is necessary to be a winner is to turn your life over to God Christian style. You can overcome obstacles. Defeat isn't really defeat. Well, again, if winning and losing aren't important, if defeat isn't really defeat, then why not show Luke blowing it? I am half tempted to send the DVD down to Utopia as one of the lies I want buried.
I've been hearing a lot of talk about lies lately. Some of the women in my church have been meeting for lunch to discuss a book called "Lies Women Believe". They invited me to join them, but, you know what, some of us women do have to work for a living and I only get a half hour for lunch. Anyway I took a look at the book and just couldn't relate. Maybe some women believe these things, but not me. And of course, we've been talking about lies in small group.
What I would like to know, is what constitutes a lie? Is a lie, like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder? I thought that for something to be a lie, there had to be a conscious intent to deceive. Now, I feel that many of the things that I have been taught about life are not true, but I do not think that the people who taught me these things had the intent to deceive. If they taught me things that were not true, it was out of ignorance. They did not set out to knowingly teach me falsehoods. They meant well. I've heard people say, well this church or that church teaches lies. Well, I've been to quite a few churches and not once have I ever heard the minister or priest say, "Now people, I am going to lie to you." On the contrary, they would be most upset to find out that people were accusing them of teaching lies.
So what constitutes a lie? This is what "Seven Days" fails to define, and I doubt that its sequel (oh, yes, you know there is going to be one) is going to be any more informative. The sad thing is, that its creators probably in all sincerity believe that what they are peddling is truth, and because they believe it is truth, it is. But just because they believe it is truth, doesn't necessarily make it so. And you know what, by adding that little stunt at the end, they have just diminished the value of their movie. Because websites can change. Websites can disappear. Will that site still be accessible five years from now? Ten? Twenty? Thirty? But they aren't interested in creating something that can last, that will still be relevant to future viewers. No, this is just make it quick propaganda.
At least "Smokey and the Bandit" doesn't pretend to be anything else but a cheesy fantasy.
It isn't all bad. It was filmed around Utopia, Texas (apparently that is a real place) and the scenery is just as beautiful as the promotion promised it would be. It's the kind of small town that in my wandering days I would go out of my way just to check out. And I have seen worse. The plot is actually somewhat cohesive and the acting not too shabby. But--I was took!
"Seven Days" is about a young golfer (Luke) who has a meltdown in a tournament and drives off in a huff. A stray bull in the road sends his car careening through a fence into a field near Utopia. Enter "Johnny" played by Robert Duvall. He takes Luke under his wing and for the next seven days teaches him all about golf. Now, I don't play golf, don't know anything about it, but apparently you can learn to become a tournament player by fly fishing, painting pictures and other stuff that seems unrelated to the subject. Hey, it worked for the Karate Kid, so why not? He even gives Luke a magic mantra to use, but it's ok because it's Christian magic. Then he takes Luke to a cemetery and has him bury his lies in a grave and carve this mantra on the stone.
Now Luke is ready for the big tournament. He finds himself tied with the reigning champion. All he needs is one more putt. He takes the special club Johnny has made for him (is this even legal? Most competitions I know of have very strict rules regarding equipment), swings, and . . . the screen goes dark. Did he make the putt? Does it matter? says the narrator. Well, if you really want to know, go to this website, www.didhemaketheputt.com, and find out.
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the movie, but still want to, read no further. Because I am going to save you a bunch of time.
OF COURSE, he makes the putt. But to find this out you have to sit through a seven minute video full of some of the biggest Christian BS I have ever heard. Stuff like it really doesn't matter, because there is only one real champion and we all know who that is. Champions can fall from grace (sure they can, look at Penn State), so strive for the glory that matters. But if striving to be a champion is a waste of time in the eternal scheme of things, then why not let Luke miss the putt and show what happens from that point on? I find it ironic that this movie talks about burying lies (oh, by the way, you can write down all the lies you want to bury and send it to Utopia and they will bury it in their cemetery) when it is perpetuating a myth of its own? The myth that all that is necessary to be a winner is to turn your life over to God Christian style. You can overcome obstacles. Defeat isn't really defeat. Well, again, if winning and losing aren't important, if defeat isn't really defeat, then why not show Luke blowing it? I am half tempted to send the DVD down to Utopia as one of the lies I want buried.
I've been hearing a lot of talk about lies lately. Some of the women in my church have been meeting for lunch to discuss a book called "Lies Women Believe". They invited me to join them, but, you know what, some of us women do have to work for a living and I only get a half hour for lunch. Anyway I took a look at the book and just couldn't relate. Maybe some women believe these things, but not me. And of course, we've been talking about lies in small group.
What I would like to know, is what constitutes a lie? Is a lie, like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder? I thought that for something to be a lie, there had to be a conscious intent to deceive. Now, I feel that many of the things that I have been taught about life are not true, but I do not think that the people who taught me these things had the intent to deceive. If they taught me things that were not true, it was out of ignorance. They did not set out to knowingly teach me falsehoods. They meant well. I've heard people say, well this church or that church teaches lies. Well, I've been to quite a few churches and not once have I ever heard the minister or priest say, "Now people, I am going to lie to you." On the contrary, they would be most upset to find out that people were accusing them of teaching lies.
So what constitutes a lie? This is what "Seven Days" fails to define, and I doubt that its sequel (oh, yes, you know there is going to be one) is going to be any more informative. The sad thing is, that its creators probably in all sincerity believe that what they are peddling is truth, and because they believe it is truth, it is. But just because they believe it is truth, doesn't necessarily make it so. And you know what, by adding that little stunt at the end, they have just diminished the value of their movie. Because websites can change. Websites can disappear. Will that site still be accessible five years from now? Ten? Twenty? Thirty? But they aren't interested in creating something that can last, that will still be relevant to future viewers. No, this is just make it quick propaganda.
At least "Smokey and the Bandit" doesn't pretend to be anything else but a cheesy fantasy.
