I was hoping to watch some BBC Narnia today, but now I have to go pick up a prescription for my cat.
Anyway, as I try to rest between books, I thought it might be edifying to revisit the question of whether fantasy can be profitably used in God’s service.
https://leeduigon.com/2015/01/31/a-defense-of-fantasy/
I really can’t blame readers who think fantasy is at best idle nonsense, and at worst, some kind of dalliance with the occult. But that can be said about anything, can’t it? There’s music that glorifies God, and there’s music that debases man and everything around him. When was the last time you heard somebody zoom down the road with a hymn playing on his car’s sound system?
So of course we can use fantasy in the service of the Kingdom: and the more who decide to try to do it, the better.
Imagination is a Divine gift. As long as it’s used in an upbuilding manner, why not put it to use?
I agree, Lee. Fantasy, if clean, is a worthwhile form of entertainment. Sometimes, you might even learn something. There are many styles of
music, too, and each person has their favorites; doesn’t mean all other styles are bad.
Only rap is definitely bad, no question about it.
Music is a reflection of the culture from which it originates. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, the Israelites has begun worshipping an idol and Joshua first recognized that something was going on by the sound of their singing as the danced before the alter they had built.
Much of what we recognize as music of the Western culture, has its roots in music that was related to Christian worship. When I was a child, there were Standards a plenty playing on the radio with singers like Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra. This music reflected America’s values of the time. They were about love and had positive themes.
There were other tropes of music out there which weren’t so positive; the musical equivalent of pornography has been a fact of life for a long time, but such music was not played over the airwaves, television, etc. and held a relatively small market.
Rock n’ Roll came along in the fifties and shocked a lot of people. The first of it seems pretty tame by today’s standards, but in a time when Mockingbird Hill was a hit song, it was quite a change. But even within Rock n’ Roll, there was a great diversity of material. Some of the “Rockabilly” music of the fifties seems almost childish, while other songs of that genre have an edge and seem malign.
It’s been an issue of some concern to me, over the years, because music is very important in my life. I tried to select music which, at the very least, doesn’t directly conflict with Christian values. It strikes me that a strain of malignant music took root in the mid to late sixties and has fought for influence ever since. It is harsh in effect and usually devoid of humor or love. The sound is heavy and distorted, the vocal parts sound pained. I avoid this music and do not want to be remembered by anyone for having played such material; especially, I don’t want my Creator to remember me for playing degrading music.
Now, I am able to play some early ‘60s Rock n’ Roll and Soft Rock tunes. I play Blues, but Blues can be lighthearted and fun, for exaple, the Bunny Hop is a Blues, My Blues are Jazzy and lighthearted. I play a lot of music with a good backbeat, but I don’t, and won’t, play the truly heavy stuff that is jarring and unpleasant. I don’t want to offend or alienate my audience and it’s extremely important to me that any music I play will not be inappropriate for any children that happen to be present.
Rap has its sub genres, but the little I’ve been exposed to seems to be designed to be jarring and abrupt. I was in a store one day when a Rap song came on the PA. I was shocked by the lyrics, and considering some of the language I’ve heard in the workplace, I don’t shock easily.
In all fairness, I must include this: I once heard a Rap by Gil Scott Heron, a Jazz artist, which encouraged young people to not cave in to peer pressure but to take the high road instead. I only heard it once, but I still remember clearly that it used Rap to deliver a message of moderation and peacefulness. I’m not mentioning this as an endorsement of Rap, but I will gladly give credit where credit is due. If Heron helped some young people to make good choices, I’m not going to fault the media he chose.
At the high school where I taught, there was a kid who could rap off the top of his head on any subject. It was a real talent. He had a lot of trouble with regular schoolwork, though. I spent some extra time working with him, to teach him how to get more out of what he read, how to study–and he came up to me one day with a great big smile to tell me that he had just gotten the first “A” he’d ever gotten on a test. So that was rewarding.
His talent, though, deserved a better use. How many potentially wonderful musicians waste themselves on crummy music? But of course the same could be said of writers, artists, actors, or anybody else.
IMO, it’s not particularly great art, even at its best. There are a lot of artistic expressions, these days, which leave me cold.
I visited a music store today and there was a guy with an 8 string guitar playing Heavy Metal through a highly distorted amp. What he did required skill, to be assured, but it certainly didn’t express any feeling I would care to have. People that use their talent that way are a dime a dozen. Let’s see him play a real song.
For instance: Gene Hackman was a top-flight actor. But in “The Poseidon Adventure,” the lines his character had to speak were too ridiculous for words. (“I’m one of your new breed of priests–young, angry, and rebellious.” Barf bag, please!) If he had done nothing but movies like this, no one would have ever known how good an actor he was.
I had forgotten about his role in the Poseidon Adventure. He was an excellent actor. Ever see The Conversation?
No, I missed that one.
I wonder if he wished he could forget his role in The Poseidon Adventure.
That was the ‘70s; lots of it so bright ideas.
Make the not so bright ideas.
The thing I remember most about 1970s movies was, they would go far out of their way to include a nude scene. Some of these required stretching the plot completely out of shape.
Fantasy is an excellent vehicle for Christianity. Read Lewis’ sci-fi trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. It’s a fantasy for adults.
That Hideous Strength is one of my all-time favorites.
To answer your question, “When was the last time you heard somebody zoom down the road with a hymn playing on his car’s sound system?” – The last time was actually when I was living in Fort Worth, TX, in the late 1970s, and I heard it more than once or twice. Whether I’d still be hearing such things there now, I don’t know but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Some years ago, I was walking down Main Street when a woman drove past with humpback whale songs playing very, very loudly from her car’s sound system. There’s got to be a story in that, but I never found out what it was.