An Example to Make Your Movie Nights More Meaningful

Plans fall through.

It could have been a wasted day.

We had plans of hangouts and get togethers and going separate ways to separate events, but it all fell through. It’s been an exhausting season (who can’t relate to that?), so in the late summer we had a movie marathon day.

Our movie marathon day is a little different than a family movie night. They started as we were reading through the Lord of the Rings as a family. We would finish one book of the trilogy, then order an full individual pizza for every member of the family so they could have their own pick of toppings, and settle in for a long afternoon watching an extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, or Return of the King. It’s a treat more than a normal rhythm as we enjoy the occasional settling in for such a day.

After doing some research on IMDB and Fandango for content, I decided to watch the 2010 remake of Clash of the Titans and its sequel, Wrath of the Titans. If you’re unfamiliar with it, you can tap here to watch the trailer for the first one. It’s only a minute and will give a good sense of the movie.

Why am I breaking from the normal type of discussions or fictional Story of the Marsh Boy? Aside from Poseidon being in these movies which goes along nicely with the theme of this newsletter, there’s a practical reason for this type of post.

The 2024 holiday season is coming up, and there may be down time in your days to watch movies together. It doesn’t have to be a marathon. I want to share what came out of this event with my family because it may be helpful for how you watch movies with your family. Using the example I give of Clash of the Titans, you too can make your family movie nights more meaningful.

The questions kept coming

I’ll set the stage for what happened.

Clash of the Titans is set in ancient Greek mythology, no doubt with liberties taken for Hollywood. Don’t go in watching for accuracy. Zeus and Hades are tired of men rebelling against their authority. The clash ensues.

This is a basic action adventure movie but if you can suspend some disbelief, it does make for an exciting hour and forty-five minutes. It’s nearly clear of sensuality and vulgar language. Fantasy violence is almost non-stop with some of it being very thematic without being gory.

We’ve been watching movies together as a family for a long time. Sometimes I get grief for being overly analytical about characters and themes and the plot. Instead of allowing my personality traits to make it where few movies could be sufficient enough to meet my standards, I’ve adopted a saying: “It’s not a good movie but I like it.” Think of the Jurassic World trilogy and you’re there. This is what I expected out of Clash of the Titans.

More than a clash of titans, I began to have a clash of worldviews. As every movie or song or creative endeavor is a work of art, that work came from someone who has a way of seeing how the world works. Even if it’s fiction or speculative, characters and plots become analogies or suppositions to how someone sees the world. Clash of the Titans had something to say, but so does the true and loving God.

As we watched Perseus rise against the gods, I found the character dynamics captivating. The character dynamics and motivations were full of contrast and conflict. Discussion questions were flooding my mind. They weren’t about the quality of acting or plot choices, but about the relationships between the gods and the people.

It’s a movie ripe with discussion.

Shared for your benefit.

You see, every movie you watch acts in the same way as a sermon. It’s speaking to you, molding you as you meditate on what it has to say about the way the world works. Movies shape worldviews, and if you disagree as anyone who grew up marinating in animated Disney movies. But that’s for another day.

Here’s the questions I came up with as we watched Clash of the Titans. Note: the last question has a mild spoiler in it, and so has a warning.

• How were the Greeks in the story like people today? Especially Cassiopeia who claims, “We are gods now.”

• What differences did you notice between the pantheon’s character and behavior versus Yahweh’s character? What are their dispositions towards man?

• Perseus was the promised child, half god and half man. In what ways is the true myth of Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully man, displayed and not displayed in Perseus?

• When Paul met with the Greek Epicureans and Stoics in the Aereopagus, how did he preach the gospel to them? (See Acts 17:22-34)

• What does the story say about the nature of gods and the nature of man?

• What does the movie say about good and evil? About worship and salvation?

• What role did the djinn play in Perseus’ party? What role did the three witches play? Where do we go for guidance? (Bonus follow up: read 1 Samuel 28. How did King Saul search for guidance, why did he do it the way he did, and what happened as a result?)

• In what ways do people today seek men like Perseus?

• How is the relationship between Zeus and Hades different than the relationship between Yahweh and the devil?

• How is the relationship between Zeus and Perseus different than the relationship between God the Father and God the Son? (Remember, Yahweh is a trinity. The Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are distinctive yet the same. He is three in one.)

• How does the pantheon relate to prayer in comparison to how Yahweh relates to prayer?

• What elements of in the story have you seen in other movies, shows, books, or songs?

• <MILD SPOILER> What other stories had sacrifices offered in the way Andromeda was offered to the Kraken?

These are not the end all of questions. If you decide to watch Clash of the Titans, I’d love to know your thoughts. The sequel, Wrath of the Titans, didn’t prompt such questions and I felt it was lackluster.

Hopefully this small offering of questions will help get your own mental juices flowing in how to not passively watch any movie. One way we can lead our families is through worldview. I’m not saying movies like Clash of the Titans help us teach the Bible, but if we are teaching our family the Bible we can turn movies into teaching moments instead of just vegging out in front of the glowing rectangle box.

We’re in it together. Our families need us. You don’t have to barrage your family in an inquisition after every movie. Even if it’s just one question about what the movie says about how the world works and contrast it with what the Bible teaches, we can teach our children discernment.

We can teach them how to think, not what to think.

These are the kinds of kids the world needs. Kids who will ask questions and have a standard for their own answers.

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Talk to y’all in two weeks.

~ J.P. Simons