Hello people. Eugene Cho the Reviewer is back. You hated my last review of Mark Driscoll’s book, Real Marriage, so I’m trying again with my endeavors to be a world class reviewer and thus, I am writing a review for the movie, Blue Like Jazz, based on Donald Miller‘s book…Blue Like Jazz. Love how those matching titles work.
Let me first say that I have yet to see the film but since we’re living in a day and age where people are inclined to write reviews about books they have yet to read, I say what the heck. As much as I want to say I’ll see the film very soon, I can’t make any promises. Why? I haven’t been to a movie theater in several years. I honestly think that the last movie I saw a movie in the theaters was The Lord of the Rings. Ages ago.
To my defense, I have read the book although it took me several months because my bad reading habit is to pick up at least a dozen books to read at the same time. To Donald’s credit, I mostly read dead people so it’s not to say that I want him to have a short life, it caught my attention enough to pick it up even though I know (and hope) he’s very healthy and in the middle of a long life.
Let me also say that I quasi-know Don Miller. Not super well by any means but we’ve exchanged tweets here and there and we actually had an intimate dinner together – along with 30 other people in Chicago. But we sat next to each other but both of us sat across Dr. John Perkins and let’s be honest, neither of us cared about sitting next to each other because we were sitting across Dr. Perkins and we were both ga-ga for Dr. Perkins. And if you’re wondering, we had Chicago pizza which was good but nothing compared to the nuggets of wisdom Dr. Perkins was dropping all night long.
So, I’ve got a few thoughts to share – not necessarily specifically about this film (since I haven’t seen the film) but just the general vibe of the film (and the various conversations I hear over the interwebs) and the general intersection between the spiritual and secular – if there is even such a distinction.
Here goes some random thoughts about what Blue Like Jazz teaches us about creating a better story:
First, two thumbs up:
In honor of the greatest movies critics the world has ever known (that would be Siskel & Ebert for you young folks), I am giving “two thumbs up” to this film just as I gave two thumbs up Rob Bell about his news of going Hollywood to help create a new TV show on ABC called Stronger.
Why? Because creating art, taking chances, stirring conversations…are all lost art. And it ought to be commended.
Knowing the Context of the Book
The criticism I’ve heard of the book (mostly and by default, the film, presumably) is that it’s not a very robust theological book. That would be an incredibly fair and pointed critique…if the book was meant to be a theological book or an offering under ‘biblical studies’. But, it’s not…it’s a novel in semi-quasi-autobiographical narrative form. I’m not saying it’s a devilish book but it’s not a theological book a la Calvin’s Institutes.
Context and intent are pretty apropos.
In doing an interview with a reporter several weeks ago for an article that was posted in various places including the Washington Post, I explained why I “liked” the book. It not only dealt with the “what” of the content but “how” the content was conveyed:
Eugene Cho, 41, the lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle, understands the appeal.
“Even if you might not agree with everything, there’s something about how the author, Donald Miller, is really welcoming people into conversation and thought that really appeals to people,” he said.
Miller hopes the movie has similar impact as the book, showing people they aren’t alone in difficult spiritual struggles.
“There are other people who deal with these things: the space between the church and the world, the pulls from either side,” he said. “Not just the church and the world, between a mom and dad, between love and sex, between faith and doubt. All those places. More people than we know live in those spaces.”
Cho sees another message encouraging all Americans, not just religious people, to interact with groups different than themselves.
“We tend to live in this very polarized world and we’re seeing this more so in this election season,” he said. “Particularly from a religious point of view, we tend to eventually gather with those who think like us, look like us, feel like us. It doesn’t do us any good.”
There’s space for commas and question marks in good art:
Hmm. I’ve heard there’s sort of a quasi-war of words between various filmmakers behind your traditional, overt Christian movies and the creators of Blue Like Jazz – which is not your traditional, overt Christian movie.
This sort of stuff makes me wonder why some Christians are inclined to think that there’s only one way to communicate something; one way to do music; one perspective of theology; one way to do art; one way to understand Jesus; one way to do church; one way to write … and one way to do film making around Christian themes.
Thank God that art can’t be isolated into one box or one expression. Hopefully, whatever we do, there’s a commitment to not just ‘content’ but how we convey that content.
One could contend that “Christian art” demands for happy endings, clear storylines, order, and appropriate conclusions…and sometimes, I wonder if our marriage to such conclusions exclude us from the journey of compelling artmaking.
Commas and Questions Marks are sometimes okay rather than Periods and Exclamation Marks.
Or in other words,
do we have a finalized conclusion and then make art to help justify that conclusion? Is that good art?
From a preacher’s viewpoint: Do we have a conclusion and then look for a bible passage to help us make our point or conclusion or do we really allow the narrative of the Scriptures to speak, disturb, inform, and transform us?
We shouldn’t be asking if we’re artists or not. We’re all artists in some manner or another. To my point, stories are a form of art. We’re all creating, living, and communicating stories and thus, we’re all artists. So, a more compelling and accurate question would be: “What kind of art are we creating?” and “What kind of artists are we?”
Create. a. Better. Story.
We love to knock on Hollywood and all that “junk” it creates and blah blah blah. I certainly do. We criticize and then wonder why Christians can’t create compelling art blah blah blah.
Boom. Here’s an attempt. Just in the same manner I gave kudos to Rob Bell in helping create a different story, I’m giving props to Donald Miller and the director, Steve Taylor
It’s easy to criticize. We all do it. We criticize the moral decay and decline of society, art and culture. Or we get on our enlightened Christian horses and criticize cheezy Christian art and artists.
Been there and done that. Criticizing that is.
A great antidote to receiving criticism is not more criticism or returning criticsm. Rather, it’s to create something more beautiful and compelling. Don’t tell us what you’re against. Show us something different. Compel us. Create a better story. Invite us into that story.
Enough of my ramblings. Your thoughts?
- Did you like the book?
- Are you planning on watching the movie?
- Is there such a thing as Christian art?
Filed under: , art, blue like jazz, christianity, donald miller, steve taylor
Some points you make highlight peoples’ thoughts about the secular vs. the spiritual. I’ve read and thus currently occupies my mind- that there should not really be a distinction between the two- that we can nudge people to find Christ in any work.
I have read the book and was blessed immensely as well as enjoying a new perspective on how others view Christianity and us… My favorite quote from the book is
“The entire world is falling apart because nobody will admit they are wrong. But by asking God to forgive you, you are willing to own your own crap.”
So true…
Nice.
“There’s space for commas and question marks in good art.”
I like that.
Eugene, great post, thanks for helping me think about this.
My $.02 is art anybody does gives Glory to the Creator. It’s all in a sense “His.” How sin and the fall impact this, well it gets muddy, but I think the principle still stands. For Christians, the goal should probably not be “Christian art”– if it was that would be as hard to define as what a Christian “really” is. Rather we should do work that honors the Creator.
Another way to look at it is the bigger conversation about “culture” since art helps create culture. In my opinion, culture is never self-created…it emanates, ultimately, from the Creator since we are created in His image.
It’s not to say that all culture is good but at the same time, not all expressions of culture that don’t directly bear the words “Jesus” or “Christ” are bad.
Which goes back to your comment about creating art…and art that honors the Creator.
My wife and I got a chance to see the film about a month ago because of an advanced screening in our city. Keep in mind that the film only follows the book very loosely. It was between surprised and shocked at how different the storyline was. In brief, in the film “Don” is a 21 year old jr college transfer instead of a late 20s Portlander auditing at Reed. That is only one of some major artistic liberties. But the film was great and I really encourage everyone to see it. You can’t even compare it to some of the Christian schlock films that have come out in recent years (e.g. anything involving Kirk Cameron). It is a solid film. It was funny, creative and I honestly think it will do okay. I would definitely take many friends who are all over the place spiritually.
Huh. I didn’t know that it only loosely follows the book.
That says something that you’d feel comfortable about taking many friends that are all over the map spiritually – especially in NYC.
Thus far, I think I’ve read or heard mixed reviews…
Good words. Hard words. Creating art is risky and demands a vulnerability I think many in our culture are not so familiar with. I am going to be taking this challenge to heart. Knowing a bit of your story (i.e. having read some of your stuff online and seen some of what Quest is doing) I hope you also continue to take your own message to heart, and I mean that in a “I hope to be in this with you brother” kind of way. Keep it up!
Creating art is risky indeed and demands a vulnerability. As a larger society, I think we definitely have tiers of art makers but I would contend that pastors ought to be VERY high on that list.
When you preach – you are composing words, thoughts, stories, narrative, etc…and preaching is a underappreciated and for that matter, an art form that is never acknowledged.
How do I know it’s an art form?
Because once you create it, one feels extreme vulnerable and the sermon is quickly to be judged, criticized, applauded, etc.
You’re an artist, bro. Don’t forget that…Be a good one.
That last thought you shared: ‘A great antidote to criticism is not more criticism. Rather, it’s to create something more beautiful and compelling. Don’t tell us what you’re against. Show us something different. Compel us. Create a better story.’, that was beautiful. Thanks.
You welcome. And thanks for reading it…
Not only ‘Don’t tell us what you’re against…’ but show us what you are FOR.
Being a self confessed Bellaholic, the Nooma video “You” fairly asks the question ‘Are you the Good News?’ Are we able to suggest to the observing world that Jesus has risen from the dead?
This of course suggests that each life is ripe with possible new ways to reflect creation. Yes, we should strive for something different, but there’s nothing insignificant in underlining the truths with constancy and honesty.
I also agree with your comments and question marks making good art sentiment. Too often the world is in a hurry to form opinion without the benefit of work. If our seeking can make us humble, then we might not choose to feed our ego by definitive statements about life and its living. When we yearn to love learning, then we will let go of trying to teach others and be open to absorbing what is offered with humble appreciation.
Many thanks for your thoughtful words.
we have our students painting on certain Sunday mornings to get thinking and expressing scripture and faith artistically…they love it and it’s pretty cool to see what they envision when they look at scripture and artistically depict it. you should see some of their work…
http://bcovyouth.wordpress.com/artwork/
we now have the pictures hanging in the sanctuary, a cool way for them to participate in our worship together as a church…
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Hey, look! Another “deep and meaningful” Christian book that’s more New Age than Biblical. This is EXACTLY what Christians today should be reading!
/sarcasm
I think we all need to pray for a spirit of discernment here, people.
It’s books like this (and that of Rob Bell, Doug Paggitt, and Brian McLaren, etc) that promote some kind of pseudo-Christian progressive that in reality does not biblically exist.
If you value your spiritual life and your walk with Christ, believing yourself to be a genuine follower of Christ then stay away from books like this. All books like this do tell people exactly what they want to hear, espousing dangerous and unsound doctrine and theology in sad effort to paint a New Age pseudo-Jesus that anyone can worship in anyway (even secularly) they see fit becase they do not agree with either the local church or the conservative values the Evangelical community holds today.
Stay away from this book!
As a college student who grew up in a fairly conservative church, Blue Like Jazz was a really refreshing movie to see. The way it confronts doubt, sin, hypocrisy, and love was very thought-provoking. I have felt and acted a lot like Don at numerous points in my life, and it’s nice to see that there are people striving to display Christianity as it really is: gritty, tough, and beautiful.
In reply to Scott, I have not finished the book yet, but the reasons Donald Miller gives for moving away from mainstream Christianity seem very legitimate to me so far. He rails against the idea of changing your beliefs to be “cool” in the book, and the kind of Christian Spirituality (as he calls it) that he advocates is not “cool” by any standard in this world. Rather it is a genuine response to the hurt caused by so many people claiming to follow Christ and using his name for their own glory. Every person is different and therefore the way that we worship God is different. There is no pattern or template for the “right way”. God doesn’t want a show, he wants our hearts! And it seems to me that if you are following God and allowing him to use you as the person he created you to be, then there will be many different and beautiful expressions of who Christ is and what he has done to redeem us. Instead of insulting or discounting alternative views of Christianity, perhaps we should strive to love one another in the way that Christ has called us to. We are the body of Christ, and should be united as such.
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