Free will is the power of acting without the limitation of necessity or fate. The Bible says that God chooses to tolerate those who misuse their free will to harm others, but God will not do so indefinitely. (Psalms 37:10) The films “Inside Out” and “Bruce Almighty” show that free will exists through Oswalt’s theological category. In the articles “God in the Movies: When Banal Religion is Disguised by Humor” by Christine Barton and “Suffering and Soul-Making in Disney/Pixar’s Inside Out” by Bertha A. Manninen, the authors discuss the main characters and how they struggled through free will or God’s will.
In the film Bruce Almighty, Bruce struggles with divine power and human freedom. This occurs when God gives Bruce his powers but tells him that there are two things you cannot mess with, “you cannot mess with free will” and “you can’t do everything”. Bruce is a television news reporter who wants to be a local news anchor and blames God for not getting the job he felt he deserved. When he takes on the role of God, he acts on his own desires instead of being selfless. As a theological critic, Bruce being a Christ figure has the power to do good in the world around him but instead is “consumed by self-importance and insensitivity, especially to God” (Barton, Christine).
In the film Inside Out, when the emotions in the mind are not working together anger takes over and free will comes into place. Christian philosophers Alvin Plantinga and Richard Swinburne, rely on what is known as the “free will defense”, “that the moral evils of the world are attributable to the free choices of human agents, and that having this free choice is a good that is so great that it justifies God allowing these evils to occur.” (Manninen, Bertha, pg. 6) The power of free will is done by Riley choosing the emotion that controls the panel. Things aren’t all joy for Riley because free will allows her to make her own choices even if they aren’t the best decisions.
These films both show the concept of free will and how the main characters act upon this freedom. Oswalt states that, “the religious films are an excellent medium and tool to initiate an exploration into how religious attitudes can be affected by a wide range of human, social, and political attitudes and issues.” The Bible also discusses the limitations of free will, “you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Bruce Almighty and Inside Out show how free will is a gift to be used wisely when making decisions that affect your life. The choices the characters make are influenced by things not going their way in their lives. Choosing what is out of their own will and not God’s, causing many consequences and leaving them to rethink their choices.
Moral Decision Making
Oswalt states that, “with ideological criticism, one sees how religious concepts and categories are translated into everyday power struggles and societal relationships.” (pg. 7) In the films “Concussion” and “Margin Call”, moral decision making enters the lives of the main characters and changes how they see things. The articles “Margin Call: A Small Movie Unveils Big Truths about Wall Street” by Jake Bernstein and “Concussion” Makes a Christian Argument Against Football” by Ian Crouch shows how moral decision making enters the lives of characters through the ideological critic. Moral decision is a choice made based on a person’s ethics, manners, character, and what they believe is appropriate behavior.
In the film Concussion, the main character Dr. Omalu discovers that football players can be prone to C.T.E., which is the result of the thousands of collisions during years of playing football. This brings on a battle between the NFL and Dr. Omalu, demanding that his findings be retracted. As a result, he is forced to make the moral decision to either go forward and stand for what he believes in or retract his paper. Ian Crouch states that the movie’s most subversive message is “not that the NFL stood in the way of scientific research about the health of its players but that it occupies a false place within the religious and patriotic beliefs of so many of its fans..”.(The New Yorker) Dr. Omalu felt naïve for thinking that the NFL would thank him for his findings. “People trying to cover up, to control how information is released. I started this not knowing I was walking into a minefield. This is my only regret.”
In the film Margin Call, Peter Sullivan is handed a hard drive and is told to be careful with the information he finds. Sullivan quickly discovers that the bank is “massively overleveraged”, if the trends continue projected losses are much greater than the value of the firm. (Bernstein, Jake) After Sullivan tells his boss Sam of this discovery, he is forced to make the moral decision to tell the CEO what they are doing is very wrong. Sam tries to talk Tuld out of his plan by telling him, “If you do this, you will kill the market for years. It’s over. And you are selling something that you know has no value”. Bernstein believes that Chandor’s biggest coup is his willingness to indict a system rather than simply blame the individuals within it. Margin Call shows how people in the system are limited to fear and do not have a choice to make an effective decision.
These films both show how moral decision making enters the lives of the main characters and explore the relationship of society’s values. Ideological critics view this as how certain values might affect a particular culture. (Oswalt, pg. 7) The Bible says in First Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals”, this means that you become the people who you are consistently with. One must not associate with people of bad morality without it rubbing off on them.
Christ Figure
A Christ figure is a character who possesses qualities or experiences events similar to those of Jesus Christ as he is portrayed in the New Testament of the Bible. In the films “Narnia” and “Selma” the characters actions are representative of a Christ figure. Oswalt states that, “the theological critic relies heavily on concepts such as grace, justice, redemption, hope, and forgiveness.” (Oswalt, pg. 5) The articles “The Lion, The Witch and the Cold War: Political Meaning in the Religious Writings of C.S. Lewis.” by Roger Chapman and “Dr. King and the Image of God: A Theology of Voting Rights in the Ava DuVernay’s Selma.” By Marcos Norris show how a particular character uses the concepts above to be perceived as a Christ figure in the films discussed.
In the film Selma, Dr. Martin Luther King stood up for what he believed was right even when no one agreed with him. Dr. King said about Christ, “whether on the village streets or in the city jails, they daringly proclaimed the good news of the gospel” and he did the same, proclaiming the truth about voting rights and segregation. King even went to jail for trying to end violence in Selma and to make sure his voice would be heard. Norris states that, “King’s politics were theologically-motivated and the Selma marches reflect, at least in part, an attempt by King and the SCLC to reclaim the divine image.”. (Norris, pg. 4) Dr. King fights for justice and possesses many qualities of a Christ figure in the standpoint of a theological critic.
In the film Narnia, Aslan is a Christ figure, and this is shown many times throughout the film. The ultimate scene is when he submits to death on the Stone Table and takes Edmund’s place. Chapman states that, the Witch had the right to sacrifice due to the law of “deep magic”. This scene is representative of the passion of Christ in which Jesus sacrifices his life so that “the debt of sin could be paid”. (Holy Bible, John 3:16) Aslan did just as Jesus did for his people, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” This Bible verse is by far one of the most Christ-like to describe a character’s qualities. Just as Jesus had many followers, Aslan had humans, animals. and mythological creatures that were dedicated to him.
These films show a Christ figure in the characters discussed through their actions, experiences, and their personality. Oswalt states that theological criticism often draws from Jewish or Christian religions, which applies to Narnia and Selma. (Oswalt, pg. 6) Dr. King and Aslan both make sacrifices, fight for justice, and are leaders just as Christ was. Films will continue to show heroes that sacrifice, protect and confront evil to show a Christ like figure through a theological standpoint.