8:28 Hope in the Darkness - Episode 31
Like most of us Karen has had many chapters in her life. Most have been filled with happiness and joy but there have been a few, unusually so, filled with more loss than the average woman experiences. We will be talking about it today - how Karen has gotten through and how she has found purpose in the pain.
We are further joined not only by friendship but my mutual loss. We both have boys in heaven who died from the very same heart defect several years apart. She and her husband were there for my family in ways impossible to measure. And so we are bonded. For life and beyond.
Faithful. Thoughtful. Compassionate. — Karen
Movies with Impact
Thoughts from 8:28 Hope in the Darkness
Movies take me somewhere I’ve likely not been before. I am there, a part of the story, the action, the feelings. When they are good, I am changed in some way. I may have a broadened perspective, deeper compassion, more information. Plus taking the ride and going with the story is adventure, it’s escape, it’s being in someone else’s shoes. I am moved. It’s a time for appreciation, reflection and conversation. This is a pure experience for me and I know for others too. (That’s why talking during the movie or texting is beyond the pale for me. My husband - he was a boyfriend then - talked all the way through Braveheart. I told myself I could never watch another movie with him again! I explained how it is for me - I am transported and right there. Distractions take me away and I don’t want that! I am happy to report he has gotten better but he is still not a movie-guy and that’s ok with me. I’m not a golf-gal.)
Childhood + a Blessing: Let’s start with Wizard of Oz which was featured in the last episode and also mentioned by Karen in this one. In addition to this once-a-year treat of our youth, the rainbow came to mean so much more to us as adults. For both families the rainbow has showed up in unlikely places at unlikely times to remind us of our baby boys who are no longer with us. They are somewhere over the rainbow. Karen and I could tell you stories featuring goosebumps, tears of wonderment with awe, and tales that defy both coincidence and logic to share how God has comforted us with the reminder they are with him. Safe and sound. Loved. Waiting for us.
Beware: Being a “movie person” my list could be very long but I will focus on a few with lasting impact. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two movies that left indelible imprints on me. And not good ones. The Exorcist. For it’s time it was considered horrifyingly scary and not in a monster way but in a demon way. Did we really want to mess with that? A group of friends (really it was Mark!) organized us to go see it. I refused. He tried every tactic of persuasion he knew to convince me but I wouldn’t budge. (This was before FOMO although I was somewhat torn and didn’t want to miss out.) Way too much fear of the dark side. Many friends went and were freaked out, unable to sleep, checking under beds, in closets, and sleeping with rosaries, jump-starting a prayer life that may have been latent up until that point. The second one… wait for it… picture in your mind…a pair of alternating notes, identified as either E and F or F and F sharp ramping up in speed to indicate impending danger. Jaws. A bunch of us saw it in a multiplex and I will tell you I left the theater with very rubbery knees, not sure I could walk. And therein Steven Spielberg changed the ocean experience for many of us on the planet. I cannot go in the ocean (a place I love) without it at least fleeting across my mind. A piece of seaweed grazes me? I jump! Swim past the breakers? I’m sure my number is up. I know people who will not go in the water because of Jaws. Now that part makes me sad because the ocean is incredible! Just ask My Octopus Teacher on Netflix.
One-timers: Lasting-impact-but-will-likely-not-be-able-to see-again-because-they-were-too-gut-wrenching-the-first-time-around-but-changed-me-profoundly-in-some-way: 12 Years a Slave, The Killing Fields, Moonlight, The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan (might be able to see that one again). No doubt I could come up with more.
Overall favorites: Let’s move on to my overall favorites of all time. I tend to be drawn to movies where there is authenticity, transparency, vulnerability, maybe even neurosis, some humor, and growth. And give me at least one character to root for! So in the category of lasting impact: Something’s Got to Give, Terms of Endearment, Dances with Wolves would be my top three in this category. And for Christmas I look forward to The Family Stone. It gets better every year. Not sure why. A lot of people don’t get this one but some of my friends do (shout out to Hillary and Robyn).
Doozies: How could I not mention the worst movie of all time for me. Phone Booth. I like the actors in it and it’s been so long since I saw it I can’t really remember why it was so bad. But it was. My friend, movie-Mary and I would go to movies once a week. We actually considered walking out which is something we would not normally do. The best part is it has become our bar by which other bad movies were compared. Well, at least it wasn’t Phone Booth! You likely have one or two that just don’t make the grade. I feel you.
A Wish: As a small child my paternal grandmother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I replied, “An actress.” She said, “No. You don’t want to be that!” Well she was wrong. Maybe that’s part of why I have such a love for movies. I didn’t become an actress yet I have dabbled in acting through the years (musicals and student films mostly - I’m even listed oh so briefly on imdb). I ended up using this passion in many ways as a classroom teaching, women’s ministry creative, admin for children’s theater, etc. It’s all good. No regrets here.
A Hope: Soon the theaters will open back up, hopefully, and we will experience movies on the big screen. (I’m looking at Nov. 6 and taking my mom to go see Let Him Go.) If that doesn’t happen there is always TV for a little escapism. That will be a subject for another day. Can’t wait.
We love films and storytelling as a people. It’s just a human compulsion to listen to and tell stories.
— Mychael Danna
