Thursday, May 04, 2006

If you missed me at Notre Dame...

Here's an article about a recent talk I gave at Notre Dame.

It's always funny to read articles and see what people heard, as opposed to what I actually said. For example, I'm certain I didn't say that thing about "sorrow" in the beautiful giving the receiver a sense of it's (the sorrow's) hugeness. I said that beauty gives us an experience of happy-sadness, and that the beautiful itself communicates a sense of majesty and hugeness that is humbling for us.

While I did recommend Curious George for little kids, I don't think I said it was an example of "unusual depth"! I'm pretty sure I said it had some cool moments that were surprising in a kids' movie.

But the article does get the basic point I was making about what beauty in movies willlook like. Here's a snip...

Beauty in the film industry is "not cute or easy or nice," she said. It is complex. In addition to having good characters, conflict and visuals, a beautiful film will give viewers the sense that it is complete and that they have learned something.

A beautiful film "gives you something that becomes part of your framework, and you carry it away with you," she said. It is "dark, hard and wonderful" at the same time.

God cares about Hollywood, she said, because it can deliver a paradoxical but beautiful message: that grace and hope can be experienced in the midst of suffering.

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