Does all art need a purpose?

Thought of the day. Does all art need a purpose?

When God created the world, He said it was good. Not all that He made seems to have had a definitive purpose. With the exception of the heavenly bodies, which it says He created "for signs and for seasons, and for days and years... to give light upon the earth" (Gen 1:14-15, ESV), the only real commentary that is given on each facet of His creation is... "and it was good".

This brings up a question. Cannot art exist for the sole purpose of being good? A fruit nourishes us, the wind cools us, a river refreshes us... but do the vivid colors of fruits, flowers and sunsets serve any purpose other than to simply display beauty? Why did God create the flashy peacock, the odd giraffe, the grotesque anglerfish, and the magnificent blue whale? Does every creature serve a "purpose" like the stars do and vegetables do? Does it not seem that many aspects of creation exist simply to display His creativity, His majesty, and His personality... or to just be beautiful and be good? As Stasi Eldredge wrote,

"Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful." - Captivating

When God made man, He made us "in His image." That means we reflect Him, and bring glory to Him by reflecting Him. We all reflect His image in different ways. Man and woman, young and old, artist and mathematician... each of us, in our own unique ways, reflect different aspects of His vast person. It is part of our purpose. By simply reflecting Him, we are fulfilling part of our purpose in existing.

This is where the artist comes in. Artists reflect the creative aspect of God's image. It is why the need to create and to make beautiful things is so deeply rooted in our hearts. 

Some people may wonder where the value is in a beautiful painting of flowers or a field or a completely imagined scene out of an artist's head. Does it serve any purpose? Is it worth spending the effort to create, the time to enjoy, or the funds to support? I would say yes, it is absolutely worth all those things and far more. Art is not something to belittle.

When artists create, we are directly reflecting God's image, and we are bringing Him glory.

It is part of our purpose as artists. It doesn't matter what we are creating, and whether or not that creation may seem "useless" in the eyes of others. By simply creating, we are reflecting the God who created the universe. Creativity is not to be ignored. There is no small value in the "mere" pursuit of beauty and goodness. God wanted us to pursue these things.

But let's take this a step further. And this is where I may start stepping on some toes.

You see, art is not just limited to paintings and drawings.

What about music? Writing? Storytelling? Filmmaking? We all know that media is the most powerful influencer on our culture right now. (I wrote a previous blog post on this.) This seems to place an obligation on Christians in the media world to create content that furthers God's kingdom and shines a light in the culture to combat all the darkness. While I fully acknowledge the immensely powerful position we have as media-makers, and whole-heartedly identify with all attempts to use that power for God's glory and for cultural reformation, I have to step back and say... is that all we are required to do?

I want to make movies that impacts culture. I want to tell stories that moves hearts and even, I pray, changes lives for Christ. But I've come to wonder, are we fully obligated to incorporate this kind of purpose into every single work of media art we create?

You see, media is art.

Is it a "waste" to write a song about our grandmother, or a poem about how much we love spring? Is it a "waste" to tell a story that never uses the name of Jesus, or a film that never shares the gospel or is, truly, hardly more than clean "entertainment"? Does the powerful potential of media obligate us to the restrictive purposes many Christians apply to it?

I'm not saying we should use this as an excuse... if God wants us to tell a story or write a song with a definitive purpose for His kingdom, we shouldn't use this reasoning as a cop-out from that calling.

But my question is, does God always require us to make art with such evident "purposes"?

Or are we not already reflecting His image, bringing Him glory, and fulfilling part of our purpose by simply making beauty... and making it good?

What do you think?

It's been a while...

It's been a while since I've posted last.  I'm sorry to have neglected this blog for so long.  The fact of the matter is, I simply haven't had time for blogging in months, but now that I may have more time again, I intend to actively turn my attention back to this blog.

Many of you have comments that have waiting my response.  I am sorry, I have not ignored you; I have simply been away from Blogger.  I will get back to each comment when I can.  I appreciate your patience!

Meanwhile, here are some updates on what's happened in the last few months as I've been "away"...

Filmmaking:

1. I have continued my internship with Advent Film Group, and within that time, Advent has released a new film training site that I highly recommend: Advent Filmmakers.  Advent Filmmakers is a website that provides excellent training in all aspects of filmmaking for Christians, from the technical side to the artistic side, from business management to worldview, and from the craft of superb storytelling to education on the history of film.  I even had the privilege to write one blog post for them.

www.adventfilmmakers.org

2. In August I had the exciting opportunity to work on another feature film!  I was a production assistant on The Senior Prank, a Christian anti-bullying film about a group of popular high school students who elect a girl with Down syndrome to be their homecoming queen -- as a senior prank.  See the film's Facebook page for more information, including behind-the-scenes photos and videos.

Digital art:

My interest in digital art has now blossomed into a serious passion, and in just ten days, I am moving to Winter Park, Florida, to study Digital Arts & Design at Full Sail University.  My program of study is intensively accelerated (four-year-equivalent degree completed in less than two years), allowing that I begin classes in my degree topic almost immediately.  I have started taking online classes ahead of time, and I already have virtually all my general education requirements out of the way.  I'm already learning digital art.  This allows me to already start populating my tutorial blog with posts on what I'm learning.

Upon graduating in 2014, I intend to launch a digital arts, photography, and videography business.  I will apply my newly-acquired digital art skills predominantly within the context of film (designing movie websites and DVD covers, working in special effects, doing on-set graphic design, etc.).  The company I launch on the basis of digital arts will become the foundation for my eventual film production company.  Lord willing, I would like to produce my first feature film by 2016.

Writing:

Progress with my sci-fi/dystopian novel is still coming along slowly.  I've passed the 50,000 mark for word-count, but I've still got a while to go; perhaps another 10-15,000 words.  I do still very much intend to publish this book when it is completed, so I will continue to keep you updated about that.

Blogging:

In my previous blog post, I mentioned potential changes coming for both of my blogs.  After thinking it over, I decided not to change anything for this blog -- it will still continue as-is!  The only difference is that, now that I am officially studying digital arts, I have more valuable content to share with my second blog, but this blog stays the same.

Well, that's all for now!  Hopefully, you can expect to hear more from me soon.

God bless!
Brianna

New horizons

Hello, everyone!  I must say, it's been a while since I've blogged.  I'm truly sorry about that.  Schedules have been hectic lately, and mournfully devoid of time for blogging.  I hope to change that soon.

I'm considering moving in some new directions.  There are exciting developments underway in my life right now that could soon propel me closer to my vocational pursuits, in terms of entering the realms of film, entertainment, and media arts.  As God seems to be drawing me to cross new horizons, I'm pondering a few changes that would accompany these developments. 

For example, there is the possibility that I may transfer this blog to a new website.  I may combine the two blogs I keep into a single site, which would also expand to serve other, newer purposes, besides blogging. 

As I contemplate these ideas, I covet your thoughts and opinions -- you, the faithful followers of this blog.  If this blog were to be transferred to a new site, which aspects of this blog would you like to see continued?  What have you found most beneficial, interesting, and useful?  Which aspects of this blog would you not like to see continued?  What are some things that you have enjoyed on this blog for a time, but perhaps would not serve a purpose on a newer, broader-purposed site?


I appreciate your comments very much.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

God bless!
Brianna

Writers' Block now THE SCREENWRITERS!

I have exciting news!  The film I interned on last October, previously known by the working title, Writers' Block, has now been given an official title: The Screenwriters.


Consequently, there is a new official movie site up: www.screenwritersmovie.com.  Check out the site -- even though there's much more to come, the design looks really nice so far!  


The new site includes their latest 30-second teaser trailer; also, you can view the original teaser trailer (about a minute and a half long) below:

How EXACTLY Do You Influence the Culture?

A commenter on my last blog post asked a really good question. He said:

"Brianna, I commend you for wanting to wanting to influence our culture with media that draws us nearer to Christ. I'm curious, how do you intend to do this?"

My response to him ended up being so long, that I decided to turn it into its own blog post. Here's what I wrote:

I think there are two main aspects of films that can draw people closer or further away from God, and from truth. They are: (1) The characters, and (2) The worldview of the films.

First, the way the characters behave has a HUGE impact on viewers; whether it's a surface impact, or a subtle impact, taking place in their subconscious. I once read a survey that showed that, even if they wouldn't admit it, teenagers who watched movies or TV shows with teenage sex in it, were more likely to engage in sex themselves during their teenage years. (I'm sorry that I do not have this survey or the statistics in front of me... but I remember that it was in a "Brio" magazine, so if any of you absolutely have to have the statistic itself, I could probably dig around for it. :))

Anyway, this was just one statistic involving one issue, but the point stands that we ARE impacted by what we see on television, or in the movies. I remember that when I was a little girl, after watching a movie or TV show, I would often start to behave, in a small way, like the characters I saw. I realized what I was doing and tried not to do this, because I was sort of embarrassed, but as a kid I somehow just couldn't help it. Younger minds are especially susceptible to what they see on the screen, but even adults are impacted, whether they realize it or not. 

(Pictures from www.morguefile.com)

 

So, I said all that to say, that the characters should be GOOD ROLE MODELS. Not perfect -- they should be real people -- but when they make mistakes, those mistakes shouldn't be glorified or encouraged with the way the story works out.

And, the most important thing they should model is a RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. When we watch characters pressing into God and growing in their walk with Him, who's to say that won't impact us in a positive way, in the same way "teenage sex" shows would impact us in a negative way?

Now, for the second thing: The worldview. The worldview of a film is, I think, almost as -- if not AS -- powerful and influential as the characters. Is it a world where evil has the upper hand and there is only a faint hope for good to win? Is it a world where sin is portrayed as good, and something to model? Is it a world where we are all "animals", on the same plane with dogs and birds and ants; where we all climbed up from the goo over millions of years, and Creator God is just a make-believe fairytale?

Or is it the world portrayed and explained in the Bible?

We might know what we believe. But then, when we start watching movies with worldviews that contradict our views, those worldviews begin slowly seeping into our minds. Eventually, we start thinking in those worldviews, even if they're not what we really believe. And if we really let them get a hold of us, those worldviews will become what we actually believe, instead. And then we are falling headfirst away from Truth and away from God.

As a final thought, here are a few movies (off the top of my head) that, in my opinion, can draw people closer to God in the way I describe. Now, a note: none of these movies, of course, are exactly the way I personally want to make movies. Everyone has their own style, myself included. But, with each of these movies, there is at least something about them that I like.

* What If - Encourages people to dedicate their lives to God, not to themselves.
* The Chronicles of Narnia series - An analogy that shows Christ and His sacrifice with a fresh perspective (esp. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe)
* Faith Like Potatoes - Based on a true story, encouraging us to have faith in God; shows how God can change a life.
* To Save a Life - Deals with teenage suicide, depression, etc.; a call for the church to look past our judgmentalism and reach out to people.
* End of the Spear - Based on a true story, about bringing the gospel to a tribe centered around killing and revenge; a message of powerful, emotional forgiveness.
* Come What May - About doing the right thing, regardless of the outcome; and honoring God through absolute purity in relationships.

So, that was just a few movies I thought of off the top of my head... there are plenty, plenty more. What are some more that you can think of? 


Pursuing the Truth in Christ,
Brianna

My Vision As A Filmmaker

I just got back from a film "workshop", and the topic of filmmaking is very present on my mind right now. 


I haven't written much about filmmaking on this blog so far. Actually, I don't think I've mentioned it at all yet.  There are a lot of things, actually, that I'm very passionate about that I haven't taken the time to blog about.  One of these days, I'll invest more time into this blog, and write about more of the things I'm passionate about.  But lately... my time has been spent doing other things, unfortunately.


I've mentioned on this blog that I want to write novels, and that I am working on a futuristic novel presently that I want to publish when I finish.  What I have not mentioned is that I have a strong passion for filmmaking, as well as writing. 

It will probably be quite a few years before I can make feature-length films of my own, but that is most definitely my goal.  In the meantime, I am trying to find as many ways as I can to learn more about the craft, and get experience. 


Someday, God-willing, I hope this will be the blog of a novelist... and of a filmmaker.  Among other things.  :-)


Here is an INCOMPLETE outline of my vision as a filmmaker...  (By the way, many of these things apply to my vision as a novelist, as well.)


I want to make movies that....

* Honor God, that follow Biblical principles, and point people to Jesus.

* Show people that there is a crazy, passionate, romantic, fulfilling relationship to be found in Jesus Christ.  That every longing, every deepest desire in our hearts can be fulfilled through Him.  That through Him, there is hope; not some far-off, elusive hope; but a real, tangible, strong, immense, overflowing hope that makes life more than worth living for.


* Pursue, defend, and proclaim the TRUTH.  That are not afraid to speak the Truth, no matter how unpopular it may be.  That ultimately lead people to the source of all truth: Jesus Christ.  To His Word.


* Speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15).  There are too many people who speak the truth, but do not speak it in love.  The Bible says that if we speak without love, we are only "a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Cor 13:1).  And this is so true!  Whoever wants to listen to someone that rants and raves about something, without any love?  It's irritating, just like a "clanging cymbal".  It doesn't matter how right or true their words may be; no one wants to listen.  They might as well not open their mouth.  Actually... it'd probably be better if they didn't!  We need to speak the truth in love.  Not just a cheesy, unfelt little "God-loves-you"; but a true, deep, genuine love, even for the people you disagree with the most (and this is very hard sometimes!!). 

* Have characters who are role models... heroes.  Too many films today depict characters who are role models of how not to live; of how to live in sin, and in rebellion to God.  There is a desperate need for characters that we can look up to.  Now, they will be "real" people, in the sense that they will not be perfect.  They should be 100% realistic, 100% relatable.  But they should be examples of people who are genuinely trying to live in a way that honors God, even when they fail.

* Show children who are respectful and submissive to their parents, not rebellious, as the culture presently encourages them to be.


* Show fathers who are strong, spiritual leaders.


* Show romance in its truest, purest, most beautiful and most desirable way: between a husband and wife.  These will be movies that elevate marriage to the high place where the Bible places it.  They will show that marriage is not when the "fun" ends; it's when the adventure begins!  And... the beauty of true romance simply does not exist, outside of the boundaries of marriage between a man and woman.


* Encourage and inspire Christians in their faith... that motivate them to be radical Jesus Freaks, passionate for Jesus.


* And so much more. 


You know what... I dream of a day when the phrase "Christian film" is not associated with "low budget", "low quality", and "cheesiness".  I dream of a day when Christians no longer have to compromise their values just to watch a movie; that someday, no matter when we go to the theaters, there will always, always be at least one good, high-quality Christian film playing.  It may be a decade or two before this happens, but I believe it can happen.

Why?


Because I am not the only one dreaming like this.


Friends, we are in exciting times.  I hear the rumbling sound of a stampede, or an army, on its way over the horizon.  Can't you hear it?  A movement.  A revolution.  There have been quiet tremors for years; and now, the earth is starting to tremble and shake, as the movement gets bigger. 


A movement of Christian filmmakers is on the way.  Christian filmmakers who want to reclaim the media world for Christ.  They are all across the country... some of them may be quiet now, but you will hear of them -- all of them -- in time.  Slowly, their films are becoming more numerous. Slowly, they are released more frequently.  Slowly, they are increasing in quality.

I don't know about you, I want to jump on board this movement.

There are a number of Christian films in development right now that I'm excited about, and I can't wait until they come out.  Here is a list of them.  There are lots more that I'm not listing here, I'm sure.  Feel free to add to the list yourself by leaving a comment!  :-)

•  A Stubborn Journey (about the life of young Josh McDowell)
• For the Glory (from 1Voice Films)
• Courageous (from Sherwood Pictures; the makers of Facing the Giants and Fireproof)
• Alone Yet Not Alone
• Hero (from Advent Film Group)
• Red September (from Advent Film Group)
• Eleventh Hour