Coraline Discussion -

I have written some more - click here - about my Coraline thoughts. Feel free to surf over there and read them!

Discussion Questions for the movie Coraline:

1 – What one word best describes the “other world”?

2 – What is Coraline’s opinion of her real life at the beginning of the movie? How does that opinion change by the end?

3 – The marketing of the movie included the tag line, “Be careful what you wish for.” What is the significance of this line?

4 – What do the button eyes in the other world symbolize?

5 – Coraline tells Wybie, “The other mother, she’s got this whole world where everything’s better, the food, the garden, the neighbors. But it’s all a trap.” How might this observation apply to our real “real” world?

6 – Compare and contrast this movie with Alice in Wonderland.
…The Wizard of Oz.

"Doubt" Discussion Questions

The movie “Doubt” is driven by its characters. The main four are Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn, Sister James, and Mrs. Miller. Donald Miller is also a part of the story, but we get to know these “top four” at a much deeper level.

- Do you identify with any of these four characters in particular? How so?

- Do you “like” any of the four better than the others? Why?

- What motivates each of the four?

- How does each character view the church? Is this late ‘60s picture of the church accurate? Does anything in the film resonate with your experience of the church today?

- What is the relationship among “doubt” and “faith” and “certainty?” How does each character express each of these traits?

- The film intentionally leaves a lot of ambiguity. How do you react to this? Is it important to figure out if Father Flynn is truly guilty? Why or why not?

- Were you surprised by the ending? What did the final scene leave you feeling?

Facing The Giants discussion

Discussion questions for Facing the Giants:

Is this storyline just too “good to be true”?

Were there characters that held more strength or believability?

Does God still move in such obvious ways?

What about the fact that this movie was made completely by volunteers? And became its own “facing the giants of Hollywood”?

Questions about the movie lines:

Why do you think Coach Taylor makes Brock wear a blindfold for the Death Crawl?

As Mr. Childers says, “Your actions always follow your beliefs.” How do changes in your internal would make their way out to your external world?

It is a huge risk to put David Childers in for a 51-yard field goal. When asked what he was doing, Coach Taylor answers, “I’m preparing for rain.” What does he mean by that?

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas discussion questions

What a movie! Not easy to watch in many ways, yet it is an incredible example of humanity's need to connect. Think about these questions this week and post any thoughts you might have over the movie and the topics that surface from watching the movie.

Sunday morning we will be talking about the story in Luke about the Good Samaritan - another wonderful story of humanity's love for each other.

Discussion questions for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

1. Prejudice is an attitude while discrimination is a behavior. Explore • these differences?

2. What is a stereotype? Why do people stereotype groups that are different from them? How does the movie depict Nazis stereotyping Jews?

3. When the mother learns that Jews are being exterminated at the camp, she questions her husband. “How can you?” she asks. He responds: “Because I’m a solider.” How do these two perspectives contrast?

4. Why do you think Gretel believes the viewpoints of Lieutenant Kotler, the tutor Liszt, and her father about Jews. Although Bruno is younger than his sister, he questions their viewpoints. Why?

5. One the early turning points for the mother in the movie is saying thank you to Pavel for treating Bruno. What has changed for her at this point? Why do you think she seems open to considering a different perspective?

6. At times, the father is shown as a loving parent and husband. How is this possible given his role as a Nazi officer giving orders to treat people in humanely?

7. How does Bruno justify continuing his friendship with Shmuel despite what his father, sister and tutor said about Jews?

8. The barbed wire fence is a physical separation between Bruno and Shmuel. What other types of separation does the fence represent in this story?

9. Neither Bruno nor Shmuel really know what is going on at the concentration camp. Why is that, and what allows them to keep their innocence?

10. What events and experiences lead Bruno to gradually give up some of his innocence and see things differently?

Questions for discussion - Wall-E

1) Why does the movie depict earth in such a wretched condition?
Do you think it will ever really get that bad?
What does the "Buy and Large" corporation symbolize? It a is fair analogy?

2) What does Wall-E's truck, filled with all of his treasures, represent?
Why does he collect these things?
What does Wall-E long for and how does that relate to his function?

3) What is the significance of Eve's "directive"?
What does she do right after the spaceship drops her off and blasts back into space?
What is our "directive" or "directives"?

4) What does this move have to say about humanity's place in creation?
What do John and Mary realize about each other?
What does the captain learn about earth that inspires him to go back there?

How's This Going to Work?

Hi! We're trying something a little different this month. July 2009 is "Campbell at the Movies" month. Every Wednesday this month we'll show a movie (see the schedule at right) and the following Sunday that movie will shape the worship services.

In the interim, we will use this blog to discuss the movie. Questions, thoughts, ideas, musings of various kinds will all be welcome here. Comments that start with "Oh, I loved that part where ...." will be awesome! Or maybe, "What do you make of that moment when ..." That kind of stuff.

When you make a comment, either sign in and use your user name or go ahead and include your name in an "anonymous" comment, so we'll know who we are talking with. If you'd like to keep track of the conversation more intentionally, you can become a "follower" of this blog by clicking on the link over there on the right side.

I am eager to see how this is all going to work. It's going to be pretty fun! We'll get started with "Wall-E" tomorrow night, so come one, come all - and invite a friend!