So tonight I watched Exodus: Gods and Men. This is one of my new favorite movies. I read about the controversies over Ridley Scott using scientific reasoning for the plagues, his making it look like Moses heard voices, and other Biblical inconsistencies, so I really didnt want to see the movie. Im quite glad I did. On the superficial level I liked looking at Pharaoh and Moses, and their wives hair (the wives had my ideal look, just beautiful), on a spiritual level it was the best sermon Id ever seen/heard. Ridley wanted to humanize Moses, which I found strange since the Bible did that. The man was passive, he stuttered, he was old, and his brother had to speak for him, plus in his youth he had a violent temper. Then I saw the movie and I got it. Ridley portrayed Moses in a way that would be relatable in our post Christian society. Moses was an atheist at the start of this movie, and he argued with God all through the movie. He was egotistical, hellbent on doing it his way, and had little faith. All of which I could relate to. When Moses finally went to God, God told him youre wrong, now watch this. As a Christian its hard to humble yourself before God in this day and age when it feels utterly ridiculous and theres more and more proof that Hes a tale, so making Moses look as crazy as Im sure he sounded was probably more Biblically accurate than other versions of this story. As for the scientific reasoning behind the plagues I bought it. People fail to see that a miracle is not about the how, but the when. However God does it, He does it. Every miracle in my life has logic behind it. The miracle is that it happened when I needed it, in a way that speaks of divine intervention and a path set out for me before I was born. The effective part of this movie is how God allowed Moses to do it his way, see that it would fail, let Moses be broken, and then said Now watch Thats how God works. He breaks us then lets us know that our involvement is a benefit to us, but He doesnt need us, He wants us. All this I could relate to. Another aspect that I appreciated is how this movie showed the state of the Jewish people when they left Egypt: faithless, impetuous, scared, lacking land/an identity, and what the commandments (way more than ten) were for. They werent only for religious purposes, but to shape water into something solid. I liked the part where the Red Sea is parted, as it felt more like how God works. Soft when He deals with his children, then potent when dealing with his non people. I felt God as I watched that movie because I know He exists, so whatever spin Ridley tried to put on it I saw a man learn to trust in God, and that is very hard, humiliating, exhausting, beautiful, life changing, and worth it. I describe openly my struggles with depression and other troubles I deal with, and while I hated God for years, I wouldnt change it. Theres power in leaning on God during the struggle. So as depressed as I get, theres a point in it, a damn good reason. But I wont lie, it hurts and feels awful in the moment. As for the non black stars, Im rather indifferent to the issue. Hollywood is about making money, period. An all black cast is risky, and blacks support certain genres, so they cast the people who would draw in people who would buy tickets. Im not defending it, but its up to us to change how we spend money. Also if this helps my Egyptian teachers who were teaching me Arabic in the military looked liked the cast, the cast made up anyway. My experience surpassed the race issue. I saw a movie tell a story I could relate to. Period. I may be the only one who likes this movie and thats ok.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 07:03:25 +0000
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