Films for Epiphany
*The Season of Epiphany presents us with the invitation to take stock and observe the way the Divine arrives, the Spirit interrupts, and the Christ invites us to imagine the Kin(g)dom in the midst of our haze and clutter. Practicing the season of Epiphany helps provide a lens to view some of the richest themes in human existence. We can observe how these themes play out in the grand drama of Scripture, as well as in our seemingly mundane lives. I, however, often need a bit of help to get the reflective juices flowing. My preferred contemplative catalysts are films, in part because, as Ingmar Bergman has observed, “No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.”
So, in the spirit of the season, I would like to invite you to journey with us into a prolonged reflection on Epiphany-esque themes — through the stories of films. The first one being —The Truman Show (1998). Each week, we will add a film to the list along with 1) a brief summary of the theme and an introduction to the film, and 2) a series of questions intended to prompt a thoughtful viewing and post-viewing Discussion hosted by Pr. Zig via Zoom on Wednesdays, beginning January 20. As with most things, these films (and the discussions that follow) are best enjoyed in community (Covid-safe pods), so I hope your Epiphany season will be enriched by these stories and the questions they raise for us.
Let us begin:
Anticipation & Epiphany
On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that enfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations
Isaiah 25:7
. . . . .
Cristof: I have given Truman the chance to live a normal life. The world, the place you live in is the sick place. Seahaven is the way the world should be.
Sylvia: He’s not a performer; he’s a prisoner. Look at him; look at what you’ve done to him!
Cristof: He could leave at any time. If his was more than just a vague ambition, if he was absolutely determined to discover the truth, there’s no way we could prevent him. I think what distresses you… is that ultimately Truman prefers his cell, as you call it.
Sylvia: Well that’s where you’re wrong… and he’ll prove you wrong!
. . . . .
The season of Epiphany proceeded by Christmas & Advent , when done well, transports us back in time to a relatively small and unheralded province of the Roman Empire where a people waited. This people had enjoyed millennia of close communion with their God (whether they chose it or not); He had walked with them, spoken to them, and promised for them a coming king and kingdom that would vanquish even death. But for four hundred years this God had fallen largely silent, leaving His people to wait, clinging to fading memories as years rolled by and foreign powers swept over them. So they told stories, stories reminding them of who they were and whose they were, reminding them that their present darkness was a passing vision, eventually bound to give way to eternal dawn. So they waited in anticipation, struggling (sometimes violently) against their perceived reality and towards the promised, un-shrouded reality.
This roiling anticipation is a universal human experience. People throughout history and across the world have found themselves haunted by an unbidden idea that their immediate circumstances do not tell the whole story. There is more to uncover or more to be “manifested” as Epiphany reminds us. This deep yearning for a home unknown compels a response, and we have sought a homecoming in every way under the sun: exotic vacations, chemicals, meditation, Bible studies, even suicide vests. Anticipation in this sense is inherently active, unrelenting, and risky, and if you want to see a brilliant portrait of this universal internal reality, look no further than Peter Weir’s 1998 film, The Truman Show.
Truman Burbank lives the stereotype of the White American Suburban life, and for the most part, he loves it. What he doesn’t know is that nothing around him is what it seems: his wife, his friends, his house, his town— all are contained within a massive dome which serves as the studio for the greatest reality television experiment in history, “The Truman Show.” Since before his birth, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) has been the star of this show, as well as the only person on the planet who doesn’t know the show exists. The show’s brilliant producer, Cristof (Ed Harris), has spent 30 years keeping Truman completely oblivious to his star status in the hopes of capturing on tape a truly unscripted, normal life. He even expends tremendous creative effort to suppress Truman’s desire to ever leave the fabricated world of Seahaven Island. The story that plays out on film is the fight between Truman’s increasingly restless anticipation of something meaningful beyond his coastal community and Cristof’s attempts from the producer’s box to keep Truman in love with his cell. May the questions that follow enrich your viewing and prompt a thoughtful discussion of this powerful movie.
What did you like or dislike about this film? Why?
Do you relate at all to Truman’s yearning for foreign climes? In what context(s) does this yearning become most pronounced? Why is that?
Are there “cells” we are conditioned to love? If so, is there a way out?
How might this film change your concept of Epiphany & Anticipation?
How can a deeper understanding of Epiphany & Anticipation change the way you see and live into the world?
* Much of this post was originally composed by: Drew Masterson for a Journal series called Films for Advent and made available by Coracle (inthecoracle.org)…and subsequently adapted for Coastal Church during the season of Epiphany.