“A little bit of hope,” the President says, is what is needed, “but not too much.” Just the right amount, he says, is far better than fear for controlling the masses. This is one of the many messages of the Hunger Games, a movie that blew away Twilight on its opening night, and in its second week, has given a beating at the box office to Mirror Mirror and Wrath of the Titanscombined.
What is so powerful about this movie? Young people are flocking to the movie, and others, like myself, are going to see what all the fuss is about. The plot, at its simplest description, is revolting to many – randomly selected kids killing kids in a nationwide politically motivated reality TV show to keep down any future rebellious uprisings. At a deeper level, it is symbolic of the loss of innocence of our generation. While it was difficult to watch, I found it no more violent than the average video game I’ve seen even Christian kids playing. (A statement of fact, not approval.) What makes it especially difficult is that the audience is drawn toward rooting for the main characters, but for these protagonists to “win,” they must kill other children. The fighters, or “tributes,” are given a mentor who is a previous victor of this game. His first bit of advice, given while drunk (since even he seems to understand the grim nature of what is to come and the unlikeliness of their success), is simply, “Embrace the probability of your imminent death; and know deep down in your heart, that there is nothing I can do to save you.”
I’ll leave story summaries and deeper analysis to those who can do it better (See Glen Wood’s Review), but for me, I am glad to have seen it so that I can get a glimpse into where our culture is, and where it is going. I did not find it as shocking as I expected it to be. The plot was not overly original; there have been many films of this nature. Claude Van Damme’s Hard Target used homeless people, for example, and there are many others with a “kill or be killed” plot. What made this different, of course, was the introduction of young kids and the nationwide reality TV show.
I met a family member of the author at my viewing of the show and have extended an invitation to do an interview with Suzanne Collins, who wrote both the books and the film adaptation. While I won’t hold my breath, I would love to know, beyond the basic plot/story, what message she was trying to communicate. What trends does she see in our country and culture that concern her? It is easy to jump all over “kids killing kids” in a movie and get irate, but do we give the same passion to the REAL killing of kids happening around us? Do we get equally upset by the desensitizing of kids to others by the way we idolize those who are attractive, or smart or from certain economic classes or races? (This is addressed in the film by the way those who are free look down on those in the districts from whom the ‘tributes’ come.) Do we get worked up about sex trafficking and child abuse and kids who are home alone so their parents can work more than necessary to acquire the “American Dream” while these kids are essentially abandoned? Do we get worked up over the promiscuity of girls trying to live up to what the world says they need to be in order to be loved or desired? Are we equally concerned about the drug use or crime of boys trying to impress each other and feel powerful and successful because that is what the media and entertainment world say is what it means to be a man? It’s always easy to get worked up over a movie because it’s a stationary target – whereas these other things are more fluid and moving, and (gulp) we are guilty of them as well. We wouldn’t want to shoot ourselves by shooting at them.
Yes, Hunger Games is violent. Our culture is violent.
Yes, Hunger Games has people obsessed with reality TV. So is our culture.
Yes, Hunger Games shows a lack of value for human life. Bingo.
Maybe Hunger Games is should have been titled Mirror Mirror?
You may remember awhile back, I did a post called Kidmin Toolkit, and it got WAY over 50 comments and a lot of interaction! It was a lot of fun!
Well, it took awhile to compile all the responses and pick a WINNER – but that original post has been UPDATED with both the winner and PDFs and WORD documents with all the submissions in a list, so you can compile your very own Kidmin Toolkit and BE READY for the next time you suddenly get called to go teach or serve and have no time to plan or pack or prepare – just grab your Kidmin Toolkit and GO!
GO THERE NOW – to see WHO WON, and download the TOOLKIT LISTS!
Leave your NEW COMMENTS HERE, rather then there. I’m especially interested in whether anyone actually creates their Kidmin Toolkit. If you do, send me a picture and I will post it here in this thread! E-mail to karl at kidmintalk.com as I will probably end up talking about this on KidminTalk soon!
By request via Facebook, I’m posting the family show I did at my church last weekend. A volunteer did the video from the back so the audio is the best, but you can hear the show fairly well. It was an after dinner show so unfortunately there is some ambient noise from the clean up going on back where the camera was, etc. but for what it’s worth, you’ll get to see Gus and some of my other puppets, including the scary baby routine, and some unique “Chapel only” humor as Gus picks on the whole multi-church format of our church a bit. This coming weekend our church is launching simulcast broadcasting so the opening routine with the magic drawing board has a little fun with that, to explain the context.
But with no further ado, here is the entire program in seven parts:
PART 1: Magic White Board Option for Multi-Site Churches
PART 2: Baby Fred and it Stinks to be a Baby
PART 3: Karl and Snowball
PART 4: Gus on Multi-Personality Churches, er Multi-Site
PART 5: Gus Invents WWID (What Would I Do?)
PART 6: The Gus Raps (Kids in the Word & Yo God!)
PART 7: Gus Becomes a Ventriloquist (and the Clean Room Rap)
Hope you enjoy the show! It was a fun evening and the kids seemed to respond really well. This was the first time since High School that I did an entire program with just puppets, but they had a magician last week and I thought it would be too similar to do a magic show, so I decided to do something different. Seems Baby Fred ended up being the most popular, surpassing even Gus in comments afterwards.
Kidology.org to release an exclusive clip of the all new Angel Wars next Tuesday!
If you have not seen AngelWars.com you have missed one of the very best Christian animated series for children. Think Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and super heroes all blended together into one visually stunning animated show that mixes awesome music and eye-popping animation so well, you might get goose bumps just watching the trailer. And that’s before you even sit down with the pop-corn to enjoy the entire show!
I’ve been a fan of the original trilogy since it came out, but am excited that an all new feature length version (90 minutes) is coming out NEXT TUESDAY…. and…. that Kidology.org will be releasing an exclusive clip of the show in our newsletter on the same day! Be the first to see an exciting scene from Angel Wars: The Messengers never before seen!
That’s right! While you can view the official trailer at AngelWars.com and there are a few clips here and there, Kidology.org’s free newsletter subscribers will be treated to an exclusive glimpse of the video NEXT TUESDAY, the day of the release! If you are not a Kidology.org newsletter subscriber, join the thousands of others who know where to get the inside scoop on children’s ministry today! Subscribe now so you don’t miss it! We will also be hosting an online Q and A with the creator, Christopher Waters.
But what IS Angel Wars?
Angel Wars is a visually exciting, kid-friendly rendering of spiritual warfare that allows children to imaginatively and visually engage with the spiritual realm. While they are not exactly ‘biblical’ in the literal sense (nor claim to be) they do allow children to imagine what life could be like for angels. However, I imagine real angels may envy the hover boards, gadgets and space ships these imaginary angels get to enjoy! For those who are concerned with aspects that do not perfectly match biblical descriptions of angels, such as the angels having free will, it is important to realize that in any fiction, for the sake of a story, often a few of realities rules must to broken to establish a premise for a story. From that point on, a shared world view can exist in harmony. In Narnia, animals talk. In Lord of the Rings, great evil power can be embodied in a piece of jewelry. In Star Wars, there is an impersonal but guiding and empowering ‘Force’ which binds the galaxy together. VeggieTales not only has talking veggies, but they can pick things up without hands, and no one seems to have an issue with that. In the same spirit, Angel Wars grants a few exceptions to the idea of angels to create a spiritual world (and beings) that kids can relate to, and that allows for some powerful moral lessons. Targeted to attract children ages 5-11, I can’t wait until my little boy is old enough to watch Angel Wars with me. We will discuss the themes and lessons in the stories, and then it will create a wonderful opportunity to look to the Bible to study what God’s Word teaches us about real angels and how they relate to God, this world, and us. In the meantime, I’m enjoying them myself!
What is this new video about? Here is the official description:
In a city of darkness, they are the light.
From some of the world’s most visionary animators comes an action-packed, feature-length adventure of two young warriors in the battle between the forces of good and evil!
Kira and Eli are the newest members of the Guardian Force, a group of angel warriors sworn to protect the world from the powers of evil. Not yet full Guardians, the young duo still has a lot to learn, but when darkness descends over the city, the time for training is over. Faced with the responsibility of delivering hope to a lost city, they must learn to work together to drive back the soldiers of darkness and grow into the warriors they are destined to become.
Karl’s official endorsement:
Angel Wars beautifully combines stunning visual story telling with powerful character lessons. Rarely is something designed for kids so engaging that adults get mesmerized too. Angel Wars delights the eyes, ears and heart all at once. Christian parents, teachers and pastors now have something of excellence their children can enjoy that will teach as well as entertain. It’s Christian and it’s totally cool… imagine that!
Karl Bastian, the Kidologist
Founder and President of Kidology.org
In case you haven’t heard, www.ToyBoxTales.com has been completely redesigned and improved!
You can now watch ALL the 101 ToyBox Tales instantly via embedded flash, no more need to download first. And for those who want the downloads for showing at church, they are now all available on one page. Free for Kidology.org members or directly on www.ToyBoxTales.com for a very nominal once-in-a-lifetime fee.
So jump over and check out the ALL NEWwww.ToyBoxTales.com and enjoy some Bible stories like you’ve never seen them before!
Here are some of the most popular videos on the site:
This is the one that started it all. Karl did this at camp in 2001 and the following summer the kids were still talking about it and asking him to do more “action figure Bible stories” – discovering that it was a powerful method for teaching, and since he already owned hundreds of action figures, ToyBox Tales was born!
This is the #1 downloaded/viewed video on the site. It is also the only one where Karl had to pull the video feed at the end because a hampster was stuck in the oven!
This is the #1 requested video Karl is asked to show at conferences when he offers to show a ToyBox Tale before a workshop. And no, the hamster is not trained or remote controlled, he is just a natural.
This is the only tale on the site that was recorded live in front of an audience of all adults at the Kidology University. Seems adults are just big kids after all.
This is Karl’s favorite. It doesn’t mean its the best one – just that if you are a Star Wars fan, you’ll probably enjoy it the most. (There are at least 20 Star Wars themed Tales, depending on how you count them.)
There are several series on the site that are best viewed or shown to kids in order:
This was the first series Karl did and there are high school kids that still quote lines from it! “Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, Who Stole My Bubble Gum!” This series is a powerful parable explaining the background to the Gospel. Not just what Jesus did, but why He had to die for our salvation.
A classic and the #1 selling ToyBox Tales DVD. Roy, the Boy of Joy and TheLover Man are two that people mention as their all time favorite ToyBox Tale when they meet Karl.
This powerful series covers the book at Acts like no other ever has. Starts with Easter and ends with a missionary message to go into all the world. The Enemy of My Enemy is Karl’s favorite.
These can be shown independantly, but were done three weeks in a row. Each has a unique and important message to kids: Choosing Jesus as your hero, Choosing your words carefully, and your destination (salvation).
While Kermit introduces the vast majority of the ToyBox Tales, this is the only series that was not filmed live in front of children’s church. They are fully edited videos that therefore feature sound fx and other effects not possible in a live presentation. Probably the most difficult was filming live at local McDonald’s with a crowd of people watching the entire time!
(This was e-mailed to me, but I wanted to post it to share and save)
Man builds working replica of Noah’s Ark (exact scale given in Bible) in Schagen , Netherlands
The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was opened to the first crowd of curious townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch creationist, Johan Huibers, as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.
The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.
Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.
A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.
Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son, Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top – deck not quite ready in time for the opening – will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs, chickens, goats and one camel.
Visitors on the first day were stunned. ‘It’s past comprehension’, said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.
“I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.”
There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands , where church-going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.
Now that I am old and Gray…give me the time to tell This new generation (and their children too) About all your mighty miracles. Psalm 71:18
The Merry Hearts Clowns are hosting a workshop with two of the most talented, sought after kids entertainers in America right now. The workshop will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2009 from 2 – 5 PM.
It will be held at New Life Church, 3205 Cannonball Trail, Yorkville. You can register for the workshop by going to www.TimAndBarrysWorkshop.com. Your Creative Entertainer hosts will be Tim Sonefelt and Barry Mitchell or Barry Mitchell and Tim Sonefelt depending on which one you like more.
Join these guys for as much magic, creative thinking exercises, stage presence tips, and laughter as they can pack into several hours. Think of it as two workshops for the price of one. You receive inspiration to spark more of your own creativity and practical tips and tricks to improve your entertainment abilities.
Plus you get the benefits of two leaders who both have half a brain. Barry and Tim are known for funny family entertainment products, storytelling effects with morals, and inspiring creativity among entertainers. You’ll laugh, learn, and leave with more than you could possibly get from just one workshop leader.
What makes this workshop different from other touring entertainers:
Two speakers for the price of one
Audience tested routines for family audiences
Creative thinking exercises with audience involvement
Practical tips that may be applied immediately
FREE DVD Product for everyone who pre-registers (up to $45 value!)
You will not want to miss this great workshop. I have been in workshops that each of these guys have taught and they are tops!! Hope you can make it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
I went to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on opening night with seven other grown men and had a great time chompin’ pop-corn and watchin’ Indy crack his whip and knuckles again after a 19 year break from the silver screen. How was the movie? Fun. Was it spectacular? Nah.
But I’ve actually been getting a kick out of listening to and reading all the negative reviews of the movie. While I agree with most of them as to whether the movie is on par with Raiders or Last Crusade (Temple seems to be nearly universally hated) – I’ve got a different take on it.
Like Star Wars Episode I, which came out 20 years after the last Star Wars film, Indy 4 was doomed to be criticized by those who loved the first three. (or at least two of the first three.) Interestingly, Episode I was met with mostly whining and complaining by all the twenty or thirty-something year old men (like me) who saw their first Star Wars film when they were a boy, but was loved by all the young boys who saw it. Hmmmm. Could it be it wasn’t really made for us grown ups? Yes, I hate Jar-Jar, but is Chewbacca really that much more believable or sophisticated? Would we really have loved Star Wars so much if we’d been our current age, then? My dad doesn’t seem as obsessed with Star Wars as I am, and he saw them all with me. I wonder why. Oh, yeah, he saw them as a grown up.
Which brings me to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The issue isn’t that Harrison Ford is too old. The issue is that we are. He did a remarkably great job doing an older, worn out Indy who could still crack a joke as well as a whip. In fact, he probably brought the most spark to the film. Indy 4 (a much easier to type title) had a no-win challenge. If it did what could be done 20+ years ago, we’d say it felt dated and didn’t take advantage of modern technology. If it did take advantage of today’s technology, then we’d say it lost the feel of the original films. Either way it can’t live up the expectation of being an Indiana Jones movie of the 70’s or barely 80’s. We want the movie to do to us NOW what the originals did to us then… too bad. We grew up. That’s one of the costs of growing up. We start to criticize and analyze too much. When we were kids, we just went to the movies and got lost in it. Those were good times.
My parents left me in the theater ALL DAY when Raiders came out. We were on vacation – I’d come to the doors at the front of the theater and signal thumbs up or thumbs down if I was going to stay in and watch again, or if I wanted them to pick me up. (In those days, they allowed you to pay once and stay and watch as many times as you wanted.) I stayed all day and watched it as many times as it showed that day.
So, yes. Indy 4 lacked the magic I hoped for – but I don’t blame the movie. I blame my age. But it was a fun film. A little far fetched at times, but, hey! It’s a movie! Ever hear a kid complain that a movie was too far fetched? I thought it was less scary, less gross and had less sexual humor than the earlier ones – and all the adventure and mystery for the most part. Realistic? Not a bit. Just the way a movie is supposed to be.
I’d love to be a kid again, but if I can’t, the next best thing is going to a good adventure movie. Pass the pop corn.
OK, I can juggle three balls. Sometimes, even on my unicyle… and I’ve even been known to make a half court shot in less than three trys, but this guy is outta my league:
