Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Subtle images of life

How much are you affected by the music you hear or the movies you enjoy? For myself, I don't know. A good chunk of America now thinks Mr. Dobson from Focus on the Family condemns SpoungBob SquarePants as somehow pro-homosexual in nature. I don't think that has ever been Mr. Dobson's point as he makes clear in this fairly comprehensive piece, but neither is that what I want to talk about.

For those who do believe (like me) in some intrinsic influence of media on our personal views, negative or possitive, I think we would do well to recognize some movies and songs that slip under the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and NOW radar and could have some small influence on the public perception toward abortion.

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Movie: "The Forgotten"
When it was released last fall, it didn't make a big splash but neither was it a big flop. The plot had a lot of potential but disappointing many people who wished it could have developed into the psychological thriller they expected.

Without going into too much detail, let me just say that the climax of the movie depends on one woman's ability to remember "the life that was in her" before the birth of her son. It was something I didn't really notice in the context of a prolife message at first until a friend pointed it out. It made the movie a little more worth seeing in hindsight.

Song: "My Name"
(Artist: George Canyon)

George Canyon is new to the country music stage, and even though he's a Canadian, he seems to do very well for himself on both sides of the border. Some of his first and recent singles include "A Good Day to Ride" and "I'll Never Do Better Than You." Over all, I've been very impressed with him and so far have never been disappointed with his product.

This time, though, I'm stunned. His new song "My Name" is the touching story of the tragedy and heartbreak of a miscarriage, told through the eyes of the unborn child. I heard it first a couple weeks ago and today I finally went online and watched the music video. It's just as moving as the music. At the end of the video they give the website of The Compassionate Friends, a national organization dedicated to helping bereaved parents. I've done a little reading from their site and I did not find any information on abortion. That said, I'm glad Mr. Canyon chose to honor bereaved parents with a story about an unborn child. By doing so, he really hit hard where it matters.

If you get the chance, listen to this song--I dare you not to cry.

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Let's hope these images have the impact they deserve. Ultimately, I don't think there can be true healing without the gospel--something that is often missed in our zeal to staunch the tide of abortion. Yet, even so, it certainly can't do any harm to give Mr. Canyon's song its proper due.

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<< Home 3 Comments:
Blogger Kristi said...

that was rough! It really got me.
Yeah, you could say that I'm crying right now....

11:46 PM, February 15, 2005  
Blogger Kristi said...

(now that I'm done crying)Thank you for posting this Mark, my deep thanks to George Canyon as well. I won't even try to list the ways in which this song is so meaningfull. I do hope the song gets out.

12:09 AM, February 16, 2005  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Mark!

Reading your blogs and the amount of critical thinking you put into your work... Well, it makes me relook at how I view this life... I think I take alot of things at face-value and don't really delve into what they actually mean or how their consequences can impact others. Anyhow... just some stuff that I've been doing... (http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=BJonesy007) Peace out dude...

Cheers!

Brian Jones

6:40 PM, February 16, 2005  

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