The Complicated Catholic

The Christian and the World

December 19, 2015

Unless you've been hiding under a rock you've probably noticed all the hullabaloo about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Don't worry – this isn't about the movie or anything. Rather, I'm concerned about a reaction to the media story I saw recently when a Catholic news page on Facebook posted a review for the film. The headline was provocative, claiming that the film was better than any of the previous ones in the series save for the original. Several readers asked an honest question: what does Star Wars have to do with the faith?

The answer is pretty straightforward. We, as Christians must pay attention to the popular whims and fancies gripping the secular world. Popular culture, whether it is music, television, film or the political whims of an increasingly shallow society, is a window into the moral and interior health of the culture. If our culture has a soul, the easiest means we have for understanding the moral condition of society is to see what is popular at the moment. Right now, the popular trends are grim, with superhero films, space fantasy and two-dimensional action films dominating the silver screen. We live in an age characterized by rehashing the successful iconic ideas of a bygone era. We find superficial contentment in re-presenting these old ideas and adding a new layer of polish to them.

I don't mean to sound cynical. There are signs of hope. Perhaps in the new Batman v Superman film we'll see a great presentation of the dichotomy between good and evil on the screen, presented in starkly moral tones. If so it's likely to be superficial simply because few people in the market want entertainment that challenges the way we think. After all, what Hollywood peddles is escapism; moral stories that overtly push a moral challenge are rarely box office successes.

What do we see when we look at the music, movies and other elements of popular culture today? We see a society in a state of rapid change. Our moorings in traditions and even the rule of law are being challenged by demands for greater inclusion that themselves go largely unchallenged due to our fears of being labeled bigots. This is reflected in much of popular culture, with The Force Awakens being lauded for its diverse cast (interestingly, the fans seem not to care and cheer for its good casting choices instead) and passing the Bechdel Test, despite the Bechdel Test being considered a very flawed way to understand women in film.

There is little talk of how values are shown on the big screen or in popular music. Values are something that any person of faith should be concerned with. How we understand what we value and the morality that guides the decisions we make, as portrayed by our culture's artful propagandists, is essential to understanding the state of the world today. Jesus tells us in Matthew 16 that we should be aware of the sign of the times, which requires all of us to understand the world around us. This means, first and foremost, not hiding ourselves away from a society that is in the midst of a secular moment in history. Instead, we have to participate in the culture to the best of our abilities and within the confines of the moral and natural law. I'm not telling you to go see The Force Awakens – I haven't seen it yet – but I am suggesting that there isn't any harm in judiciously participating in the popular culture, with eyes set firmly on the Kingdom.