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The Most Important Philosophical Question to Ask When Watching a Movie

From Grant Horner’s new book, Meaning at the Movies (Crossway, 2010):

Perhaps the single most important philosophical question to ask when watching a film is, “What is the nature of humanity according to this movie?”

If one’s view of the nature of man (in theological terms, “anthropology”) is skewed, then everything else will be off. I cannot possibly emphasize this enough: anthropology is the key. Error at this point inevitably leads to greater error in many other places.

Every film contains presuppositions—and most contain overt statements—about the nature of mankind. The spectrum is deceptively simple:

  • man is good,
  • man is bad,
  • man is both,
  • man can change categories, or
  • man is morally neutral (i.e., categories of good and bad are fictional or somehow irrelevant). . . .

The real issue is, what is the overall view of the nature of man presented by the film as seen by a reasonably perceptive viewer? This can largely be determined by considering plot, characterization, and the tone or mood of the film.

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