Black and White
Hidden in the 'Film not in English' category of Sunday's BAFTAs and of next month's Oscars, is probably the most extraordinary and thought-provoking offering of 2009 - The White Ribbon.
A measured and sophisticated parable, The White Ribbon - with its weighty moral message that humanity's malignant tendencies require community and conscience if they are to be suppressed - may affect Christians in particular.
It is ostensibly a tale about a town whose folk are experiencing a series of mysterious incidents and accidents. The town being largely disconnected from the outside world, we are left to conclude that the source of the malice lies within the community, and we join the inhabitants in trying to make sense of the unseen force that is acting on, and within, their hermetically-sealed lives.
From our vantage point in time and space, we conclude that a unique evil is at work. Depending on the established social structures of law, church, aristocracy, school, and medicine, the community finds that none, in fact, is capable of confronting the malign forces they face. One by one they and their leaders are found wanting. And as we ponder the bigger picture, we observe the people emerging into a world with a recognisably modern ethos - the abandonment of tradition, the adoption of new modes for ordering society, the birth of secular community, and world war. It is undeniably dark, yes, but gripping.
Daily we hear stories of malice, cruelty and oppression, and we may often find ourselves in despair at the way people act towards each other. But our faith is realistic about human nature in a way that our culture often is not. Evil in the Bible is always seen from God's standpoint, both as Judge and Saviour - Psalm 14 is a good example. On the one hand, 'there is no-one who does good', and judgment will surely come; on the other, 'the Lord restores the fortunes of his people', and is 'their refuge'.
Faced with malign forces, we may speak assuredly from the Bible that evil has been defeated in Christ, that justice will finally be done. That is the calm power of the Christian message.
But there is more.
As Paul said, our calling is to 'live as children of light... Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them' (Ephesians 5:8-11). Unlike the Christians in the film, who appear unable to confront evil, followers of Christ will seek to counter and even oppose it, with confidence in the one who himself is the light of the world.
John Lee
Links
Visit the official website of the film here
Comments
There are currently no comments for this article.
