Introduction
Hey all and welcome back to the blog!!! I know I’m posting this kind of late again (apologies), so y’all really need to get on my tail and tell me to stop procrastinating and get to work! 😛
In case you missed it, check out last week’s post here and catch up on what you’ve missed. 😉 If you don’t want to do all that work, a simple recap would be that I’m writing a series on my reviewing standards: what I think makes a good story – and what doesn’t. 🙂 Last week was about content: what’s acceptable, what’s not, and what can be weighed out by better things.
This week I’m taking a different view on things and exploring the messages/morals viewpoint of me reviews. So grab some chocolate, something fuzzy, and take a seat – y’all are going to be here for a while.
(Psst – on another note, we reached 90 followers yesterday!! 10 more until we hit the big 100. I plan to start releasing my newsletter once I get that number, so we’ll see how that all goes. 🙂 Thank you, all of you, for your loyalty and dedication!!)
The Criteria
Now, the messages/morals aspect of things is a lot more fuzzy for me than the content and technicalities. Ethics have a lot of grey area and are highly subjective to the story itself and the other elements of the film/book. Just like last week, I’ll make y’all a handy-dandy list, telling you what my highest standard is (#1) and the point of no return (#10). Hang on to your hats! 😉
Messages
The story is bursting with so many themes and messages that it takes four or five, maybe even ten times of re-reading/watching for you to catch all of them. Each of the themes is deep and wholesome, striking hard but healing too, not only Biblical but applicable in the moment as well. Everything in the tale (plot, characters, even prose) reflects the theme. The story’s messages are convicting, letting you walk away with your views challenged and a glaring spotlight on the things wrong in your life. But above all, besides just showing you your disease, the messages also make you want to change. This is so critically important for a satisfactory story!! If I walk away convicted but not motivated to change, I’ll probably come back to the story, but the messages won’t stick.
A story bursting with Biblical, solid themes I can come back to time and time again without feeling like I’ve been preached at. Each message is convicting and the author can back up their claims. Every aspect of the story mirrors the themes in a talented way so that you don’t really notice it at first, but can’t help noticing it the second time around. The messages hit hard, but don’t necessarily inspire me to change my life drastically and I’ll probably forget about my convictions a few months after reading/watching it.
A story with solid themes I can test against the Bible and find true. They’re convicting and well-woven, but there aren’t as many themes as there could be. Something’s missing, but it’s such a small piece I don’t notice until the fourth or fifth time around.
A story with a few good themes that can be proven Biblically sound. They’re a bit glaring and can come across as preachy, but they’re not too horrible. A few aspects of the story (plot, prose, charries, etc.) reflect the theme, but not to a heart-pounding extent. The ending is dissatisfying in that the theme is left open for your own interpretation. Character arcs are unfinished.
A mediocre story with plenty of themes, though some are not Biblical and others are hard to decide. A bit is unclear about the author’s meaning. Character arcs are entwined with the themes, but the plot and prose are left out of the picture. What Biblical themes there are are preached at you.
A story with several themes, but I can’t find any obviously Biblical ones and they’re a bit fuzzy. It seems as if the author slapped on a few themes to appeal to an audience looking for deeper meaning, leaving me dissatisfied and with a “meh” view on the story. Aka I probably won’t reread it, though I’ll finish it.
A book with one or two Biblically solid themes, but also some worldly ones like, “Follow your heart and it will lead you to happiness!” and “Believe in yourself and you can do anything!” The characters live out these themes and it ends up working out for them, misleading the readers.
A book/movie without any Biblical themes – in fact, a book devoid of themes at all. I can pick out one or two cheesy/obvious messages like “the internet isn’t always safe” or “don’t murder”. Neither plot nor characters nor prose is entwined in the messages. This whole story is about entertainment, not instruction.
There are messages, but they’re all unbiblical and shown to be a good idea. The themes are intertwined with the characters/plot/prose, but in an obvious, cheesy kind of way that usually makes me arch my eyebrow or roll my eyes. I’ll get bored with the book and probably put it down half-way through no matter how good the “content” part is.
Unbiblical and flat out horrible themes are woven into the book in a deceptive kind of way. Messages obviously go against the Bible, even going so far as to contradict it directly. If I follow the book through to conclusion, I see that the characters thrive on their anti-Biblical view and readers are encouraged to do the same.
Morals
The protagonist has admirable morals and flaws that are seen as such – flaws. I can test their conduct against the Bible and find it solid. The villain’s evil morals are seen as such. If characters have a skewed moral compass, it is portrayed as skewed and not correct.
The protagonist is essentially perfect. They’re a great role model, a paragon of virtue. Other characters are imperfect, but their flaws and virtues are portrayed in a Biblical light. Villains are completely and totally villainous, with no good traits whatsoever, but their henchmen are much like the side characters on the protagonist’s side, except in reverse (mostly evil but with good traits vs. mostly good but with some bad traits). Each virtue and vice is portrayed Biblically. (Think LOTR.)
The protagonist is a good guy, but he has his issues. Some issues are addressed, some are not. Villains are much like the protagonists in that they are mostly bad guys, but they have some good traits, though those good traits might be portrayed as bad. Henchmen and side characters on the “good side” are mostly grey-area peeps.
The protagonist has a LOT of issues, and only a few of them are addressed. They have very few admirable traits, mostly being courage. They’re loved for their humor or looks (Pirates of the Caribbean, anyone?) instead of their character. The villains seem just like the good guys, just going after a different goal than the good guys and therefore obviously on the bad side.
The protagonist should honestly be the villain with all of their horrible traits. The worst part? Their vices are portrayed as “virtues” and the heroes are set up as role models, even as the villains, who honestly should be the good guys, are seen as despicable. Characters go directly against Biblical ideas of a supposedly “good” person and defy God.
Wrap Up
Firstly, I’d like to apologize again for the lateness of this post. Along with that, I realize that it’s pretty poor quality. I’ll probably come back through tomorrow when my brain is functioning and I can groan properly at all my problems. XD
Secondly, in case you haven’t noticed, all three of these sections (Content, Messages, and Morals) have something in common – a way I judge them. Yes, by the Bible in general, but Isaiah 5:20 is a great standard for me.
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
If a story’s Content, Messages, and Morals are evil but portrayed as good, or good but portrayed as evil, I’ll put the book down. As for what qualifies as “good” and what qualifies as “evil” the entirety of the Bible is my standard for that. I have a lot to learn from it still. My standards aren’t perfect. I’m not always going to follow these guidelines I’m writing now to a T. But I hope that someday, somehow, I’ll be able to tell a good book from a bad one without having to wrestle with it so much.
We’ll see what the future holds. 😉
Until then, take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! 😀
~Joelle
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