Rookie youth workers may think their job is caring for teenagers. They may be tempted to limit their ministry to church and school. Yet, significant conversations with adolescents invariably involve their families. Youth workers often are caught between the competing desires of parents, kids and even grandparents. What recent movies raise the issues families face?
The Blind Side is a stirring, real-life football story. The Tuohy family puts faith into action, inviting a homeless teen, Michael Oher, into their home. (He also happens to be the largest left tackle to ever walk across Memphis!) Sandra Bullock brings remarkable heart to her portrayal of a take-charge Southerner Leigh Anne Tuohy. How refreshing to see Christians depicted as making a tangible difference in a young man’s life. Hollywood was blindsided by the film’s success.
Despite enthusiastic reviews, Whip It failed to find the audience it deserves. Spunky Ellen Page makes her first star turn since breaking through as Juno. Texas teen Bliss Cavendar rejects the beauty pageants she’s been groomed to win, finding her place in roller derby. Bliss must escape the earnest but smothering love of her mother. For parents, Whip It offers a poignant study in how hard it can be to let go—to allow our adolescents to make their own choices.
Where the Wild Things Are befuddled filmgoers. It is almost plot-less, a series of emotional highs and lows befitting a young boy. The key to understanding Wild Things is the framing story of a fractured family. Young Max gets worked up when his divorced mom brings home a date. Max sails away in a rage. The wild things reflect all of Max’s mercurial moods, particularly in connection with his home life. Where the Wild Things Are challenges us to face and maybe even embrace our monsters.
Viewers of all ages will enjoy following the Fantastic Mr. Fox and his animal family. Director Wes Anderson brings remarkable detail to their underground world. It brims with life. Amid a carefree caper story, Mr. Fox also deals with how annoying our spouses, siblings or cousins can be. How do we learn to appreciate the quirks of our family? Fantastic Mr. Fox suggests that we must allow our wild artistic expression. Can we make discipleship into an equally creative adventure?
Prom Night in Mississippi demonstrates how parents can pass along prejudice. Charleston, Miss., has been staging separate proms for black and white students since the 1970s. Local son Morgan Freeman intervenes, offering to pay for the prom if it is integrated. While most of the high school students want to bury the racial divide, a few parents are determined to separate their children and their proms. Sometimes family can hold us back. We must challenge young people to forge a future full of justice, mercy and grace.
