Reaching The Divine Through Movies
Finding Transcendence On The Screen
Image by L.E. Wilson from RedBubble based on work by Arek Socha on Pixabay
“Cleanliness is next to godliness” is a common, seemingly quaint expression which many interpret to mean that having good personal hygiene is as important as being a good person. In the sense that hygiene can help us keep diseases that are borne from bacteria and viruses away from others, there absolutely is validity in this. Few things are a greater good than preventing disease. But perhaps there is something more to this saying, something more profound, about reaching a higher more enlightened plane of existence—one that is closer to the perfect, to the divine—by devoutly practicing cleanliness in all its forms.
For to be clean is not just a matter of basic hygiene or of being organized and tidy, but also of being a good decent person, of being pure of heart and mind, noble and dignified. This idea is skewered and laughed at in our culture, as is done in the absurd comedy, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1980), for example. Here is a movie that takes the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table—along with the ennobling themes of honor, loyalty, fealty, chastity, courage—and trashes them all. It’s a pretty funny movie, so that’s not the problem because if anything is a treasure, a gift, a godsend, it is laughter.
The problem is that somewhere along the way we seemed to have collectively forgotten that these ennobling wholesome traits are real and that we can indeed achieve them. In fact, not only can we achieve them, but if we strived to be honorable loyal people of good character—who worked towards having genteel manners, honesty and integrity, bravery and courage, purity of body and soul—wouldn’t we create heaven on Earth, right here, right now? Well? Wouldn’t we?
The number of movies that showcase these virtuous traits are vast. We find the honorable, valiant, loyal person represented in the princes of fairy tales, the coaches and athletes in sports movies, the school teachers in dramas:
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Life Lesson: True love conquers all.
Rocky (1976)
Life Lesson: Push yourself to reach your full potential.
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Life Lesson: If you want to improve your situation, give it all you’ve got and get the job done.
The Karate Kid (1984)
Life Lesson: Learn to defend yourself in a way that should gain the respect of your opponents.
We find kind, respectful, genteel manners represented in the fairies found in fables, the heroes in war movies, the mentors in fantasies:
Cinderella (1950)
Life Lesson: Never stop believing in your dreams.
Casablanca (1942)
Life Lesson: Sometimes a situation calls for you to be the noble hero.
Mary Poppins (1964)
Life Lesson: Don’t be so absorbed in routine that you miss the wonders around you.
We find honesty and integrity, bravery and courage, purity of body and soul in documentaries about athletes, artists, inventors, builders:
SlingShot (2014)
Life Lesson: “Bureaucracy is the art of making the possible impossible.”
— Javier Pascual Salcedo
First Position (2011)
Life Lesson: To become the best, push yourself harder than the rest.
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 (2007)
Life Lesson: There is joy in working with your hands.
Addicted to Life (Nuit de la Glisse) (2014)
Life Lesson: Enjoy life—do things that make you feel alive.
Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)
Life Lesson: You will be healthier if your diet consists mostly of fresh fruits and vegetables. The foods highest in nutrients per calorie are: 1) green vegetables, 2) raw vegetables, 3) beans/legumes, 4) eggplant, mushrooms, 5) tomatoes, peppers, 6) fresh fruit. The most nutrient rich foods are: kale, collards, spinach and bok choy.
Kings of Pastry (2009)
Life Lesson: Don’t let adversity — difficulties, misfortune — stop you. Finish a task you set out to do. Finishing is its own reward, and only those who finish are eligible to win.
Artistry, craftsmanship, beauty—are these not the paths to transcendence that lead to the divine?
The biggest lesson from all of this is simply that there is more to life than mere survival. There is more that we can achieve than just base, angry struggle in the muck. We can become more noble, more dignified and proper, through work, through effort, through a way of being that allows us to climb up the great chain of being, vanquish the ordinary, reach the extraordinary, the beautiful, the sublime, the marvelous—and transcend onto another stage as we live and breathe.
The movies above give a hint as to how—so rise and be better than yourself!
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
― Socrates
Visit the moviewise catalogue—a searchable database of one sentence movie summaries, movie quotes, and movie wisdom—for movie recommendations.
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