Lessons Learned through Classic Movies

I've recently become a Netflix addict. I didn't think it would happen.

A relative bought our family a Netflix subscription for the year, and prior to that I had assumed that Netflix was mostly brand new movies, most of which were not fit for little (or big) eyes. Not so. Netflix has an impressive collection of classic movies, and I don't even have to leave my house. Our queue of movies currently has over 100 on it. We'll be getting fresh movies every few days for the next several months !

Among those was have watched are "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (one of my favorite all time films) and last night we watched "To Kill a Mockingbird", having just finished up the book of the same title as a family.

Mr. Smith is a great film for teaching our children about how the Senate works, and how corruption and special interests sometimes block the Senate from functioning as designed. The backdrop of gorgeous and moving shots of the various monuments located in Washington, D.C., as seen through the eyes of a naive patriotic young man (Mr. Smith) is incredible, and we found ourselves pausing the movie to discuss certain things in more detail.

To Kill a Mockingbird deals with the touchy subject of racism in the deep south of the 1930s, when a black man is falsely accused, and Atticus Finch defends him.

I never have understood racism, even though I grew up in a family that was very racist. To me it never made sense and always angered me. I want my kids to likewise see racism for the ugly and pointless thing that it is. I always have found it strange that many "lefties" refer to Christians as being racist because judging another person based on skin color is so vile to God and totally contradictory to the Bible's teaching on the subject....there is only one race and that is the human race.

Last night after we watched To Kill a Mockingbird, we talked for a long time about racism and races, and what the Bible says about it. Today we are starting to read the excellent book by Ken Ham called "One Blood" (highly recommended for a Biblical response to racism), and discuss it.