Monday, March 14, 2011

A gospel heritage

When an artist works they put a piece of themselves into the artwork. Naturally, something as defining as religion would gather into the art. When I read the scripts, and thought about how gospel principals were applied, it intrigued me at how implicitly our gospel heritage blends into what we create.

I thought Chloe’s script was beautiful. At first, I thought that Grace represented the insecure side of people, and that her hair represented the raw selfish emotions inside each of us. It wasn’t until I began writing this post until I realized that Grace represents someone who has sinned. She is embarrassed by her hair and how crazy it is. She tries to get rid of it, multiple times, but is succumbed by the magnitude and strength of her hair. The only way that she can be rid of this serious problem is through the help of another. In the script the other is, as we all know, the bird. In the gospel, Christ, our bishop, and/or our families are the people who can help us overcome our sins. I thought that the use of Grace’s hair and how it is something attached to her that should be inanimate, was a marvelous way to show how our sins, when built up overtime, begin to overwhelm and control us. I’m sure the technical work on physically animating the hair was extensive, and I hope to see the final product.

I loved A. Todd’s story. It was interesting to read a script in which the entire thing was narrated. Similar to Chloe’s script, A. Todd’s story shows the main character reacting to events that they seemingly cannot control. Mr. Bellpond, I felt, is meant to show how we can’t hide ourselves away from our problems. Because of the length of time spent avoiding his issues, Mr. Bellpond became physically hurt by the process of trying to confront his problems. It is important for people to work to do their best to overcome the trials in our lives, and to pray to the Lord for help and guidance, this is what Bellpond did not do, and as such, he had to struggle through his problems alone.

Both scripts contain implicit gospel messages. I'm starting to understand that all good stories have a relation to the gospel.

1 comment:

  1. I think it is interesting how many similar conclusions were drawn in regards to what the hair symbolized in Chloe's script. I wonder if we weren't directed to read the scripts with a mind for potential gospel connections that we might not have ever seen the parallels. Through another lens we would have seen other similarities to other subjects.

    A great story always seems to have universal concepts that can be enlightening for any topic.

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