Servant Leadership via Good Will Hunting

Introduction

In 1997, Good Will Hunting, arrived to critical acclaim and provided the launching point for the movie stardom success of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Good Will Hunting is the compelling story of a young man, deemed a genius by all whom know him, as he journeys from being a troubled social deviant to actualizing his God-given abilities as he learns to find acceptance of self and to experience emotional intimacy in the context of his relationships. Having watch the film numerous times, I am always drawn in and inspired by the interactions between Will Hunting and Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams, a state-mandated psychologist assigned to Will upon his being charged with assault. Mr. Maguire’s leading and interactions with Will provide an excellent onscreen model of servant leadership which can aid all aspiring servant leaders in identifying specific practices and strategies essential for servant leadership.

In this paper, I will examine servant leadership practices and strategies of Sean Maguire in his relationship with Will Hunting. I will focus on three particular stages of their relationship (initial interactions, establishing credibility, and pursuing potential growth) while reflecting upon course texts throughout.

INITIAL INTERACTIONS

Upon being bailed out of a potential prison sentence by an elitist and well-renowned math professor at MIT, Will is informed by the professor that the court has mandated that he see a psychologist for a set period of time along with his work with the professor. Frustrated that none of his academic colleagues will take on the case after Will has manipulated and humiliated them, the professor turns to Sean Maguire, his roommate from college with whom his relationship has experienced strife and distancing throughout the years as their professional and personal lives have taken different paths. During the initial meeting between Will and Sean, Will makes his best attempt to derail the session by insulting and negating Sean’s professional field as well as his personal life. Will continues by expounding upon one of Sean’s personal paintings and attempts to psychoanalyze him via his artwork. The scene reaches its climax as Will ascertains that perhaps Sean married the wrong woman and Sean grabs Will by the neck, pinning him against the wall, tensely uttering “if you ever disrespect my wife again, I will end you!”. As the professor enters Sean’s office after Will leaves, Sean agrees to continue seeing Will. This illustrated a powerful principle of servant leadership which Ramsey (2006) articulates by saying “the servant-leader’s deliberate choice is to serve others” (p. 3). A key aspect of servant leadership is choosing to put aside personal offense or hurt in effort to serve others. While Sean had every right to refuse to see Will again, he chose continuing meeting with him because he identified his position to serve Will in spite of his present feelings of hurt or inferiority.

As Will approaches Sean in his office for their second visit ready to sit in his chair, Sean utilized a rather unorthodox counseling method by taking Will to a bench in a nearby park. Sean confronts Will about his derogatory comments during their previous visit, sharing his experience of surviving his wife as she died from cancer. The pinnacle of their encounter occurs when Sean gracefully and compassionately says:

“You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally… I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can’t learn anything from you, I can’t read in some fuckin’ book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t want to do that do you sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.”

One of the clear practices we can learn from Sean’s actions was his ability to forgive Will for his critical and hurtful remarks. Lennick & Kiel (2008) note that “when I forgive you, I continue to recognize that you have flaws, but I do not define you completely in terms of your flaws” (p. 112). Servant leaders must realize they will be hurt by the words and actions of others throughout the process of leadership. Just as Sean saw what he could potentially learn from Will, servant leaders must not allow their emotions to be the singular driving force of their practices and strategies. Servant leaders must not only be willing to forgive, but willing to move forward in their relationships with constituents seeking future learnings, opportunities, and successes.

Another important servant leadership strategy exemplified in this scene in Sean’s desire to listen to Will and learn about his life, his experiences, and his thoughts. Greenleaf (1977) certainly saw the significance of leaders employing listening skills and the impact it had upon workers “because true listening builds strength in other people” (p. 31). In regards to listening, it is imperative to specify the distinction between seizing opportunities as they come as opposed to proactively seeking and organizing one’s schedule to intentionally encourage and provide space and time for listening.

ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY

As Sean and Will continue to meet throughout the movie, Will begins to ask perusing questions about Sean’s life and marriage after a complete session of silence. One critical interaction occurred when Will asked Sean if he would ever remarry which Sean promptly responded, “my wife is dead.”. After pressing him with the question a second time, Will says “that way you could actually go through the rest of your life without ever really knowing anybody”, rehashing an assertion previously made by Sean towards Will. While this may seem to be an inconsequential exchange, it is interesting to note how Will responds to this exchange with a graceful spirit rather than contention as he had earlier in the film. There are many similar moments throughout their sessions where Sean continues to build credibility and rapport with Will through basic personal connections in their interactions. Kouzes & Posner (2003) acknowledge the merit of this process when they write “the credibility foundation is built brick by brick. And as each new fragment is secured, the basis on which we can erect the hopes of the future is gradually built” (p. 25). Servant leaders are more effective when they appreciate the foundation of credibility steadily established in present interactions in light of a future hope for the individual and the organization.

Another element of establishing credibility happens during Sean’s interactions with the professor. While the professor is consumed with the potential results Will may produce in the future, Sean is more concerned with the constructing the road to those results by allowing Will to find ownership in those pursuits as he continues to strengthen their relationship. Thompson (2000) corroborates the importance of this strategy by saying “relationships that are totally objective and valued for their utility are unlikely to give rise to the level of trust and commitment that empowerment entails” (p. 189). It is essential for servant leaders to avoid focusing on the past of an individual or solely on their potential results. Rather, servant leaders must consider both of these criteria, but more importantly focus on building the bridge between the two through relationships.

PURSUING POTENTIAL GROWTH

In perhaps the most critical scene in the movie, Sean holds Will’s file detailing his records of being physically abused throughout his childhood scattered amongst foster families. After Sean shares with him his own childhood experience of physical abuse, he faces Will repeating “it’s not your fault” until Will breaks down, sobbing, and hugging Sean. The following scene portrays their final session of the court mandate where Will shares with Sean his choice to accept a job at one of the organizations set up through the professor. After Will confirms his desire to pursue this path, Sean shares with him his own choice to “put his money back on the table and see what kind of cards he gets”.A great concept of servant leadership displayed throughout the movie which comes to fruition in this scene is the strengthening of others. Just as Sean allowed Will the space, relationship, and time to move forward with his own decision, servant leaders must strengthen others to the point where they make decisions which are owned. When people are allowed to make decisions based upon their own beliefs they have personal accountability for their decisions and achievements (Kouzes & Posner, 2002, p. 284). When servant leaders strengthen their constituents to the point of ownership, they do not just aid in their achievement, but they also pass on this specific paradigm of leadership.

It is all too common for leaders to become complacent in their positions either out of fear of failure or fear of being uncomfortable. Sean’s decision to move out amongst the world again shows his ability not just be a servant leader to others, but also to apply such concepts to his own life. Greenleaf (2003) writes that servant leaders must “be more creative than most, and creativity is largely discovery, a push into the uncharted and the unknown” (p. 51). Servant leaders must not be held captive by the fear of the unknown. Instead, they must venture into the unknown, seeking to learn more about their self, experiencing new techniques and ways, and wrestling with their encounters to continue to learn to build a bridge from the past to the present to the future.

CONCLUSION

This has been an enjoyable paper to write and it will serve as connection between a film I love and the calling of servant leadership. I love the rawness of the dialogue and interactions found in Good Will Hunting, as it provides a realistic portrayal of life which is messy and complicated where pain and confusion plentifully abound in need of healing and direction. The closing scene of the movie shows Will driving in his car west (presumably on his way to Skylar, his girlfriend) leading viewers to believe that he had found reconciliation not just with his talents and potential career, but also with his relationships and fear of intimacy. I always watch this scene to the end through the credits because it inspires me with the hope of being able to move beyond pain and confusion for all people. This hope is what exudes from the hearts of servant leaders.

REFERENCES

Greenleaf, R.K. (1977). Servant leadership: a journey into the nature of legitimate power and greatness. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press.

Greenleaf, R.K. (2003). The servant leader within: a transformative path. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press.

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2003). Credibility: How leaders gain and lose it, why people demand it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2002). The leadership challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lennick, D. & Kiel, F. (2008). Moral intelligence: enhancing business performance & leadership success. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Ramsey, M. (2006). Servant leadership and unconditional forgiveness: The lives of six south African perpetrators. The International Journal of Servant Leadership, 2(1), 87-113.

Thompson, C.M. (2000). The congruent life: following the inward path to fulfilling work and inspired leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture

Back in the Fall I attended the National Youth Worker’s Convention hosted by Youth Specialties in San Diego.  Great event as always with multitudes of worship, resources, and speakers.  Every year before I leave I buy 5 or 6 cds from sessions that I did not have the chance to attend for one reason or another.  Guided by the recommendation of a friend, I grabbed a presentation by Shane Hipps on the power of electronic culture.  I was leery at first (because haven’t we heard the anti-media message from Christians before), but eventually submitted to peer pressure and proceeded towards the checkout.

I listened to it on the short 2 and half hour drive home from San Diego and then again the following week in the office.  I was ecstatic to find a different message relating to media that made incredible sense. 

After another 3 or 4 months, I broke down and bought the book.  17 days later, the book was finished.   Now 2 months upon completion, I am finally writing a review.  Proceed if you dare.

Shane Hipps is a pastor in Phoenix.  He looks like a pastor, entitles books like a pastor, and probably even smells like a pastor (I have no evidence or source for the last statement).  The only problem here is that he doesn’t write or speak like a pastor.  He sounds like an expert on media theory and doesn’t build his premises with theology as the sole foundation.  This all makes sense when you learn that before communicating the gospel his main goal in life was communicating the awesomeness of Porsche’s cars as strategic planner for an advertising firm.

In his attempt to explain the powers that media possesses, he has a few simple statements that seem to guide us through this maze of information.  Concepts like “the message is the medium” and “instead of asking ‘what does this do?’ we would be better served to ask ‘what does this mean?’” are revisited often.  He also frequently references Marshall McLuhan and relies heavily upon his set of questions dubbed the Laws of Media:

• What does the medium extend?
• What does the medium make obsolete?
• What does the medium reverse into?
• What does the medium retrieve?

He does a terrific job explaining the complexities of media and communication theories.  One section I found particularly interesting was his comparing and contrasting of the communication forms of the printed word and images and their connection to shift from post-modernity into this realm in which we are going.  I really appreciated the time he took to explain the impact of different media types on culture and the church.  For me, it really helps me gain a better understanding of the big picture.  (I can’t stand it when authors assert a point and give no reason assuming you know it…if I knew it, I would NOT be reading what you wrote!)

Another area that piqued my interest is where he writes about not being mastered by mediums of media.  In our media saturated lives sometimes we lose perspective of what we are actually doing and become enslaved to various mediums in our behaviors without giving much thought as to what simple task is being accomplished by the said medium.  Hipps suggests that our understanding of the impacts of the media we use is vital to our relationship with Christ as our focus remains fixed on the cross and not on specific mediums (ie. projection screen, sound systems, videos, bulletins, etc.)

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in understanding the impacts of media both subconsciously and the greater cultural climate.  It’s well-written and relatively easy to follow considering the content.  For me this book really helped me to identify the implications of different media forms that are present in my life.  Good read.  Definitely worth 17 days of your reading time.

10 Favorite Folks in the Motion Picture Industry

This is an odd segment for me, a person who regularly mocks and pesters my wife when she watches E! and reads People Magazine.  Even though I’m not into all the fashion and gossip news that keeps our TMZ culture afloat, there are people in Hollywood that I very much enjoy being entertained by.  So here goes my list as we delve into another segment of “10’s”.

1.  George Clooney - My likeness (you may even call it a man-crush) for this guy is beyond any other.  I love almost all his movies.  He always seems to pick interesting roles in well-produced movies (no one does this better).  His greatness goes beyond the bigscreen as he just seems like a great person to be around.  As the ultimate host in Hollywood, he’s the epitome of a guy’s guy that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to bring around.  On top of all that, no one else seems to be having more fun.  Favorite movie: Out of Sight

2.  Matt Damon – From the moment I first watched Good Will Hunting (still a fascinating movie over a decade later), I hope this guy would become who he is today – who’s that?  He, much like Clooney, does a great job at picking movies that are well-written, interesting, and most importantly avoid wussification…so many actors started off great and then lost their edge in exchange for winning the hearts of young girls (see Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, etc.).  Favorite movie: Rounders

3.  Brad Pitt- His name doesn’t make me want to see a movie (like the guys above), but he has played so many diverse roles it’s difficult not to recognize the man’s skill.  Beyond that, the man is so good looking even the most stubborn of men couldn’t disagree.  His choice in roles has improved greatly in the last 10 years and it has lended me the ability to slowly dismantle every arguement that ever existed against him.  Favorite movie: Fight Club.

4.  Edward Norton – Speaking of Fight Club, this guy is just an incredible actor.  Most of his roles feature characters of incredble depth and intense conflict.  Although he lacks exceptional good looks, it is rare that that I find myself not engrossed in the storylines of his roles.  Favorite movie: American History X

5.  Tina Fey – Her greatest strength is her writing.  Mean Girls is hilarious and I find myself watching it every time I come across it on TV.  Her intelligence and wit combined with her underplayed attractiveness make her not only entertaining, but also help you take her seriously…it’s always about the writing with her.  Her comedy writing skills have landed her on top of all the other women Hollywood has to offer.  Favorite movie (show): 30 Rock

6.  Jack NIcholson – Perhaps the greatest actor and without question the premiere womanizer of Tinseltown of our generation.  I’ll admit he has mailed in way too many of his roles over the past 10 years, but he’s still intriguingly entertaining just being Jack.  His name commands you to pay attention to the movie.  Favorite movie: A Few Good Men

7.  Will Smith- Watching this guy just makes me feel good about life.  He’s funny, good looking, and seems like he would make a fine family friend.  Even in his most wussifying role, Hitch, he’s terrific…my wife and I love the movie!  Besides being funny and possessing the ability to (kinda) rap, he is incredible at playing roles to perfection.  Favorite movie: The Pursuit of Happyness

8.  Leonardo DiCaprio- He started out soft as a teen bop cover boy proclaiming he was “king of the world”.  After so many great performances in movies worthy of male viewership, how could you exclude him from any top 10 list of this nature.  He has gone from being the punch line in the locker room to the guy living the bachelor’s dream (he must be hoping to top Clooney one day).  Favorite movie: The Departed

9.  Morgan Freeman – He just picks great roles and is the prototypical wise old sage on the silverscreen.  There’s not much to say other than I love his acting. Favorite movie: The Shawshank Redemption

10.  Owen Wilson – Of the newbies to the “Hollywood Elite” (Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, etc.), Owen is the only one that I can take seriously…the others guys are too concerned with being the “(fill in the blank)” guy.  Maybe he will turn out to be the biggest train wreck of all these guys, but as of now he can be humorous, but not to the point where it marks his identity.  Favorite movie: Wedding Crashers

 

Missing Chris Farley

As a pre-pubescent adolescent 7th grader behind the curve socially, I noticed my peers would make comments about “a van down by the river” and “that’s gonna leave a mark” followed by contagious laughter.  I quickly allocated all of my resource to finding out what the commotion was all about.  After a few weeks of religiously watching Saturday Night Live and half a dozen viewings of Tommy Boy later, I was in the loop.  Not only were my brainwaves malfunctioning from overexposure to a television screen, but I was now a life-long fan of Chris Farley.

I reminisce on such hilarity because I found Black Sheep playing and couldn’t tear myself away to get to bed at a decent hour.  This should be no surprise as this has become a regular habit of mine.  The comedic impact and longevity of Chris Farley is only matched by the greatest comedians in modern cinema.  He is one of only a few people that make me laugh every time I see them.  Whether it was an outtake, interview, sketch, or feature film, I was chuckling, smirking, and occasionally laughing uncontrollably.  What made him even greater was not just his ability to take over a scene, but how he made everyone alongside him funnier (think David Spade).

I arrived at school prepared to take my last final before Christmas break of my freshman year of high school and noticed that the conversations among students seemed to lack the content of geometry and physics as would be expected and replaced by the news that Chris Farley had died from a drug overdose.  None of us knew him, but we all understood that we were losing an icon of our generation.

It’s been over 10 years since his death and the comedic world hasn’t been the same since.  I sometimes wonder what he would have done if there was some intervention.  I wonder how he would have made us laugh and bring more joy to the viewing public.  These remain some of the things that we will never know, but his impact remains today.  With a new generation of people discovering his genius, the laughs continue as his timeless performances.  And for me, I’m just thankful I was there to see his short amazing run as the funniest man on earth.

Passion of the Christ

I’ve seen the movie once.

I went by myself to the theater in college and have never had the desire to see it again.  There were many scenes that I had to look away because it was all too real.  The terror of sin is violent, bloody, and destructive.  Thank God Jesus died once for the sin of the world and saved me from my own evil desires.

Wisdom from “The King of Kong”

First things first.  If you haven’t seen The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, do yourself a favor and set aside a couple hours to be amazed.  The hit documentary is filled with many nuggets of proverbial wisdom as evident is the following inclusions.

Billy Mitchell: No matter what I say, it draws controversy. It’s sort of like the abortion issue.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Jillian Wiebe (Steve’s Daughter): I never knew that the Guinness World Record Book was so… I never knew it was so important.
Steve Wiebe: I guess a lot of people are… yeah, a lot of people read that book.
Jillian Wiebe: [while directly looking at Steve, her father] Some people sort of ruin their lives to be in there.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Brian Kuh: If anybody wants to see, there’s a Donkey Kong kill screen coming up.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Adam Wood: I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do drugs. I play video games, which I think is a far superior addiction to any of those other ones.
————————————————————————————————————————-
Billy Mitchell: …but competetive gaming, when you wanna attach your name to a world-record, when you want your name written into history, you have to pay the price!

It’s just too good to pass up.  Go get it!

My Bucket List

I arrived home last night to a nice dinner cooked by Meredith.  The smell of dill, lemons, sate, and white wine infused my senses the minute I walked in the door.  I couldn’t wait to try the fish that she had prepared.  After taking a few bites, we realized that even delectable seasoning couldn’t overcome the fact that the store had sold us bad fish.

Now we were left hungry and befuddled.  So we headed over to Carla Renee, which is a nice, quiet neighborhood restaurant serving delicious cuisine.  Meredith had the crab-cakes and I munched on the Kobe beef sliders…yum (sorry Alaina).  The light is low and the service is some of the best in town…it’s one of the few places in town that considers the impact environment has on an eating experience.

Then we walked down the street to the theatres to see The Bucket List.  I enjoyed it and Meredith cried, because she’s a softie.  I love movies that deal with the problem of death and pain.  In such vulnerable moments of life, the desires for a metaphysical existence are piqued and the reference points of what matters find new alignment.

This got me thinking about how I will handle my own impending death if I am to die in such a way.  What would I do?  Where would I go?  Who would I see?  So here is the beginning of my list to do when death is imminent:

1. Don’t die in a hospital.
2. Explore the national parks.
3. Experience Asia.
4. Be joyful.
5. Go with my wife to one of our “sacred” places.
6. Be completely unashamed of the gospel.
7. Make plans for the kegger in celebration of my entering the eternal.
8. Enjoy an ancient glass of scotch with a fine cigar.
9. Play more golf.
10. Turn off my cell phone and throw away the TV.
11. Hold my wife just because.

Into The Wild

After a 2 week hiatus from reading, I dug in and slammed the final 80 pages of Into The Wild by John Krakauer.  This has been a story that has been of interest to me for some time since I read his article a few years ago in Outside, originally in January of 1993.  My piqued interest in Chris McCandless comes from a part of me that most everyone doesn’t know and dates back to my teenage crisis of realizing my father was quite imperfect and therefore not a reliable source for anything.

When I was about 13 I decided to run away from home for a reason that now seems to be no more than I was upset and momentarily thought my life sucked.  As an amatuer to this new episode, I ran all the way out the back door and into a tree in our front yard.  As I sat in this tree I watched my parents search the surrounding neighborhood.  I felt justified, because parents “should” do this sort of thing if they really loved me.  They knocked on neighbors doors and called my friends’ parents to see if they had heard from me to no avail.  As my legs started to stiffen and my butt became numb from the aptly placed branch I was sitting on, I hear my mom making another phone call.  Now, my mom makes lots of phone calls and she can talk with the best of them, but there was something different about this conversation.  As she continued in an unusually tense and scared voice, I noticed she was talking to the police.  Now any young boy can tell you that it’s all fun and games until the authorities get involved.  Forget inconveniencing the police, this meant I had crossed the line from being hugged and loved in my triumphant return to chastising and possibly being cuffed (my dad has an odd sense of humor).  I climbed out of the tree as fast as I could to alert my mom that I was found so the police wouldn’t show up.  At last the intense ordeal met its culmination in my appearance.

While I held up in the tree I had a lot of time to thing about really important things such as where would I sleep, are pine-cones edible, and would I be the first person to freeze to death in Houston, Texas.  During what couldn’t have been longer than 2 hours, I started to think about the essence of survival and how to identify such things in the environment by which I was currently surrounded.  My fascination with survival had begun experimenting to find the best ways to survive if by any chance disaster struck.

I started this experimentation where many early adolescents start their search with fire.  To survive you need heat as a source of cooking and warmth.  I found that a garage full of flammables too unstable to be kept in the house was just the place to begin my search.  I found that gasoline is much more flammable than lighter fluid and that dry ice provides hours of entertainment.

So anyway, my fascination with survival and the solitude afforded by the wilderness had begun.  Although Chris McCandless would have laughed at my “excursions” for their lack of risk compared with his exploits, I think he would have understood the spirit and attitude from which such actions arose.

 Into The Wild frustrated and befuddled me often with the stubbornness of McCandless, but I didn’t feel like I needed an apology.  I understand such lack of flexibility and desiring to push yourself in ways that are only quantifiable for you, while perplexing others.  His intent effort of trying to make things more challenging can be compared to turning up the AI (artificial intelligence) settings on an XBOX game is maddening at times and certainly proved to be of no benefit to his survival in the end.  It would be unending to sit here and scrutinize all his decisions and the results would be less than satisfying.

There is a great section towards the end of the book when John Krakauer sets out for the bus accompanied by a few friends as they sit around a fire trying to make sense of it all.  After initial criticisms of McCandless, they seem the be confronted with their own mortality and realize that what happened to this boy could have happened to any of them on their many haphazard wilderness trips.  They had just been lucky enough to return to civilization.

After reading this book, a friend posed the question of whether or not McCandless was actually crazy.  For the record, I don’t think he was crazy or that he had a death-wish.  My gut feeling is that his tragic flaw was that he based too many of his overarching principles on fiction and philosophy as opposed to reality.  McCandless was no dummy, but he made some poor choices when establishing his principles that eventually contributed to his early death.

Although the story is tragic and at points downright sad, the dreams that it breeds of absolute freedom and pioneering of the open continent are fantastic.  His early death aside, Chris McCandless lived the life that he had always desired.  He made the selfish choices that deep down most of us are too afraid to act on because we fear the disappointment that would loom on others behalf.  It also seems that he discovered that innate hope to be selfless and part of something bigger during his travels as he was intent on returning to community.

The story that Into The Wild tells is mysterious, adventuresome, and compellingly told by John Krakauer.  His writing style combined with his expertise and experience of outdoor matters provides an informative and insightful blend of reading bliss.  The tragedy is great, but the life exhibited is spectacular.

In following up to my own experience, I have since moved past my teenage angst ridden distaste for my father and we have a pretty good relationship today where we talk a couple times a week.  Not that he became perfect, I just discovered I wasn’t either.

Juno

I’ve been anticipating seeing Juno for the last month, but didn’t catch a scene until recently.  Normally I put my movie reviews in the sidebar, but I’m not sure I can limit myself to only a few sentences here.  Before I even start with praise, criticism, or speculating, I admit that I have an odd, narrow taste in movies.  It would take my wife exactly .2 seconds to agree with this as she graciously puts up with my snobbish picking of movies…many potential date movies have been x-nayed by my ridiculousness.

Juno takes place in the Twin Cities (a place so cold that I dread the possibility of ending up there).  A 16 year-old girl becomes pregnant and makes the decision to give the baby up for adoption to a young couple.  The movie follows her pregnancy and all the intricacies that come along the way.  While this is hardly a new plot, I enjoyed the writing and casting more than previous attempts at this story. 

The casting is terrific!  Ellen Page plays Juno as a quirky, off-beat, teenager who appears to have the intelligence and self-confidence of someone twice her age.  Her comments often leave other character pondering how to respond.  It’s that very sharp and smart humor that Chris Connelly used to perfection back in his MTV News days where you weren’t quite sure if complimenting you or making fun of you.  Jennifer Garner plays the “anticipating adopter-to-be dying to be a mom” character perfectly.  Early in the movie it is easy to dislike her because of her perfection, but easy to love at the end (think Cameron Diaz in My Best Friend’s Wedding).  Michael Cera is the perfect anxious teenage boy (which he has been typecasts to play in his next dozen movies).  You would have to go all the way back to Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club to get an equal comparison.  I also thought J.K. Simmons as the father was a nice touch.  He has a gruffness about him that exclaimates his humor.

The writing was also excellent.  I haven’t enjoyed such great writing for the teenage genre since Mean Girls (Tina Fey is spectacular).  It wasn’t corny, canned, and overgeneralized like most movies of this genre.  However, at times it seemed too smart for its plot (ala Gilmore Girls).  But given the crap that we are usually forced to digest in the art formerly know as cinema, I’ll take this most any day.

Now I know there are some who despise technical reviews of movies and just want it simple.  This paragraph is for you.  Think music and cinematography from Napoleon Dynamite mixed with the dialogue and ”love conquers dysfunction” theme from Little Miss Sunshine applied to a teen pregnancy flick.  Now you know what you are getting into with Juno.

At the time of my writing this I haven’t checked what www.pluggedinonline.com has to say about Juno, but I’m guess it goes along the lines of “contains values contrary to fundamental Christian beliefs, condones teenage pregnancy, and keep your kids away”.  BTW, the site is great for finding out what content is in a movie…I’m just not a fan of their recommendations.  I just checked the site (couldn’t stand the anticipation) and read the following concluding statement: ”For teens themselves, though, who are already swimming in the culture, Juno will only reinforce the complete lack of a moral compass. “

As a Christian, I’m worried about our response to the issues that arise in this movie.  Of course it isn’t great that teens are getting pregnant, nonetheless from friendships rather than romantic relationships.  However, it happens.  It happens to people both in the church and outside it’s pearly gates.  In the church, we too often (myself included) try to make people feel guilty for their sin.  In an age where our nation is dependant on Prozac amid other anti-depressants, I think we feel guilty enough without having the “Sunday suit squad” reinforcing our depravity.  How about some grace?  What if we actually decided to help rather than condemn?  When I find myself in the judgemental mindset, it’s always followed by misery, disillusionment, and feeling unfulfilled.

With mass media being consistently dominated extreme opinions (on both sides), Christians find themselves in the same inner battle that is occurring in Islam.  I know for Christians, the blogosphere is a breath of fresh air because it is where the common and average person can have their voice heard without the backing of companies and organizations trying to sell something.  This is where I hear about Christians doing great things because Jesus has saved them and the Holy Spirit has transformed and renewed their mind and heart.

I think many of us (Christians) would hate Jesus like the Pharisees because he messes up our system.  How evil and sadistic is it that we can celebrate the failure of others because it justifies our standards and statistics.  The Jesus that the Bible speaks about is much more concerned with how we care for people than the sacrifices that we make to feel better about ourselves.  I know that some of my sacrifices are done with a pure heart, but sometimes they are completely self-centered and serve me more than anyone else.  Above all, Jesus is about people, not our standards.  Don’t take this that all people are going to heaven, because they won’t.  Whether they go to heaven or not, Jesus cares for people.

Some may have seen these last few sentences as a tangent, but I beg to differ.  I think our response to a movie like Juno is so important as it is indicative of our attitudes towards real people facing the same real situations.  It is said that art often imitates our reality and our responses to it are no exception.