Cloud Atlas

Warning Spoilers contained within:

A couple nights ago I went to see the movie Cloud Atlas. If you haven't seen the movie it is 6 story lines that all are woven together and end up as one story in the distant future. I won't say too much; not because of spoilers but; because its too complex.

Now when I went to see the film I knew almost nothing about it. It looked pretty cool and I thought it was going to be woven together like Babel or Crash. Multiple story lines colliding into one theme and message.

One of the big problems I had with Cloud Atlas was that it centered around reincarnation. The movie  follows one soul as it moves from person to person (in the movie this ends up being the hero of each storyline.

The film tried to impart a feeling that our actions or lack there of, cause a ripple effect on other groups and individuals both in the present and into the future. While I agree this is true, the fact is reincarnation is not. Our souls don't move  from body to body as we move through time. Souls are eternal but after our time on earth there is a destination.

The second problem I had with the film is that there was a character Sonmi-451who ends up sacrificing herself for the greater good. They really give a sense that she is a Christ like character. Sacrificing herself so others may know what is true and to abandon how they are living. Wow, sounds great right! My problem again is routed in the fact that I struggle to accept the message of reincarnation especially when they are trivializing what Christ did. It may not have been their intention but for me, saying what Christ did was anything less than the ultimate sacrifice of love and Grace is just wrong.


The lesson I learned from watching this movie is:

When thinking about media we have to carefully critique it: It took me a long time to figure out what was bothering me.

But we need to talk to people about it and teach others to think about critiquing media. I work with youth and naturally they are submerged in a culture of media. But the problem is they need to learn to critique it and find truths and lies from it. They need to know what to filter and what to accept. Its a tough thing to do even as an adult.

So my challenge to you is: Are you teaching others to filter what they are putting into their heads?