Book Description
Is there more to going to the movies than just mindless entertainment? Author Gareth Higgins, avid moviegoer and film critic, says there is. How Movies Helped Save My Soul is a guidebook for looking at films and finding hidden spiritual truths. With chapters on fear, God, justice, love, power, and more, Higgins teaches how to make sense of the spiritual by looking at films with a new perspective. From The Matrix to Magnolia, Fight Club to Field of Dreams, Higgins takes the reader through more than 200 films that, if looked at the right way, just might change lives. Movie buffs and novices alike will find much to enjoy, provoke, amuse, challenge and confound in How Movies Helped Save My Soul.
Customer Reviews:
How Annoying.......2005-08-23
This book is divided into chapters with different religio-social related themes such as "God", "money", "Power", "Love" etc. For each theme, the author presents a few movies relating to it. It didn't take long to realize that Higgins is a liberal Christian who seems more concerned with political ideologies than the salvation of souls. The values promoted are Christian to a degree but only those that overlap with modern liberalism.
Higgins got annoying fast by constantly criticizing the Church (which I think he means Evangelical Christians) though he doesn't name names. And the reason for the criticism is that they don't uphold the 'true message' of Christianity which is that even more annoying buzz word 'social justice' and liberal ethics in general. Higgins uses the typical method of judging the 'Church' for judging other's behaviors as sinful.
The subtitle "Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films" itself is somewhat disturbing. The movie industry is the last place we should hope to find much true spirituality. It is overridden with everything contrary to Christianity. Saying that some of these movies have the fingerprints of God (I know he doesn't actually say that, but its implied) is to overlook the other prevalent messages in these movies that are ungodly to the core. Even a small amount of arsenic in a glass of water is deadly. So even though I do watch movies, I am very cautious to see much holiness in them.
For as much as I didn't like the book, it did introduce me to some new movies which I have now watched and enjoyed.
How Movies Confused Higgins Soul.......2005-08-19
Mr. Higgins must wiht nine fingers, because most of the time he has his pointer aimed at American cutlutre, and its values. On the other hand, Higgins preaches about Christian living, and while he chastises people of his faith, he defends and justifies eroticism and sensuality, solely for their purpose. Attacking a culture and a way of life for sipte sake is not insightful. Hard to read.
Not what I hoped.......2004-08-31
I am leading a Christian study group using popular films. I was hoping this book could help me use film to illustrate some Scriptural truth. Unfortunately, the author was much less interested in a Christian message than to make sure he took every opportunity to insult the "church." I know that churches have problems and hurt people, but it is not as common as this author seems to assert.
He seems very angry at the church (and for some reason, all of western culture - especially America.) Living in N. Ireland could make one suspicious of religion I assume, but despite his claims to be a Chrisitan so concerned about commmunity, he seems to enjoy tearing down more than teaching and building up.
It is a good study of film (not movies - he definatley comes from a critical point of view and not that of an average person) but not very useful in the context of the church.
That's my take anyway. God bless.
Disappointed.......2004-05-12
Although written in a conversational style, it wasn't a very interesting converstion. I would have preferred more depth. The title and (especially) Campolo's praise were highly misleading. Perhaps the occasional anti-American comments soured my opinion a tad. As another reviewer stated, I wanted more meat and less side dishes. Overall, sorry I spent the time reading it.
Discover the Impact Some Movies Can Have on Your Life.......2004-02-29
The awards season is in full swing. Already we've sat through acceptance speeches at the Golden Globes and the Grammys. The Oscars, grand poomba of all award shows, is fast approaching. So this is the perfect time to pick up a book about movies!
HOW MOVIES HELPED SAVE MY SOUL: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films, by Gareth Higgins, is the newest addition to a growing number of Christian books dedicated to exploring religious themes in film. Brought to us by Relevant Books, an upstart publisher with its finger planted firmly on the pulse of 20-something Christians, this book displays the innate comfort post-modern Christians have discussing movies and their power to positively influence personal lives. This is notable because many older Christians can remember a time when mainstream moviegoing was widely recognized as taboo.
As one might surmise from the title, Higgins' approach to the subject of movies is as much about memoir as it is criticism. Some of his earliest memories are of his dad taking him and his brother to the movies, beginning his lifelong love of the big screen: "Film is so wrapped up with the fabric of my life that, along with the community of friends and family with whom I'm blessed to travel, I simply cannot explain myself without it."
Like listening to a veteran bibliophile list off his or her favorite books, it's daunting to realize how many movies Higgins has viewed in his relatively short lifetime. If I got started right now I'm not sure I'd catch up! Thankfully, I don't have to catch up and the encyclopedic roster of movies Higgins has seen is clearly an asset to this book.
Higgins chose to sort through his ideas about movies by organizing his thoughts into chapters on big themes such as Justice, God, Community, Brokenness, Outsiders, Death, Fear, and so on. In each chapter he presents a relatively detailed critique of two or three movies he thinks best explore the subject at hand. What follows varies from chapter to chapter, but it generally involves lists of additional suggested movies and his musings.
This book is a much-needed departure from what has been, until recently, the standard format for Christian movie criticism --- counting all the bad words. Perhaps such simple criticism does have its place, but Higgins does an excellent job of pointing readers to the ways movies, even those with bad words, can reveal striking portraits of grace and faith and hope:
"Who among us has not felt at least in microcosm the anguished courage of a William Wallace in Braveheart, or identified with the last minute redemption of a Lester Brunham in American Beauty, or suffered the torment of a Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II, on realizing that what we thought we controlled was actually controlling us? Film, in the final analysis, can do for you what all great art does --- irritate and heal, challenge and affirm, inspire and sadden. It can, in the case of a film like Magnolia, truly give you more life, or as in Wings of Desire, make you believe in God, or as with The Wizard of Oz, tell you the truth about your own existence."
HOW MOVIES HELPED SAVE MY SOUL is weak when it strays from its understood mission. Far too often it leaves both movie criticism and memoir and turns into a soapbox for Higgins' ideas about community and the death penalty and the institutional church and whatever else he's inspired to preach about. Loose writing also creates the cumulative effect that Higgins is rambling at times, as opposed to providing tangible insight.
The most helpful chapter in the book is the first, titled "Dr. Higgins' Rosetta Stone." In it he gives a brief primer on how to move from being a passive moviegoer to an informed amateur critic with the ability to mine movies for all they're worth. Some of his suggestions are probably a bit too involved for most would-be amateur critics (I don't know many who would spend the money and time to subscribe to and read "a decent, intelligent but accessible film magazine" as he suggests), but many more of them are excellent and simple ways to make moviegoing more interesting and beneficial.
This book could be a great tool with which to start your own movie club. People get together and talk about books, so why not do the same with movies? I'll bring the popcorn!
--- Reviewed by Lisa Ann Cockrel
Book Description
Beltrán Soler is from Chile, a land in constant movement. A seismologist who knows more about the science of tectonic plate movement than about life, he is cocooned in a world of seismic data, scientific articles, and natural disasters. Beltrán believes he can protect himself from the world around him by losing himself to theoretical pursuits, but thousands of feet above the ground he so meticulously analyzes, on a flight to L.A. -- the capital of film and the city in which he was raised -- he has a conversation that sparks in him a firestorm of nostalgia. Suddenly, Beltrán finds himself recalling the fifty most important movies of his life -- films both precious and absurd that affected him during his childhood and adolescence in the 1960s and '70s.
From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to Close Encounters of the Third Kind to kitschy disaster films such as Earthquake!, as well as cult classics of '70s sci-fi such as Logan's Run, Beltrán connects with his past by remembering the films he saw, the people with whom he saw them, and even the theaters in which they were shown. Recalling one movie after another, he reconstructs the unusual history of his eccentric and dysfunctional family, coming to terms with his obsession with the movies that helped define him -- often whether he wanted them to or not.
Set in the oddly parallel worlds of Nixon's suburban California and Pinochet's Santiago de Chile, this ingenious novel throws us into the claustrophobic world of an adolescent who tries to escape from a tumultuous and fragmented existence, one caught between two languages, two cultures, and two families that watch the same movies. Written in the eloquent, compelling, and often hilarious style that has brought Alberto Fuguet world renown, The Movies of My Life is a book about film and about how movies embed themselves in our souls, helping us all share a blinding fondness for the magic of make-believe.
Customer Reviews:
Coming of Age in Chile.......2004-04-23
Fuget's second novel to appear in translation (following Bad Vibes), features a gimmicky framework that actually works well and transcends merely being cute. A somewhat clunky first section introduces the reader to Beltran, a Chilean seismologist traveling from Santiago to Japan, via LA, for a conference. A conversation with a woman on the plane, a snippet of a radio interview heard in a taxi, and the news that his grandfather has died are the catalysts for his holing up in an LA hotel and feverishly writing a memoir of sorts (which forms the bulk of the book). While it is a traditional memoir in that it proceeds chronologicallyófrom Beltran's birth in 1964 and his life in Los Angeles (Inglewood and later Encino) until 1974, when vacation in post-Allende Chile turns into a permanent stayóhis recollections are arranged in a series of fifty brief sections, each corresponding to a movie.
In each case, the movie serves as a launching point for exploring an event from his past and reconsidering it. What rapidly emerges is a picture of a man scarred by both the dysfunction and displacement of his upbringing. While in the LA, his life is relatively normal, and he grows up as a regular American boy, although as he looks back at that time, he recognizes the fragility of his parents' marriage and his father's distinct discomfort at being a father. However, the real damage comes at age 10, when this fully functional pop-culture saturated American boy moves back to Chile, where has a difficult time adjusting to the different language, social rules, and culture. Ultimately, this is a bittersweet and poignant coming-of-age story, as Beltran's friendless adolescence morphs into semi-acceptance as a teenager, and of course, his sexual awakening.
What is clear early on is the connection between his uncertain and capricious childhood and his adult fascination with earthquakes (events that shatter any illusion of stability, get it?). This is a bit of a heavy-handed maneuver, although the presence of a seismologist grandfather makes it all coalesce more than it might have. Throughout, moderately interesting issues of class and culture are raised, amidst this backdrop of films and growing pains. Fuget is the foremost of a loose band of younger Latin American writers who have rejected magical realism, and are attempting to forge a more real, modernist approach to literature. If this book is anything to judge by, it's a welcome change of pace.
The Feel of Two Societies.......2004-03-08
Fuguet has uniquely captured the feeling of the bicultural individual in this haunting book. His description of Chile in the last part of the Allende regieme is right on. I was living in Santiago in those days and the book brought back powerful memories. However, the reader does not have to know anything about Chile to find this book appealing. Be warned, the book has a highly ironic bent and repays a careful reading with lots of insights.
If you have found other Latin authors a bit hard to access, you should definitely give this book a try. It is a unique and insightful description of a young man's evolution straddling two societies.
Unreadable........2004-02-03
Alberto Fuguet, The Movies of My Life (Harper, 2003)
A trick does not a book make, no matter how interesting it is. And the trick ehre is interesting; Fuguet takes the structure of a noted director (can't remember who, because my brain is swiss cheese; Elia Kazan?)'s autobiography and turns it into the story of a family trying to make it. The beginning works very well, being a series of emails between the narrator and someone he met on a plane about why he's decided to simply abandon his career and sit in a Los Angeles hotel room writing this, and the structure is intriguing, but beauty is only skin-deep. Once you scratch beneath the surface, you find another Oprah's Book Club candidate ripe for the plucking, a dysfunctional family with no qualities to make it stand out from the rest of the dysfunctional family pack so popular in today's publishing world.
If you like dysfunctional family novels, this will probably be right up your alley. The rest of you can safely avoid it. (zero)
¿I look to see if there is a boy in there.".......2004-01-08
The incredibly creative plot device that steers Alberto Fuguet's novel The Movies of My Life centers around a list of 50 movies that forms a brilliant vehicle to explore a lonely childhood and a dysfunctional family that takes us from suburban Southern California to Santiago, Chile. As Beltrán manufactures his own list, he peppers the descriptions with details remembered from his childhood and in the process, writes a touching memoir of sorts. And like seismology, he always looks deeper, searching for cracks, scanning his family for flaws and resistances. One doesn't have to be a movie buff to appreciate the beauty of Fuguet's writing (and his list) or to understand the role movies play in our lives often even without our knowing.
This is very much a book about the Latin American experience in Los Angeles, and it is a terrific portrayal of a city on the brink of change. From growing up in Inglewood to the Valley, Beltrán gives us a slice of life, that is so inimitably Los Angeles. In those days "Inglewood was a run-down, semi-industrial neighborhood, stacked with bodegas and Laundromats; an expensive, itinerant area that attracted immigrants fresh of the plane. The area was divided between newly arrived South Americans and lower class white Americans."
The Movies of My Life also serves as an ode to a movie lover. The true strength of the novel is the remarkable originality of the storytelling - the way Fuget symbolically weaves the "movies of his life" through the narrative - each movie representing a land mark event IN his life. The book says a lot about movies and the role they can play in our lives, and the movies that really speak to Beltrán are the movies that are really about him. Beltrán admits, that you can even feel a connection to a movie before even seeing it, because people tell you about it, or "because you just know that the film has sunk its claws into you for reasons you can't understand." The important movies of his life are also some of my most memorable - Poseidon Adventure, Logan's Run, Earthquake, Close Encounters of the Third kind and Jaws.
Just life an earthquake fault, his family cracks, and eventually the crack becomes a fault - his philandering father leaves; he becomes estranged from his grandparents. The Solars are in a unique position, back in Santiago, they are without a social class, and so far removed from "the place they once belonged to." The Movies of My Life is a profound, intuitive and highly original piece of work.
Michael
And outsider in his native land.......2003-12-17
This novel of displacement really begins when teenager Beltran Soler returns for a vacation to Chile, the land of his birth - and it turns into a permanent relocation. He finds himself an outsider among his native people just as he's about to take the giant step into puberty.
And so he grows up and becomes a seismologist, believing he can protect himself from life's shaky foundations by immersing himself in the theories of tectonic plates. Then his grandfather dies in an earthquake and Soler holes up in an LA hotel and sort of comes unglued. He obsessively lists the movies of his life in an attempt to extinguish the firestorm of nostalgic that threatens to overwhelm him.
The Movies of My Life is a sly and humorous coming-of-age novel that is far deeper than it appears to be on the surface. It deals with the immigrant experience, culture shock, family connections, and contemporary family dysfunction.
It's a good one.
Customer Reviews:
TOO SKIMPY.......2001-11-11
THIS IS REALLY A NICE SIMPLE READ ABOUT AN INTERESTING MAN. ALEX KARRAS HAS HAD HIS SHARE OF FAME FROM FOOTBALL, BROADCASTING, ACTING AND WRITING. HE SHARED SOME VERY INTERESTING INSIGHTS ABOUT HIS LIFE AND CAREER. ALSO SOME GREAT PICS ARE PROVIDED OF MANY FACETS OF HIS CAREER. JUST WISH THERE WAS MORE THAN 80 PAGES TO THIS BOOK. INTERESTING AND WORTH TAKING A LOOK AT.
Book Description
I decided to write Hocus Pocus! How My Life Story Became the Harry Potter Movies in response to criticism from colleagues that I did not explain this stuff anywhere. Before the publishing of this book, the stories it contains could not be found on any website, in any magazine, or anywhere really. They said that I ran the Harry Potter kingdom in total secrecy. However, I said that I did not have enough control. They said I did not get out enough to talk to the fans. That keeping my existence shrouded in secrecy was a complete and total waste of my energies. They said that I needed more exposure. They told me to get out more, meet people, and talk to fans. They were right-I did need to get out more. It was a great idea. I want to draw a clear line between the books and the movies. The movies are based on the popular Harry Potter books. My book-Hocus Pocus! How My Life Story Became the Harry Potter Movies-is about characters and scenes in the Harry Potter movies and not from the popular Harry Potter books. People had asked me if I intended to publish my thoughts now that I had plenty of time on my hands. I did not kid anyone. I really wanted to publish my own book about Harry Potter. Therefore, I got right to work, did some research through family albums, and began writing. I look at this work the same way that I look at Gilderoy Lockhart in the scene where he is showing off his entire collection of autobiographical works to everyone in the bookstore. It is no coincidence that the scene with Lockhart in the bookstore is a scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Nevertheless, there are very real stories behind all of the characters in the Harry Potter movies. Inside this book are all the stories behind characters and scenes in the Harry Potter movies.
Average customer rating:
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So You Want to Make Movies: My Life As an Independent Film Producer
Sidney Pink
Manufacturer: Pineapple Press (FL)
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Book Description
This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on January 1, 2005. The length of the article is 553 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Alberto Fuguet. The Movies of My Life.(Book Review)
Author: Daniel Garrett
Publication:
World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2005
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 79
Issue: 1
Page: 108(1)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
A Classy Lady's Non-Classy Memoirs.......2000-05-20
Helen Hayes whose life story would be fascinating to all fans of Broadway and/or Hollywood pretty much squanders this effort by traducing a large assortment of individuals. What makes this badmouthing all the more unpleasant is the fact that most of her targets were deceased at the time of its publication and unable to present their side of the story.
While the recurring instances of charcter assasination are the book's biggest liability, the First Lady of the American Theater also comes off as somewhat self-centered and shallow.
Those who respect the many noble actions which typified Helen Hayes' final decades will be disappointed and likely disturbed by this autobiography that does not do her memory justice.
Book Description
Captain America and Diamondback are reunited after all these years - but their reunion is bittersweet, as Cap is consumed with remorse over recent cataclysmic events involving the Avengers. Meanwhile, all is not right within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. How is it that Nick Fury is completely unaware? And what does all this have to do with a certain Red-Skulled villain who's been lurking in the background? Plus: Finding himself a fugitive from justice, the Falcon must battle his way past elite naval operatives - even as Cap is forced to choose between his partner and his principles while suffering an enigmatic battle fatigue that replays his worst failure and presents the Scarlet Witch as his only refuge. Collects Captain America #29-32 and Captain America And The Falcon #5-7.
Customer Reviews:
Two Arc Mishmash.......2006-11-09
This features, as previously stated, Captain America and The Falcon 5-7, and Captain America 29-32.
The issues with the Falcon, while somewhat off pacing-wise, suffer from being the second half of an entirely different story arc. In these issues, the actual connection to Avengers: Disassembled is made, wherein The Scarlet Witch makes several odd appearances, and some really weird things happen to Cap (like being inside a block of ice after getting into a Taxi).
The last issues of Captain America have little to do with Avengers: Disassembled, aside from characters, including Cap himself, referring to his recent Avengers troubles. It does feature the long awaited return of Diamondback, but she's again lost in the ether in Brubakers run, which has both excellent art and story, see the Winter Soldier trades for details. The final issues of Cap are engaging, and an entertaining read, but it definitely lends itself to being an ending.
If collecting the entire Disassembled arc, I recommend the Captain America and The Falcon arc is read prior to Avengers: Disassembled, and the final issues of Captain America are read afterward.
Cap gets disassembled.......2004-11-17
Collecting storyarcs featured from the last run of the current volume of Captain America and from Captain America & The Falcon, Captain America Disassembled finds Cap a little more than battle worn after what's been going on with the Avengers. Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) scripts the first arc, which is the main highlight here as Cap fights off against the Red Skull and the usual array of rogues. The Captain America & Falcon story is nothing special though, even though Modok makes an appearance (and every Marvel fanboy knows he's worth a laugh or two). The art in both collections is solid, and Kirkman's story makes this volume worth picking up for Cap fans. Captain America is getting relaunched yet again though, under the helm of Ed Brubaker, which is also worth picking up.
Silver Age goofyness meets Priest's writing confusing-ness.......2004-10-31
It's best to, much like the actual issues, contained here, ignore the headline of Avengers Disassembled. For those who don't know, its a poorly written mess occurring in the main Avengers title (500-503) that has little to do with these stories save a scant mention of 'trouble'. Since this trade is composed of two separate stories, from two separate books, I'll break up the descriptions:
Captain America 29-32: Captain America and Diamond back go up against Hydra, Mr. Hyde, the Serpent Society, Batroc the Leaper, and Red Skull, all while a coup takes place at S.H.I.E.L.D. The story is by comics newest golden boy, Robert Kirkman (Marvel Team-Up, Invincible, The Walking Dead) and artist Scot Eaton, with the fantastic Drew Geraci handling inking (Met Drew at a convention once, and he's one of the nicest comic personalities in the biz). The tale is a lot of fun, but feels far to cramped to be only a four issue arc. Of course, in this age of story decompression another writer (coughBENDIScough) could have taken a year to tell this much of an adventure. Its goofy in a way that can only be described as Silver Age; there's lots of action, and the plot points make you scratch your head, but when its all said and done you have a smile on your face.
Captain America and the Falcon 5-7: This tales a bit harder to describe, since it palys heavily off of the initial arc of the story. But the gist is that Captain America and Falcon are on the run after refusing to turn over an `Anti-Cap' produced by the Navy. Everything hits the fan here, and Captain America starts having strange visions that may or may not be real (Thuis gets cleared up a bit in the MODOK story beginning in issue 8). There are some great moments found though, including a possible start of a Captain America/ Scarlet Witch romance, and it was a beautiful cover of the two by Joe Bennet that fist drew me to the book.
Should you buy this book? If you're a Captain America fan, or a fan of fun-loving stories, there's not a reason not to. This isn't the heaviest or most thought provoking super-hero fare available, but it is incredibly enjoyable.
Book Description
Captain America and Diamondback are reunited after all these years - but their reunion is bittersweet, as Cap is consumed with remorse over recent cataclysmic events involving the Avengers. Meanwhile, all is not right within the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization. How is it that Nick Fury is completely unaware? And what does all this have to do with a certain Red-Skulled villain who's been lurking in the background? Plus: Finding himself a fugitive from justice, the Falcon must battle his way past elite naval operatives - even as Cap is forced to choose between his partner and his principles while suffering an enigmatic battle fatigue that replays his worst failure and presents the Scarlet Witch as his only refuge. Collects Captain America #29-32 and Captain America And The Falcon #5-7.
Books:
- How the Other Half Lives (Penguin Classics)
- I Lost My Tooth (level 1) (Hello Reader)
- In Your Wildest Dreams (Warner Forever)
- Incas : Book Two: The Gold of Cuzco
- Iron Heel
- Kangaroo Notebook: A Novel
- Kisscut: A Novel
- Le Petit Nicolas
- Los Gusanos: A Novel (Nation Books)
- Lost Echoes
Books Index
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Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith
Reel Spirituality,: Theology and Film in Dialogue (Engaging Culture)
Catching Light: Looking For God In The Movies
Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema
Movies That Matter: Reading Film Through the Lens of Faith
