How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films [Paperback]

Gareth Higgins (Author), Tony Campolo (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This book, writes Tony Campolo in the foreword, "calls us to go to the movies to hear and see sermons." Higgins, an Irish Gen X-er, could be the textbook case of a postmodern young Christian, writing about movies in order to both explain his own idiosyncrasies and encourage others in the faith. In true post-modern fashion, Higgins insists that he is not providing a "right" interpretation of any of the films (well, except one or two), but offers the book as the opening shot in a volley-like dialogue. Seventeen chapters are arranged thematically around concepts like fear, justice, power, "anti-heroes" and war-popular po-mo topics. (And there's a last-but-not-least factor: The Matrix scores its own closing chapter.) The writing is sassy, confessional and just darn funny; while some readers may be put off by Higgins's tone of studied casualness, others will find his irreverence a welcome change. Also, the sheer breadth of the movies covered here is nothing short of amazing--it's rare for a Christian book to have Disney films jockeying for space next to Quentin Tarantino and Stanley Kubrick. Bravo.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Gareth Higgins lifts the cinematic veil, exposing us to the only part of film disguised in modest soft-focus: the soul. -- Godzone, August 2003

He[Gareth Higgins]observes it[movies] from his own very personal perspective and chatters away with humour, discernment and perceptive insight. -- Steve Stockman, Rhythm and Soul,August 2003

This work ought to enhance your movie watching experience. "Ask yourself how,what and why it is being said." -- Tangzine.com, August 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Relevant Books (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971457697
• ISBN-13: 978-0971457690
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If Only Your Soul Were Mine, December 12, 2003

By 

Paul A. Rose Jr. "Reader, Writer, Actor, Prod... (Cape Coral, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films (Paperback)

Let me start off by saying that without Gareth Higgins' asides and parentheticals, How Movies Helped Save My Soul would be half as long and a third as funny. I love it when editors allow the writers unique voice to come out, and Cara Baker has outdone herself this time around. However, the personal style that Gareth uses points out too well the major downside to this book. Namely, the title is How Movies Helped Save MY Soul, with the emphasis clearly on the author.

Higgins takes us on a mad cultural, philosophical, and somewhat inspiring journey deep into the heart of Hollywood, searching for anything he can find that is redemptive or redeeming about the films he loves. Along the way, he explores his very Biblical worldview, which can be stated simply as, "If God created everything, then how can we divide things into sacred and secular compartments?" And indeed, I agree that glimpses of grace and Christ abound in virtually anything you can mention. However, as is often the case with this worldview, sometimes experiencing Freedom in Christ can get in the way of explaining that freedom.

To be more specific, Higgins sees God and Christ-imagery in every movie he loves. Unfortunately, many of these movies are seen by mainline evangelical Christianity as abhorrent and unredeemable. Mentioning films like Eyes Wide Shut, American Beauty, and The Exorcist immediately puts less open-minded Christians on guard; regardless of the fact that many don't even know why they think these movies are taboo. And thus, the message is lost in the choice of media.

Communication, we are taught, is not the message sent as much as it is the message received. And when you explore issues using films and books that people cannot see past, they miss the message, and you are left largely preaching to the choir, which avails no one. Perhaps that is why the book has reached the heights of being listed as one of the top tomes on DiscerningReader.com's "Books To Avoid" list.

Unfortunately, the choice of movies is defined by Higgins' personal tastes more than a definitive objective viewpoint. That would be the major flaw in this otherwise enjoyable book. Rather than being an exploration of Christian themes and worldviews in the movies, like William Romanowski's Eyes Wide Open, How Movies Helped Save My Soul is more of Gareth Higgins movie diary - personal reflections on spirituality and spiritual views in the movies HE loves. He even admits in the chapter on The Matrix (which seems horribly outdated in light of the recent conclusion to the trilogy) that he missed the spiritual overtones of the movie until a friend pointed it out and he watched it again. Too often, Higgins stretches a little too far searching for a reason to watch his favorite films again and again. Although I admit I will never see the story of The Exorcist the same way again, Higgins repeatedly falls back on personal reflection rather than clear-cut examples.

Higgins own words convict him, "This book, for what its worth, is my gift to you. It's just a collection of my thoughts, which are no more or less valid than yours..." As I said before, a film diary.

Would I recommend the book? Yes, to one and all, and especially to Christians who strive for safety in all things - the God we claim to serve was NOT a God of safety. Just be warned before you pick it up, it's more a biography than a proof text. As long as you keep that in mind, you can feel free to enjoy it for what it is.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Discover the Impact Some Movies Can Have on Your Life, February 29, 2004

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films (Paperback)

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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for the Passive Movie-Goer, December 30, 2003

By 

A. Spencer (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films (Paperback)

First, let me get a few gripes off my chest. Gareth Higgins has an interesting style, which was generally able to grab and keep my attention. Unfortunately, my anticipation for the meat of the subject may have been too high, as I sometimes found myself disappointed to be eating only side dishes. On several occasions his tendency to ramble on in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, often drifting way off topic, forced me to fight through this book instead of enjoying every moment of it. In addition, there were a number of grammar and typographical mistakes, which I found to be extremely distracting.

That said, How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films was an overall success, despite the occasional frustrations mentioned above. With chapters that dissected films addressing a multitude of themes including "war," "love," "fear," "God" and "death," How Movies Helped Save My Soul was an eye opening book, full of useful information. I especially enjoyed the "Primer" and "Wrap" sections that closed each chapter, often prompting readers to reconsider their current outlook on the topic with a controversial question or statement.

Though this book could have been more effective from a less subjective standpoint, I found myself generally intrigued by Higgins' personal insight into a variety of big screen hits and not-so-well-known masterpieces, often wishing I had seen them more recently (or seen them at all). I would definitely recommend a movie marathon prior to delving into this book in order to refresh your memory on the films that Higgins addresses, or to catch up on those you haven't taken the time to see before. Believe me, it will be worth the money if you're truly interested in digging deeper into the spiritual side of film.

How Movies Helped Save My Soul encourages readers to look at film in a fresh way, with a desire to learn from it and use it to teach others, rather than being the passive movie participant that so many of us choose to be. If nothing else, this book piqued my interest in films I would have never thought to see, and inspired a new approach to my own film watching. Knowing that this was Higgins' intent when he put pen to paper, I would have to say that How Movies Helped Save My Soul accomplished its goal.