Observing the Human Condition

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Recommended: Biblical view of forgiveness and reconciliation

Human’s, according to the bible, will always be evil because of one action; the action of biting the apple. Films like Fargo, Magnolia, and Pleasantville portray human nature constantly “biting the apple.” These films seem to share many views on how human nature is portrayed with the Bible. Betrayal and forgiveness are two prominent themes in the Bible as well as all three of these films. In particular, the film Magnolia seems to have almost every character commit betrayal of some kind. The one character that is true to Bonhoeffer’s “true discipleship” is Officer Jim Kurring. He values the lives he saves more than his own life, he is truly unselfish.

The movie Pleasantville is a clear parable to the Bible’s description of the Garden of Eden. Pleasantville portrays complete innocence amongst its population. Complete innocence that is, until David Wagner betrays the TV repairman (God) and begins to change the world of Pleasantville along with his sister Jennifer. Like the film, the Bible portrays humans as sinners by consequence. The movie also brings out the question of whether or not there is one true “garden of Eden” for everyone, or if we must learn to create our own paradise in order to truly be happy. Does God have our destiny created for us or must we create our own? When it comes to reconciliation and forgiveness, the movie does not seem to be a parable to the passages of the Bible. The Hebrew god brings chaos when he is betrayed by the sinners of the earth, like the flood. The movie has a much unrealistic view of how forgiving God is.

The story of Cain and Abel can be paralleled to the movie Fargo. Jerry Lundenguard sacrifices his family for his own gain in much of the movie. The kidnapping of his wife depicts his total lack of clarity towards the safety of his wife. Even his own son seems unimportant to him, he is asked how his son is holding up and he has a moment of realization that he has not even thought about his son’s well being. Even the betrayal of the two killers at the end of the movie can be paralleled towards Jerry betraying his wife. Backstabbing is an essential part of this movie when compared to the Bible whether the betrayal involves evil vs. evil, or evil vs. good.

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