Faith in Film, Week 1

I'm really excited about this year's Faith in Film as we do a deep dive into Stephen King for 10 weeks. Beginning this week, these posts will go up Mondays to help you get prepped for the night. But I wanted to circle back and touch on why we're doing this, offer the schedule and some places to get this material.

First, why Stephen King? And King is a master at his craft. The late, great film critic Roger Ebert said of King in his review of Secret Window in 2004, “A lot of people were outraged that [King] was honored at the National Book Awards, as if a popular writer could not be taken seriously. But after finding that his book On Writing had more useful and observant things to say about the craft than any book since Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, I have gotten over my own snobbery.”

King was born in 1947 in Maine, and raised mostly by his mother alone. His father left the family when King was 2. In his early years, his mother moved them around a bit. They lived in Indiana, Wisconsin and Connecticut before returning to Maine when he was 11. And his upbringing there and his life there has factored prominently in his work, as many of his stories are set in and about Maine. King was raised as a Methodist, but fell away from the church. And while he’s said he no longer believes in organized religion, he’s expressed a belief in God. And religion, particularly people of the church and larger questions of faith and the nature of God, play a prominent role in his work.

King is married, to Tabitha, and has been since 1971, and has three children. King began as an English Teacher, writing in the evenings. And it was actually thanks to his wife, Tabitha, that he caught his first big break with his novel Carrie. He had previously written some short stories and novels without publishing any. But in 1973, King's novel Carrie was accepted by publishing house Doubleday. Carrie was King's fourth novel, but it was the first to be published. It was written on a portable typewriter that belonged to his wife. The novel began as a short story intended for Cavalier magazine, but King tossed the first three pages of his work in the garbage can. Tabitha King fished the pages out of the garbage can and encouraged him to finish the story, saying that she would help him with the female perspective; he followed her advice and expanded it into a novel. King said, "I persisted because I was dry and had no better ideas… my considered opinion was that I had written the world's all-time loser." But, as most of us know by now, he had not written an all-time loser, but one that would become the first volley of a successful career.

But what sets King apart is his ability to tell a good and relevant story. Narrative is a powerful way to illustrate the world and talk about ideas. And his diverse collection of stories have touched many people the past few decades. I hope it will be the same as we work our way through this course.

This Fall we’re going to be looking at six different stories from King. Let’s look at the schedule for this time together:

• Week 1, August 29—Introduction, America’s Dark Theologian. Clips from varied works.
• Week 2, September 4—Stand By Me, clips from film and discussion of Different Seasons novella, “The Body”
• Week 3, September 11— The Mist, clips from film and discussion of the Novella
• Week 4, September 18—The Green Mile, clips from film and discussion of the Novel
• Week 5, September 25— Needful Things, clips from film and discussion of the Novel
• Week 6, October 2—The Shawshank Redemption, clips from film and discussion of Different Seasons novella, “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”
• Week 7-10, October 9, 16, 23, 30—The Stand/Revelation, clips from mini-series and discussion of “The Stand,” The Book of Revelation and “Reversed Thunder”

I know some have asked where they can see these movies. I always mention checking the Library, and I know Junior has said there’s been a run on these books and movies at the Library. I’m thinking this class might have something to do with it. Many of the titles are available for rent through Amazon Prime, too. I know if you subscribe to Starz, then Needful Things is available free to stream. And if you are a member of Amazon Prime, Stand By Me is available to stream for free. For those of you who want to see The Shawshank Redemption, it is coming back to theaters for its 25th anniversary. It will re-appear on September 22, 24 and 25. That’s a Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I know Cinemark is showing it, and I’d imagine others are as well. So there’s a chance to go out and see one of these on the Big Screen. We also have a pile of Stephen King Books available at the First Pres Library, so that's a resource too.

Whether you read the books and see the movies or not, I hope you come and take part in the discussions. It's going to be a great few weeks together.