Debatable Government Related Topic Essay

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The Shack

Very few faith-based movies succeed in keeping one foot over each fence in order to deliver a god-fearing message, which complies with the bible’s teachings, while also allowing enough room for those who do not subscribe to that particular faith to take a valuable lesson away. The 2017 film, The Shack just barely achieves this through its exploration of the complex topic of forgiveness, under a religious lens as well as -maybe unintentionally- a practical one. Conveying this elaborate topic is no walk in the park and is bound to stir up controversy, moreover be victim to falling short of not being able to relay the whole message, without compromise, in a two-hour constriction. The Shack is no exception, it consequently had to compromise many essential film elements in order to relay its message. Despite this, the film does include some small, but valuable takeaways in directing grieving, understanding and trusting that make it worthwhile

The film based on William P. Young’s best seller and directed by Stuart Hazeldine is surrounded around the spiritual journey of Mackenzie Allen Phillips otherwise known as Mack. Set in Oregon, this journey begins, -but is not limited to- with the tragic childhood Mack experienced growing up with an abusive and alcoholic father. After already having his fair share of misfortune and successfully making it through without losing his faith, Mack then experiences the abduction and murder of his youngest child while on a camping trip with his two other children. As one can imagine, this is his emotional tipping point. Mack is then confronted with seemingly unending agony, guilt, and anger which is specifically directed at god and or his idea of who god is. Then, a mysterious note from “Papa” (his wife and children’s nickname for the lord) appears to him urging him to go to a cabin deep in the wild. Later revealed in the movie, while on his way there he suffers a car accident and falls into a coma. However, seemingly as a continuum of his journey, there he is found with Hazeldine’s interpretation of the holy trinity which is an African-American woman as the Father, a middle eastern carpenter as the Son, and an Asian woman as the Holy spirit. This trinity works to answer all the hard-hitting questions believers and nonbelievers alike have about religion and Mack is then able walks away with a profound understanding of compassion and forgiveness which leads him out of the confusion and darkness.

Across most, if not all, faith-based genre movies there seems to be the pattern of that they do not cross the line of skewing the stereotypical image of god. Which is in their version is none-no image, the farthest they dare to showcase is Jesus who has been depicted across time as a white male with long hair, a beard and a robe. “God is mostly a presence — that’s sort of the whole point — but He’s a barely visible, off-center one. He’s a character who influences events, but that doesn’t mean we see a man in a robe and a white beard” (Gleiberman). In The Shack however, Hazeldine took a calculated risk and not only portrayed Jesus, he portrayed God and the holy spirit. Portraying the holy trinity as humans which are seemingly relatable and very alike to humans allows the viewer to imagine a world in which god isn’t a faraway all-knowing being, he is in turn someone(s) presently there which you can speak to as you would a friend. In challenging this norm, Hazeldine is able to capture the viewer because they are left wondering how he is going to explain this rebellious portrayal. The explanation he offers is that god appears to one in various forms and or however he and or they need to in order to make one comfortable and completely subjective. This revolutionary ideology and the fact that Hazeldine has Mack (Sam Worthington) asks hard hitting questions directly to them, is what sets The Shack apart from other films based on religious beliefs and draws the viewer in enough to tolerate the other disparities within the film.

The complexity of the film is another admirable quality. As mentioned before, the Themes explored within the scenes can double as non-religious life lessons. Hazeldine made a huge focus throughout the movie on the stages and coping of grief. This coping and or the lack there-of extends to how it affects your future relationships if not properly dealt with. The principal is exemplified in the implication that Mack’s relationship with his father is where all his religious and emotional complications arose from, as told to him by God (Octavia Spencer). That because he hadn’t forgiven his father he would therefore not be able to deal with his current dilemma and or understand god. That ideology is also seen in his relationship with his wife and children after the death of his youngest child because it is no longer what it used to be. This idea at first glance can be thought of as common knowledge, however when you extend it (As Hazeldine did) to forgiving (and then understanding) abusers and murders alike for your own personal benefit, it is then noteworthy. It forces the viewer to question their own ability to extend compassion while also non-controversially adapting the guidelines in the bible instructing followers to always forgive.

The next theme of understanding is where the previously mentioned theory is cemented. Hazeldine’s purpose of this theme and possibly the entire film is to take a crack at “one of the most timeless religious questions: If there is a God, why is there so much suffering?” (Laffly). Although this theme is manifested in the film with a slightly more religious connotation, there is, again, an enlightenment for the wary. Two scenes work to do this, one involves Mack and Hazeldine’s personification of wisdom known as Sophia. There Mack must judge criminals and consequently then do the same to his older children whose sins are revealed to him. After judging, Mack is then asked to sentence one to hell. He then replies that he would rather condemn himself to this eternity than one of his children. The revelation in this scene (other than the obvious similarities to Jesus dying on the cross) is that Mack cannot possibly criticize God’s judgement because his bias is as an unconditional loving parental figure. The second scene relays the message that evil will happen either way regardless is revealed earlier before this scene as told again to Mack by God directly and ambiguously earlier on in the film. The intertwining of the two scenes divulge Hazeldine’s commentary that one should judge others as harshly (and with the same amount of pain) as they would if their own blood was to commit that same act and that one should neither question God’s methods because that is the same method he (or in this case she) follows.

The third theme of Trusting, more specifically trusting in god’s methods no matter what, is where a lot of the film’s inconsistency lies. The notion that one should trust that god is always there, and never abandons his believers is flat out told to the viewers when God answers Mack’s protests that she (for all intensive purposes) turned her back on him in the hardest moments of his life. God answers that “I can work together incredible good in the tragedies but I don’t orchestrate the tragedies.” And “Love leaves a mark, I never left him”- (in reference to Jesus)- “and I never left you”, this follows the notion earlier explained that evil will happen regardless of God’s interference which for the most part is pretty concise although broad. A gap is seen in the second quote in its ambiguity as to what the “mark” consists of and refers to. The imbalance also lies in the unresolved issue of Mack’s father’s death, it is never answered if Mack was the one who killed him although it is highly insinuated. Tying this back to trusting, if god is really there no matter what why was this situation never resolved or even mentioned during Mack’s stay there? Forgiving his father is, but not himself if that were the case (Who knows). This disparity only served to contradict the “hitting the hard questions and raw truths” thing Hazeldine had going for the film.

Seemingly working against the plot and themes just presented, the filming techniques and elements were a large reason the film hardly got those points across. Beginning with examining Hazeldine’s decision to drag out scenes which could, have been more condensed, into a substantially longer, over complicated while simultaneously ambiguous mess. An example of this is in a scene in which Mack is with Hazeldine’s interpretation of the holy bible Sarayu in her garden in which she must take out the roots in order to grow her flowers which in the end are messy anyways as symbolic to how imperfect god and the journey of healing is. The fact that the scene went on for as long as it did, compromised time in which other dramatic implications could have been answered and was not even worth the time spent because it just “reduces faith to a kind of spiritual comfort food” (Gleiberman).

The film element which did work in the films favor was the use of an ethnically diverse cast which also included women. Although I doubt this sat well with traditional Christians the following of the bible’s teachings probably allowed enough room for this to occur without it completely turning them off from the movie. The casting of Octavia Spencer an African American women, Aviv Alush a middle eastern man and Sumire Matsubara definitely set the film apart from other faith-based films and put it into its own progressive category.

Lastly, the ending of the film largely dispels a whole other load of controversy which could have compromised the film even more than it already is. By having Mack wake up in a hospital and told that he actually never made it to the cabin those who would have chalked up the cabin experience to an unrealistic exaggeration now can’t because dreams experienced in a coma present themselves however they come and often times magnified. However, the “letter” sent to him urging him to go in the first place was never disproven so it again allows enough room for those believers to rely on. The pressure held over Hazeldine’s head of what he was presenting (how he portrays god, what truths are revealed, etc.) as his own fact is now casted away. It is also technically restricted because one could now conceit that all these truths are limited to just Mack’s own truth manifested in his own mind.

Sam Worthington has across his career portrayed many characters overcoming a conflict- be that a personal one and or even a physical disability (as seen in his role for The Avatar). There is no doubt he fit the bill for a reconciled character who excels in persevering. However, in The Shack the role of Mack is a very demanding one, having to portray a person who has gone through the amount of trauma Mack went through is no easy job. Sam Worthington’s Mack was personally not convincing, “all the rage and terror and dark-side vengeance that Mack has to learn to transcend is something we’re told about but never actually see him mired in it” (Gleiberman). The amount of rage portrayed was mild when compared to the weight of the cause.

Octavia Spencer’s roles as an actress is both fruitful and has ranged into about every and any genre of movie and or tv show. It is no surprised she was given the seemingly heavy role of portraying God himself in The Shack. The reason I say seemingly is because “as a film character Papa doesn’t have a lot of depth” (Genzling), not to say Spencer did not do the best she could with the role and lines given to her. Hazeldine even hints at the limitations on her character when Mack exclaims to her “Stop speaking in riddles” which “she never really does” (Genzling). Spencer played a convincing down to earth, relatable, wise appearing God.

The Shack was made worthwhile in its small noteworthy life lessons in forgiveness while grieving and the importance of understanding under both a religious and nonreligious scope despite its disparities in certain ideologies which were probably meant for a larger failed message.

Works Cited Genzling, Neil. Review: A Crisis of Faith and a Trip to God's B&B in 'The Shack'. 02 March 2017. September 2018. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/movies/the-shack-review-sam-worthington-octavia-spencer.html>. Gleiberman, Owen. Film Review: 'The Shack'. 03 March 2017. 11 October 2018. <https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/the-shack-octavia-spencer-1202000189/>. Laffly, Tomris. Time Out New York. 03 March 2017. September 2018. <https://www.timeout.com/us/film/the-shack>.