Category: A Spiritual Look At All Forms Of Entertainment…

These entries focus on all the ways that entertainment such as movies, television shows, theater, books, and more have affected me on a spiritual level.

“Till”, A Powerful, But Somber Film That Depicts The True Racist Roots Of Our Country…

The story of Emmitt Till, although a tragic one, is also an inspiring one, as his story of being wrongfully lynched at 14-years-old near Money, Mississippi in 1955, became a major catalyst for the beginning of the civil rights movement here in the United States. Many decades later, his story has been retold in the recent film released under the title, “Till”.

“Till”, which stars Jalyn Hall in the main role as Emmitt and Danielle Deadwyler as his mother Mamie, was both powerful and somber to watch. While I minored in Minority Relations in college and studied Till’s story and many other tragic ones during that time of my life, watching these events reenacted on screen still disturbed me greatly. For the life of me it’s so hard to believe our country was filled with so much hatred back then towards African Americans. My best friend is African American, and I’ve never seen him as anything but my equal. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone from any other race as anything but equal to me my entire life. So, watching an exuberant and youthful, happy-go-lucky kid visit his relatives in the deep South during which he accidentally flirted with a white female cashier in a local convenience store that led to him being kidnapped, beaten, tortured, shot in the head, and finally dumped in a river, completely overwhelmed my emotions. Seeing Till’s mother lay eyes upon her son’s badly mangled, and river swollen body for the first time and grieve from her very soul (possibly the best performance I’ve ever seen by an actress) was beyond heart-wrenching. I can only imagine how many African Americans suffered like this and at the hands of all the racism that once existed so openly in this country and on some level, still does.

Why there was and still is so much hatred towards those of opposite races, colors, sexual preferences, religions, and the like in this country strikes a very painful chord within me. I work hard every day to see everyone with absolute joy and unconditional love, because in my mind there is one thing that we all share in common and that’s a piece of God with our souls. So, taking the life of this innocent 14-year-old back then over something as harmless as a flirtatious advance, or bashing someone today who just had gender reassignment, or labeling all Asians as the cause of COVID is betraying the unity God created in all of us. It simply wreaks havoc upon my soul. Why this type of hatred seems to be on the rise again, especially after so many people fought hard since Till’s time to gain justice and equality is a painful realization. Have we truly progressed or are we only regressing these days?

Regardless, the film “Till” was superbly done, enough so that it should earn itself plenty of Oscar accolades. Long after its credits rolled, I found myself pontificating on the sad state of our nation, which seems to have advanced in some ways since Till’s time, but declined in many others. I am ashamed that so many who share the same skin color as myself both back then and even to this day continue to hold hatred around their hearts towards those of opposite colors as them. What fear really rests behind this I don’t know. What I do know is that I love all people of all walks of life and work hard to accept everyone as my equal. I’m thankful that I’ve been this way as far back as I can remember and thankful for the movie “Till” for reminding me of what I pray to never become, and that’s a hateful, spiteful, judgmental individual who resorts to wrongful words or actions upon those they deem unequal, when indeed God created us at our very core to ALL be equal…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

The Joy And Sorrow of Watching The Top Gun Sequel…

Watching the new Top Gun sequel (Top Gun: Maverick) recently in the theater (which was excellent by the way) and hearing that old “Danger Zone” song thump through the theater’s sound system, I was immediately transported temporarily back in time to 1986 when the original was released.

May of 1986 to be precise, I was 13 years old and a lover of movies already in life. My parents were still alive and hadn’t fully descended into their crazy drama yet. I also hadn’t picked up any addiction yet, nor had I been molested yet either. Honestly, my only real concern back then was how alone I felt in life, as I was generally friend-less back then. That’s why I loved movies so much, as they helped me forget about that for the few hours I’d sit in those dark theaters and stare at the screen in awe.

I’m quite sure there’s a young naïve teenager somewhere in this world who also found themselves staring at the screen in awe watching the now 60-year-old Tom Cruise playing Maverick once again and aspiring to become something greater in life once the credits rolled at the end. That’s precisely how I felt back in May of 1986 when I was also a young naïve kid who simply loved to watch movies, swim in the pool, hike in nature, and hoped to become something greater in life eventually. Sadly, all the PTSD I’d endure and all the detours I’d take with one addiction after another and one unhealthy relationship after another, would derail all of it.

Having endured what I have since the original Top Gun, I often find myself asking others if they could go back in time while retaining their memories to have a chance to do it all over again, would they? Most say no, yet I consistently say yes, as I struggle with acceptance of where my life is now. I frequently think that maybe if I just had another chance, I could do things differently and achieve those dreams I once had as that naïve young kid. Unfortunately, time travel doesn’t exist nor do I have the youthful exuberance anymore. Yet what I do have is God at my helm and much wisdom gained from the many hard lessons I learned since that original Top Gun.

While I am thankful for all these hard lessons and life experiences I’ve gained, watching the Top Gun sequel really did make me miss where I was at in life in May of 1986. It made me miss the innocence I had then, the amazing health I carried then, the vitality I used to exude then, and the excitement I used to have then just to be alive. It’s precisely why I experienced both joy and sorrow while watching the Top Gun sequel. Joy for how much movies continue to be a wonderful escape where I’m able to forget about all the stressors of my life for a few hours and immerse myself in something amazing, but sorrow for remembering the three decades that came after the original Top Gun, decades that had me drifting far from God and far from being true to myself.

Whether another Top Gun sequel will ever be made again I don’t know. If one is though, I pray that the only feeling I have when watching it will be that of joy. Joy for my love of movies and joy for how far I’ve come in life by then. Rather than feeling sorrow, sorrow for all the choices I once made that led me into a life without God, a life of addictions, a life of detours, and a life of many dead-ends, things I won’t need to ever experience again, so long as I remain in recovery, trusting God to keep leading my way…

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

“Lunana, A Yak in the Classroom”, A Moving Testimony Of A Film About Where True Happiness Comes From…

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday where I share my weekly writing entry in gratitude. For today, I’d like to express my gratefulness for a 2022 Academy Award nominee in the Best Foreign Picture category titled, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”, a movie that is a moving testimony of where true happiness comes from.

“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” is based upon the true story of a young man named Ugyen (Sherab Dorji) from Bhutan who dreams of moving to Australia to pursue his dream of a singing career. Having completed four of his five mandatory years of training as a teacher for the government, Ugyen is tired of doing that career path and considers quitting, especially after getting his final assignment, which is at the most remote school of his country in the mountain village of Lunana. With a population of only 56 people and an eight-day hike to get there from the closest town, Lunana is the last place Ugyen wants to be at. But, after considerable urging by his grandmother to complete his last teaching assignment, Ugyen sets off on the journey into the mountains with two guides, Michen (Ugyen Norbu Lhendup) and Signye (Tshering Dorji). It’s overly apparent how at peace and grateful Michen and Signye are with what they are given from the land and the people who help them along the way, and how ungrateful and frustrated Ugyen is with his current life’s circumstances. It becomes even more apparent the difference in attitudes upon his arrival in the village where Ugyen is greeted with the warmest showing and unconditional love that should melt anyone’s heart, but all Ugyen can think of is how quickly he can turn around and head back home to the life he thinks he’s meant to be living. That all begins to change though when he meets a very young bright-eyed class captain named Pem Zam (playing herself), who somehow finds a way into Ugyen’s heart. “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” tells the wonderful story of how one young man ends up travelling what some say is the longest distance to travel in our world, that being from living in our minds to one of living in our hearts.

While I wrote the other day of how so many films and television shows these days seem to be becoming so dark and depressing, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” stands the complete opposite and most definitely moved my soul. Having been filmed on a measly $300,000 budget in the actual remote village of Lunana where nothing but solar power exists and only when the sun is fully out, I was blown away at how real the film still felt. I learned the director wasn’t even able to review his daily footage because of his lack of electrical power. To have a film of this caliber shoot on such limited constraints and move me as much as it did says a lot. In contrast, many of these dark and depressing big studio films these days cost upwards of $50 million to $150 million. Nevertheless, on some level, this film felt so real to me that I actually thought I was watching a documentary about the life of these villagers!

One of the biggest reasons why I was moved so incredibly by “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” is how much I could relate to Ugyen’s spiritual journey to find himself. Having once been a big city kid myself who thought that having more meant a better life, only to discover that having less brought about far greater contentment in life, I saw strong similarities between myself and Ugyen. I also experienced plenty of gratitude for the villagers in this remote location who have learned to appreciate all of God’s beauty in each other and in the land around them.

In our society today, we often overlook the things that are beautiful right around us, like the bald eagle I would have missed seeing years ago, but thankfully saw in a farm field I was driving by the other day, who was just staring at me as I drove by. Instead, we often are constantly immersed in our phones and other technology, missing out on some of the best things to see that don’t cost a thing. Seeing the life of these remote villagers find happiness in just singing, communing, and supporting each other, I ultimately felt a ping in my heart by the end of the film wishing I could go spend a week with them.

I feel so many of us have forgotten in this world how to be thankful for what we have, even on the smallest of level, and “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” was a great reminder of both that and how far I’ve come from the days where I once thought I knew were happiness came from, only to discover that sometimes happiness comes in just being with another and sharing with them a piece of my heart.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson