UNITED STATES
Huffington Post
George Heymont
One of the joys of watching world cinema is that it takes you outside your standard frames of reference. In some cases this means stories with fewer guns, gore, and explosions. In other situations, it simply means that the influence of Jesus is never a given.
Consider Draft Day, a short documentary by Josh Kim that follows a handful of ladyboys in Bangkok as they take their chances in the national lottery for military service. Note the care with which military personnel comfort young men as they learn whether they will be exempt or subject to the draft. It’s a touching ceremony unlike anything you would ever see in America’s armed forces.
When it comes to narratives that challenge the traditional concept of family values, the fresh perspectives gained from world cinema can seem like a breath of fresh air. Here in the United States it seems as if the people who bray the loudest about family values are the people who are incapable of practicing what they preach.
Need an example? Try Minnesota’s Archbishop John Nienstedt, who spent $600,000 in church funds to lobby against Minnesota’s same-sex marriage initiative and sent anti-gay DVDs (unrequested) to 400,000 Minnesota homes in an attempt to get voters to ban same-sex marriage. In September 2013, Nienstedt claimed that “Satan is the source of same-sex marriage.” But on December 17, Nienstedt announced that he was temporarily stepping down from his ministry after allegations surfaced that, during a photo session several years ago, he had inappropriately touched an underage male’s buttocks.
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