Tarantino

     I’m fascinated with Quentin Tarantino’s artistic process. I’ve thought a lot about the brutal violence in his movies and the reasons why people might be drawn to them, and if some are justified in saying he is a major threat to decency.

     I think immoral influence is potentially strengthened in a society that's increasingly amoral. Our society is still rewriting what is good and evil and when that happens the guardrails of ethics and morality wear away and all kinds of calamities take place. The worst casualties will always be the children. In this, Tarantino potentially becomes a huge false light for people who’re feeling weak and need to piggy back over what they perceive to be strength. Inherently, we all look for what would help us to be strong or feel better about ourselves. We can stitch what ideas we find and adopt a makeshift truth. Genuine truth is getting harder and harder to discern without real light, and as a result, anger and fear can express itself in some form of violence.

     It’s primal. Because we live in a society that wants to murder. We drench our hearts and minds with music, cinema and video games that will feed the fantasy from a safe distance. Look on the comment boards of entertainment websites, and you’ll read cleverly perverse things. They come from hearts that need to contradict, to hinder and to break spirits. 99% of these guys wouldn’t say it to someone’s face on the street. People spew their hate at the first throbbing opportunity. Murder is a heart desire; a state of mind, not just an act. The time is coming when murder will actually be sanctioned throughout the world.

“… but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.” – John 16:2

     Tarantino’s forte is revenge fantasies. I enjoy Kill Bill because of the inherent desire for justice I have. That’s true for everyone. It’s written not just in our DNA, but even in our souls because we were made in God's image. Revenge is not something God is opposed to. Most all of Tarantino’s characters are active in physical murders and no one in their right mind would or could befriend them and stay healthy. But God is the great avenger and He has all the right to be. Christ will return as the avenger in a way that no movie has ever portrayed the hero of the day. No one is going to injure him or be allowed to put him on a cross again. That time has passed. We all want to be recompensed for what was stolen from us. God hates injustice more than anyone. We can’t see beyond the darkness when we tell ourselves we have a right to revenge and knowingly can’t stomach facing the same punishment for similar crimes we’ve committed. I tell you the truth when I say that if Beatrix Kiddo fatally crashed her car into a tree at the end of the movie, she would not have seen heaven. That needs to be said. Because most of the country is under an illusion that God is near-sighted, and uses a faulty rating system to earn heaven. God is clear: “Don’t touch revenge. You can’t handle that and you don’t know how to wield it properly. That’s My job.”

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,' says the Lord. – Romans 12:19

     Tarantino is not wholly correct when he says that music and film can’t inspire crime and murder. They can and they do. Yes, there’s mental health and gun control to consider. Music and words can inspire people to do positive things, but in the absence of truth, the same can happen toward acts of hate. There’s too much evidence to the contrary in the last century alone. Adolf Hitler was an engaging orator in Nazi Germany. Many young men worship gangsters real or fiction. A celebrity can inspire fans to hate and reject a person or group if words aren’t chosen carefully. The sweeping comments about the police made by Tarantino recently come to mind. In the absence of true light and courage, you grope in the dark and find yourself a role model who only appears strong, but has only learned how to hide their weaknesses better. I don’t believe that taking a war against Tarantino is the answer. People want authenticity. They want light… if they’re thirsty and sensible enough. That’s Christ.

     Self-righteous anger is a major weapon used to keep people down. The use of intimidation and passive-aggressive warfare is more common. Excuses are made for doing evil. Not for mercy’s sake, but for self-interest and promotion of a clique cause. When moral people risk the wrath of these types and take shelter in God, knowing who God is and walking with Him, then accountability begins to take shape again. Accountability is not being enforced because we’ve made many excuses. There is no humility and the discipline of children is deficient. None of this can be improved without God and we’ve tried for so long to do it without Him. Accountability shows you where the lines are and it helps temper-flaring males grow into godly, strong and loving men. Accountability shows women that they too can’t abuse their power. Accountability really ticks off people who love their sin, love their excuses, love their causes and their arguments. Accountability improves the quality of life. The iPhone does not. When accountability grows and people fight for that, then people can see Quentin Tarantino for what he really is: an incredibly talented storyteller and entertainer, but not a proponent for morality and decency.