Not Another Mindless Film

I’m going to come right out and say it, most of the movies made today are complete mindless drivel. On the level of synthetic strawberry juice. I’m well aware that not everyone can be expected to appreciate TS Eliot, or read Tim Keller, and that’s fine. Truthfully, if you can’t say something meaningful and important in a way everyone can understand, then maybe you didn’t understand it yourself. It is with this in mind that I watched what many are describing as Netflix’s biggest flop ever, ‘The Electric State’.

Without question, the plot of ‘The Electric State’ is one of the most original stories I have ever seen. A wild and cartoony version of ‘Mad Max’. Truthfully, if you aren’t paying attention, most of this film’s concepts will completely skip right over you. The story involves an orphaned girl mourning the loss of her family, especially her beloved little brother. Her life is turned upside down when she receives a visit from what seems to be her brother, via a cartoon robot called Cosmo.

As Christians I believe that there is a right and wrong way to respond to secular art. Although it’s great to see content like ‘The Chosen’ and ‘House of David’, I believe there is a proper way to respond to secular art. Especially when movies like ‘The Electric State’ are full of things well worth our consideration.

Sacred Meets Secular

I was surprised at how explicitly this movie promotes belief in the soul and the afterlife. In an age of mindless movies, ‘The Electric State’ tries so hard to actually say something important. Despite being a secular movie (I’m not ignoring this!), this is a compassionate story about family that reminds us all how important it is to live our lives full of sorrows, griefs, joy, and love. As Christians, we obviously understand all these things a little differently than the world will.

The most tantalizing part of the film is how one of the characters has the belief that his body is electric and that electricity will never disappear. Don’t dismiss this. As Christians we all believe that we are spiritual beings inhabiting physical bodies. Not the other way around. Science has been incredibly slow to catch up to truths that the Bible has been promoting for over two-thousand years. From a theological perspective, this statement makes perfect sense. What secular science call ‘electricity’ we call the spirit. Without getting too technical, this is a perfect illustration of how we function as spiritual beings.

This may sound very unusual for those who subscribe to a more traditional theological understanding. The main issue so many believers have is that we don’t even consider that the Bible explains science, not the other way around. I’m not informed enough about this topic, but who’s to say that our spirits don’t have some sort of electric connection?

Emotions and Truth

The ‘Electric State’ also makes powerful points about found family. Again, as Christians, the cornerstone of our belief is spiritual adoption. Seriously, we all believe that in Christ, we are united as a spiritual family. Additionally, we need to directly address the plight of foster children worldwide. I would love to tell everyone that this isn’t a problem, but it still very much a problem. Sadly in our culture, there is still a serious lack of loyalty and family strength in our world. It’s important that children (and older!) know that there is still a place in the world for them and that love and acceptance are still very much available.

I’m not giving ‘The Electric State’ a free pass on everything. I’m just saying that I genuinely appreciate there are stories like this being told. Make no mistake, art, secular or not, has a direct impact on the world around us. That is why it is so imperative that we have stories like these. In a world full of mindless drivel, I genuinely applaud the Russo brothers for making a movie like this. Well done you guys.