Movie theaters are modern day pulpits: people flock to their local multiplexes, group together, and find themselves moved by a worldview revealed in story form, allowing themselves to be emotionally led by directors and screenwriters who influence how we feel, think, and even act. Film & Theology views feature films and hosts an expository exploration of narrative themes and spiritual parallels.

• Film & Theology:  TRON
• Friday, November 19,  7 pm
• Ballard campus (1401 NW Leary)

Tomorrow night, Film & Theology will go online at Ballard, with a screening of the early '80s classic, TRON, and we're turning it up to 11: showing on the big Ballard screen, with the sound through that Meyer sound system. Epic. With a new TRON: Legacy coming on Dec. 17 (with a full-throttle Daft Punk soundtrack no less), this screening of the original is a worthy event in its own right and a great primer for the sequel. But more importantly, as with each F&T event, Pastor James Harleman will provide his critique, insights, usually funny commentary, speculations and connections with Christian reality, beliefs and life, as applied to the film. Produced by Disney in 1982, the original TRON stars Academy Award-winner Jeff Bridges as protagonist hacker Kevin Flynn. Written and directed by Steven Lisberger, it was one of the first films from a major studio to use extensive computer graphics. Decades after it first came out, it has spawned a franchise consisting of multiple video games, comic books and a planned animated television series. While not a success in its theatrical release, the film has become a cult classic. Why? Is it the outdated special effects or spotty acting? Probably not, and the film has a heartbeat that transcends its geek game fantasy and '80s love. Look at the premise: a controlling master is seeking to deceive the world, to convince them there is nothing beyond the bits they can see, hear, and touch. However, a designer of that world incarnates and walks among the people, performing miraculous feats and helping crush their oppressive ruler. He sacrifices himself to save them and then is seen ascending, his actions bringing light to a dark world. Sound familiar? A quote from early in the film goes something like this:

Ram: "Do you believe in the Users?" Crom: "Sure I do. If I don’t have a User, then who wrote me?"

In a cinema world increasingly shaped by films like The Matrix, The Prestige, The Sixth Sense, and the recent Inception, the first TRON forced us to consider other realities beyond the four dimensions we are actually able to perceive.  It’s a mind-bending exercise in, "What if?"  As Christians, we know there is a tendency in the world to think small, to not consider the possibilities, to willfully not see the creation and its maker shouting at us from every direction and dimension, even ones we can’t sense.  TRON challenges this limited view. If this is your first F&T event, you are in for a treat.  Last month’s film was a flying success through the astonishingly funny, deep, well-written How to Train Your Dragon. To a packed Shoreline campus house, Pastor James laid out the key life principles so well encapsulated in the film’s highly entertaining story and visuals. Strap yourself in: the F&T ride gets bumpy, and even more thrilling, from here. Watch the trailers for the original TRON and TRON: Legacy, after the jump: TRON (1982) TRON: Legacy (2010) Save the date: January 14 will the next installment of Film & Theology at our U-District campus. You can check out Pastor James’ video and written musings of that film, as well as other reviews and musings on the gospel and media, on his blog, cinemagogue.