Yesterday's newsletter from Gregory Pierce, author of Spirituality at Work has a list of the top ten films on spirituality in the workplace. In his newsletter for December 9th he writes if you look carefully at some films (and even at television shows in some cases), you can observe the spirituality of work being practiced. One of the things you will notice is that truly spiritual work is not about how pious the person is but about how and why he or she does the actual work.If you are interested in his newsletter on write him at Gfapierce@aol.com. Here is his list of films and comments:
Ten Movies on the Spirituality of Work
Copyright (c) 2005 by Gregory F. Augustine Pierce
1-800-397-2282, gpierce@actapublications.com
It’s a Wonderful Life, written by Philip Van Doren Stern and directed by Frank Capra
Most people think of this as a Christmas movie, but I have always thought of it as being about the spirituality of work. What made Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, so appealing and his life so meaningful? It was the way he did his work as a savings and loan executive, community volunteer, husband and father. It was always interesting to me that even though there is an angel in the picture, there is very little depiction of George Bailey’s religious or spiritual life. It is his work that was holy.
A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
My favorite film version of this classic story is the one starring Alastair Sim. (The ones with George C. Scott and with Michael Caine and the Muppets are also very good). Much like It’s a Wonderful Life, this classic tale by Dickens is viewed by most people as a Christmas story, which it certainly is. But it can also be seen as a story of spiritual redemption that can come when we get our work aligned with our deepest and truest values. Remember, it was his work that almost destroyed Ebenezer Scrooge, and once he had his conversion, it was his work that allowed him to help other people, such as the poor, the Crachit family, and his nephew.
To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee and directed by Robert Mulligan
Atticus Finch, the lawyer played by Gregory Peck, is every thinking man’s role model as a father. But he was also a competent and fearless lawyer. It was not just the way he tried the case in the movie, it was the way he dealt with his client and his client’s family, how he protected his own family, and the gentleness with which he dealt with Boo Radley that demonstrated the spirituality of his work. Again, there is not a lot of religion or piety portrayed in this movie. Much like George Baily, Atticus Finch was a holy man because of the way he did his work.
Parenthood, written by Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel and directed by Ron Howard
Another movie that depicts the spiritual work of parenting, albeit in very funny terms is Parenthood. Steve Martin plays a business executive who cannot get ahead in his firm because he is trying to balance his work and family life. Jason Robards plays Martin’s father, a gruff older man who realizes that the obligations of parenting are never over, no matter how old your kids are. The scenes between Martin and his wife, played by Mary Steenbergen, are funny and excruciatingly painful at the same time.
Mac, written and directed by John Tuturro
Another movie about family and work is the little-known movie Mac. John Tuturro stars as one of three brothers who start their own business building homes. What I like especially are the scenes of the care and quality the brothers put into the homes they build and how proud they are of their work. The opening scene is a beautiful cinematic homage to blue collar work, and Tuturro dedicated the movie to his own father, who apparently was a skilled craftsman.
Norma Rae, written by Irving Raetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., and directed by Martin Ritt
This is another great movie about blue-collar workers. Sally Field won an academy award as best actress for her portrayal of Norma Rae, a Southern textile worker who joins and eventually becomes a leader in a labor union. Ron Liebman plays a union organizer who goes about his work with courage and integrity, always putting the best interests of the workers ahead of his own agenda. Again, there is little mention of organized religion in Norma Rae’s life. It is in her work as a mill worker and a union leader as well as a wife and mother and daughter that her spirituality lies.
Dead Poet’s Society, written by Tom Schulman and directed by Peter Wier
Robin Williams plays John Keating, an iconoclastic and charismatic English professor who inspires his students to live life to the fullest. The scenes of Williams teaching his students to love poetry is a great example of the spirituality of work in action. “What will you’re contribution be?” he asks his students about the meaning of their life’s work. Williams interactions with the stuffy, inflexible teaching colleagues is also worth viewing.
Patch Adams, written by Patch Adams and Maureen Mylander and directed by Tom Shadyac
Here is Robin Williams again, this time playing Dr. Hunter “Patch” Adams, a real-life doctor. (In my opinion, Williams has a knack for realistically and insightfully portraying people in different occupations as well as anyone.) Again, Williams’ character is an iconoclast who is trying to deal with the medical establishment without losing his soul. This movie offers an example of someone who cannot function inside “the system” and must go out and create an alternative way to do his work.
Saving Grace, written by Celia Gittelson and directed by Robert M. Young
OK, I had to have at least one movie about a pope on this list, but this is actually a great movie about the spirituality of work. Tom Conti plays a fictional pope who somehow gets locked out of the Vatican and ends up in a small mountain town in Italy, where nobody recognizes him. The spirit of the townspeople is low, because they are poor and have lost faith in their ability to improve their lives, symbolized by their failure to finish building a new aqueduct to bring water to their town. Conti’s character begins rebuilding the aqueduct on his own, eventually joined by the children and widows and eventually the rest of the townspeople. It is the work itself that saves the town’s—and the pope’s—soul.
The Gospel According to Vic, written and directed by Charles Gormley
Again Tom Conti stars, this time as a teacher in a Catholic school in Scotland. The school is named after “Blessed Edith Semple,” a local woman who has been declared “blessed” by the church but needs one more miracle in order to be canonized. Conti works very hard with one particular student who is severely learning handicapped and has a major breakthrough. The student starts functioning normally, and everyone says that it is the miracle the church had been looking for. Conti spends the rest of the movie defending the profession of teaching, insisting it was his good work as a teacher that had cured the boy, not the intervention of a saint. To me, this movie raises a lot of issues about the meaning and holiness of all of our work.
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