Episode 416 - "Have To Believe We Are Magic" (1980)

About this Episode

Realism is exactly correct in our observation of life as it is, and especially of human nature as it is. So-called "film noirs", produced right after World War Two, were right to present life, and human nature, as it really is -- which is "noir" (i.e., dark), confused, self-serving and ultimately futile, both in detail and in the big picture.

But reality can be saved! Reality can turn bright. It can turn hopeful.

So much of supposedly "realistic" art and narrative is itself ... a narrative. It imposes a resolution of hopelessness and depression on the outcome.

(And incidentally, if you watch the many "film noirs" that were made in the 1940s and '50s, the vast majority of them have hopeful endings. The vast majority.)

It is the narrative of nihilistic critics that presupposes desperate endings.

(Like Chinatown", from 1974, which embodies a manufactured narrative. It is a well made movie but note: it was made by a nihilist in a nihilistic time. Like The Fearless Vampire Killers, from 1967, or Easy Rider, from 1968. All carry artificial, contrived endings -- a narrative from passionately suicidal artists.)

Anyway, PZ believes in miracles, like Hot Chocolate in 1975 (sort of).

Which is to say, things often turn out better than we expect. Or more truly stated, sincere prayers are almost always answered. God is waiting for us to confide in Him, meaning: to confide in Him our worst predictions and presages. Happy endings have ended up happening in your and my life. And not just rarely or exceptionally. Not always, to be sure, but often.

I'll refer at one point to Rod Serlings' Twilight Zone episode entitled, "The Big Tall Wish", from 1961. The problem there was one of belief. One little boy's genuine faith was not enough to overcome this world's thick blanket of gray depression. But to the extent it could, the little boy's faith worked!

I believe in happy endings. Honest, I do. And my Christian faith causes that.

Oh, and P.S.:

This podcast is dedicated to Will McDavid.