"13 Ways" is not an altar call but a conversation starter

A Christian movie producer recently asked me, "Why is this film important to the Christian audience?" Just in time for this question I had been reading a recent issue of USA Weekend with an article titled, "Holy-wood's next big hits". It noted many of the Christian-themed films did not have an altar call or an overt Christian message. Writes Cathy Lynn Grossman, "Their goal in making films is to move people with universal themes that create conversations while the credits are still rolling." That is also my goal with this story. I wanted to get inside people's minds by getting them inside Paul Thurber's mind and then shocking them with the rapid-fire events of Chapter 13.

I am not belittling overtly Christian movies like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". They play an important role. But most Americans are clueless about Christianity as I was; the only difference between Paul Thurber and I is that I had blonder hair. The films that moved me the most were "It's a Wonderful Life" (watched 50+ times), "Groundhog Day" and "Fargo" (watched about ten times each). It wasn't until after I met Jesus Christ that I found these movies were being used as platforms for sermons. "Wonderful Life" was a profoundly philosophical and theological tale disguised as a mass-appeal Christmas classic. "Groundhog Day" was a redemptive story that, while being hysterically funny, was also a brilliant Bible study piece. "Fargo" was a superb expose on the power of sin and how it takes over our lives. Those three movies met me right where I was in my life and had a positive impact on my thinking.

"13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" uses the classic Wallace Stevens poem of the same name to begin each chapter. Stevens wrote of the fear of death in his "13 Ways", something at the very heart of the human experience and - here is the really significant point - something that is inextricably linked to sin itself which is the true cause of death. I feel it meshes perfectly with the airplane story. That night I woke up from the first "13 Ways" nightmare ten years ago, I had the name for my story as well. The poem is even woven directly into the story; the mysterious "Shadow" is taken from the 11th Way and mentioned on Page 187.

Back to the theme of this post, my goal was to put the reader in Paul's brain, have them bond with him, and then show them how Paul's approach did not work. His point of view is the point of view of 95% of all the people who ever lived so it was rather easy to get the audience to identify with him. That everything goes the other way guides the audience to another reality, true reality. Paul does not seem like a sinner trying to escape the will of God. Jerry Lundegaard, Bill Macy's hapless car dealer in "Fargo", commits a crime, but Paul is only trying to be a hero. Or is he? The culmination of this analysis of Paul's thoughts are in Chapter 10 when he comes face to face with an older version of himself.

So don't expect "13 Ways" to have an altar call. Neither is it sailing along on a wing and a prayer. The message is that God is in control and can overturn everything, providing us with real peace and eternal contentment.