PTO, a Concerto for Violin and Cello

I have added the Phantasia suite to my Flash player.  It is basically all the major themes of Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber reorchestrated and arranged into a 35 minute concerto for violin and cello.  Sarah Chang on violin, Julian Webber (Andrew Lloyd’s brother) on cello.  Excellent musicians both of them, especially Sarah.  Wonderful arrangements.

What more can I say?  Listen to it!

NOTE: It is a big file, so make sure you have a fast connection.  And…you might want to clear your cache after listening.

Brokeback vs Narnia

Hello, all!
I just received a blanket email from The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ.  The director, Dr. Gary Cass, has written a letter to the Hollywood industry head honchos, taking them to task for their favoring of the film Brokeback Mountain, particularly in light of the “shoving aside” of The Chronicles of Narnia, a blockbuster success that unequivocally presents the gospel message.
I sent him a reply (though I have no idea whether he will actually ever see it), and to make it short, I’ll just post what I sent him…

Dr. Gary Cass,

I received your e-mail/letter against Hollywood, and had to comment.
I also believe that Brokeback Mountain is an abomination.  I have made a point of not seeing it, of course, and I completely agree with your assessment of the film.  If left at that, I would sign your letter with enthusiasm. 
However, there is that bit about Narnia.  While I agree that Narnia carries with it a distinctly Christian worldview, and I have a great appreciation for the message it conveys, I also do not think that it is award-winning material.  As a film, it was merely “pretty good,” which places it right in the category of mediocrity for me.  Granted, it’s on the higher level of mediocrity, but it cannot rise above that.  And the simple fact is, mediocre films should not win awards.  Period.  A good message does not necessarily make a great film.
The fact that Narnia was a box office success does not make it a great film either.  I think the enourmous success of a merely “okay” movie like Narnia reveals a deeper issue.  A problem, shall we say.  American Christians have grown accustomed to mediocrity.  Only the secular world is supposed to be able to rise to artistic greatness.  Any possibility that a Christian message might be produced by even slightly competent hands is good news.  No, it’s great news. 
But in the end, “slightly competent” isn’t going to cut it.  If Christians want to see tales and films with good messages entering the mainstream of the culture, they must rise above mediocrity.  A truly great Christian film must meet or rise above the artistic standards of a film like Brokeback Mountain without compromising its message.  Christians must stop thinking that the good message can somehow compensate for substandard method.  Mediocrity in method makes it easy for the world to ignore the message.

~Christopher Kou

Having written that, I promptly went and signed his letter anyway.  If we could win any sort of victory here, it might pave the way to better quality in Christian filmmaking.

Like White Elephants – A film by Timothy Kou

Everyone might like to visit the new website for Like White Elephants, a film that I worked on with my brother Timothy.  I had a little part in the shooting (the camera work in the opening sequence is mine) and the sound.  Tim directed and edited, and I think the result is quite nice.  Check it out!

Biblical Symbolism in Battlestar Galactica

Yeah, yeah.  It’s just a stupid scifi show, right?  Well, not quite.  I would argue that Battlestar Galactica (BSG) is the deepest and most morally and religiously complex television series on the air today.  And it is on the air today indeed, with season 2 finally picking up again.  I’m dealing here with symbolism rather than show quality, but I’ll just say beforehand that the filming, scripting, acting, and directing are all top notch.  Warning: some spoilers to follow.

The entire series is based on the concept of a small number of survivors of a nuclear attack attempting to find a mythical planet called Earth.  We should first observe that the BSG universe is not intended to be the same one as ours.  Call it a parallel dimension, or whatever.  The point is that (at least at this stage of the series) it doesn’t seem that we are meant to take this as an “origins of life on earth” story.

The survivors of the Cylon holocaust are gathered remnants from 12 planet colonies—tribes of Israel, anyone?  They are searching for a promised land, while being harrassed by an enemy that believes itself to be the instrument of a monotheistic “God” who is punishing the 12 tribes for heresy or idolatry (the colonies are polytheistic).  The nature of the Cylon deity is not clear as yet; it’ll be interesting where they take this.  But the allusion is unmistakable.  God chastises Israel for her idolatry. “Assyria, the rod of my anger . . .”

The 12 colonies are led by two people.  A warrior (Commander Adama) who handles the military branch of the government, and a civilian leader (President Laura Roslin) who acts as the moral compass of the fleet.  Incidentally, she didn’t want the job, but was “chosen” by circumstance.  As the series progresses, it becomes clear that she is a visionary prophet, who was foretold in the scriptures to lead the people to a promised land, but would not survive to see it herself.  She seems to fit the bill, since she is presently dying of terminal breast cancer.  The allusion to Moses of the Exodus is again, unmistakable.

Late in season 1, the fleet finds the planet of Kobol, said to be the planet of “the gods.”  Kobol is a planet with lush foilage, primal beauty, and some old ruins.  It becomes clear that this is where the colonies originally came from.  But they were expelled from the place for some heinous violation.  The prophecies make clear that to return to Kobol means death.  This is a clear allusion to Eden, as the producer even admits in his podcast commentary for the episode.

Throughout the series you have interesting contrasts.  Faith and disbelief, polytheism and monotheism, predestination and free will, etc.

“All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again.”  That’s what the Cylon Leobin tells Kara Thrace (Starbuck), after which he goes on to comment on predestination.  Hmmm . . . strangely familiar.  How about . . . “That which has been is that which will be; that which has been done is that which shall be done; there is nothing new under the sun,” or “That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away”?  Both quotes are from Eccesiastes. 

These are just a few examples of how the themes of the series often echo those of the Bible.  It’s obvious that whatever the background or personal beliefs of the writers of BSG, they do know their Bible.  Better than most people.  I’d say the majority of the fans completely miss the allusions.  But recognition of the allusions is that makes the show interesting.  Miss them, and you miss the depth of the series.  Christian viewers are still wondering how all this will pan out in coming seasons, whether the final result will be honoring to the Bible or will detract from it.  But meanwhile, it’s a rollicking good ride with themes that often make you sit back and think.

(Note: due to some objectionable material, I wouldn’t recommend this show for kids.)