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K-Pax
Universal
PG-13
What would it be like to encounter a new society (or
a new world) like ours without ever having known anything about it?
Would it be too bright? Would families be strange? Would you find a
new kind of food that you absolutely loved, and would you then eat as
much as you could while you were there? What if you were way more
advanced than they were? Would you hold it over and patronize them,
act like it wasn’t an issue, or deal with it as the way things are?
This is the journey that K-PAX
takes us on. Prot, played by Kevin Spacey, is an alien from the planet
K-PAX who shows up at a train station in New York, tries to
help a mugging victim, and is arrested. He ends up in a psychiatric
institute under the care of Dr. Mark Powell (Jeff Bridges). While in
the hospital, many remarkable things happen as Dr. Powell tries to
unravel the mystery of who exactly Prot is, where he came from, and
what has happened to him.
You
can decide for yourself, after watching the movie, what really
happened?
Prot tells us about his world, K-PAX, which
seems to have eliminated many of the problems we face here on earth.
This movie provides a great opportunity to explore what a perfect
world would be like.
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Start by
asking participants to sketch their ideal world, maybe even before
watching the movie. Explore every aspect, from family life to
school to worship to shopping to work. What would each person
change? What would they leave the same?
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Then, after watching the movie, have everyone list
all of the things Prot tells us about K-PAX which he seems
to think are superior to the way things are on Earth:
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No Laws:
Every being in the universe knows right from wrong.
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No Work:
‘Work’ is a human concept. Whatever needed to be done
on K-PAX was simply done without complaint.
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No Families
(the whole idea is a
non-sequitur): Children
are not raised by their biological parents, but by everyone,
circulating, learning from one, then another.
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No Money:
Everyone has access to what they need (and presumably no
one is better- or worse-off economically than others).
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Prot points out that Buddha and Christ offered
different visions from an “eye for an eye” and a “life for a
life.” How are the teachings found in the Bible different from
the way life is lived from day-to-day? Take a look at the
following scripture references, especially focusing on
implications for everyday life:
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Read the Isaiah Christmas prediction (Isaiah
9:2-7). The prophet is looking forward to the time when God
will send a Messiah to save the world. For the other patients
under Dr. Powell’s care, how is Prot like a savior? (He brings
them hope, he gives them the prospect of a better life than what
they have, he shows them how to live, etc.) Is the character Prot a Christ figure in the film? How are
Prot and Christ similar and different?
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Finish by asking the group together to sketch an
ideal world. How different is it from the one they sketched at the
beginning? What needs to change about the world today to make it
like the ideal world?
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How can we start to make a difference in the world,
working toward the ideal described by the group (and in
scripture)? Look at this from a variety of perspectives:
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Individual
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Family
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Youth group
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Community/Neighborhood
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Church
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World community
As
with anything, feel free to adapt this guide to your own situation. Enjoy the film, enjoy the discussion and enjoy one another.
And remember, the first word and the last word is always, “God
Loves You.”
Need to keep up
with what movies are out there? Check these Web sites.
Please note that
some links will take you off of the ELCA site. Providing a link does
not necessarily imply that an organization is affiliated with or
supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Permission to reproduce for local use. Copyright © 2005
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
ELCA Youth Ministries. 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2447. To
offer your comments or responses, e-mail:
rod.boriack@elca.org. |