trailblazers rethink. redeem. respond.
BeĆŠer Things Ahead Hope through the hardships
Survey Says...
AM
T P
On which of the following do you
spend the most time?
C
30%
17%
10%
1%
7%
35%
Zach Allen Brandon Cole Wren Martin Molly McCartney Clayton True Lily Wilson
G
D Zach Allen Wren Martin
C
P
Morgan Zupan
S
Books Vs. Movies es
T Nic Cayton Joy Randle
Morgan Zupan
1
39%
61%
Story-telling at its best—
Movies or Books? By Brandon “Books Bore Me” Cole
M
ovies have had a short history, but are a projection of a long lived method of storytelling. They can create passion and emotion that can’t be brought by just words, because we live in a world of sight and sound. The saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a strong statement that signifies the importance of being able to see what we’re trying to grasp and I believe sums up what I’m trying to say. Now just sit back for a second and imagine this: you’re walking down the street on your way home from a friend’s house when you hear the sound of tires pealing out right behind you. A grim look covers your face as you see two cars llably towards each other. As you run in that speeding uncontrollably direction you get a small glimpse of the two vehither and your heart begins to cles hitting each other sink. You can’t dare re to imagine what happened, in fear that you yourself urself will be ter shock, as clutched by the utter ere motionthe two cars sit there less, with smoke steaming out of their hoods. Picturing that could seem like quite the gruesome scene, but try to grasp even ’d feel if this slightly how you’d u weren’t just was reality. You thinking of a carr crash; you were there! That’s the difference between movies and books to me. It’s the elements of sight and sound that makes us nd cheer or cry in complete sadness. Now I want to stand up and ooks can’t possess good qualities, but I bedon’t argue that books lieve there is this separation that prevents you from fully feeling the passion that comes along with a good movie. Movies don’t cut us off from creativity, wonder, or excitement; but instead they enhance them. They make the mind wander into the unknown and can increase your desire to learn more. They tug at you and say, “Come on, join in the story.” We want to be a part of it. We long to become and discover more. Movies create a gateway to humor, horror, thrill, drama, learning, and so much more that books have a hard time matching.
By Molly “Movies Don’t Move Me” McCartney
I
f you’re a reader, then you already know the answer to this one. Why are books almost always better than the movie?
For starters, the story just makes more sense! You get to be inside the character’s head, which helps one better understand their logic. Watching someone run around in the woods on a dark screen and then suddenly making a sharp turn to the left doesn’t make as much sense when you don’t know their reasoning. Plotlines are so much more enjoyable when you get the detail of the book. Movies usually pack in as much actio action as possible, often resulting in the loss of a large portion of the original story. It becomes less of a story and more of one giant, mindless and sc pointless fight scene—there’s already plenty of action iin the book! typicall take longer to read Books typically than movies take to watch, so you’re getting m more enjoyment for mo your money. The movie lasts aroun two hours, whereas around the bbook can keep you entertaine for days! entertained How many times have you go gone to see a movie and ccouldn’t get past the terri terrible acting? Books don’t give you that problem; the characters characte are who they were intended to be in the be beginning. Movies are often adaptions from books, so it it’s almost guaranteed that the book will be better. It’s like askin asking someone what they heard happened to someone else… they’ll probably add a few b maybe take some things here and there to spice it up a bit, things out. Eventually you end up with a completely different story. We all know that if you want the real story, it’s best to go straight to the original source; in this case, the book. Movies force their perspectives on you without allowing you any creative freedom. Don’t get me wrong, I actually love movies. I just think the book is always better than the movie! I’ll leave you with this: you are currently reading this debate in a magazine. It’s not being presented to you by means of film, but by putting this out there for you to read. If movies were really the best way to convey a point, we would’ve made a video!
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Hardships Along the Road...
Humbling umbling yourself
Un Unrequited equit love
Loving Lo vi th those hos who hate you
Leaving yourr comfort comfort zone
Not being accepted accepted ed
Being unjustly accused 3
...Better Things Ahead By Wren Martin
O
Ph ot o C ourt es y of C reati ve C om m on s/R ed B log.c om
nce again, the Ministry Team surveyed the high school and found some interesting, even surprising, results (see page 1). For instance, interestingly, more seniors thought junior year was better than senior year, and thankfully, a large majority of high school students were in the “alright” to “very good” range when surveyed about how the year has been. One of the most interesting parts of the survey asked students to reflect on the most painful bumps in road they face in high school. When students were asked what their most difficult hardships were, most answered unjust accusations and rejection. Many also said that leaving their comfort zones and loving those who hate them were the most painful. Each of these circumstances are commonly experienced hardships, but they also have something else in common. Who also walked the very road we walk? Who experienced these very hardships? The figure ahead of us is Jesus, our Hope. He left the most comfortable place and entered our world of depravity, fully knowing the pain and rejection He would experience. The King, Creator, God of the universe was not accepted but hated and
despised by His own creation—the people He desperately wanted to redeem. At the climax of the story, He was grotesquely beaten and mocked. The chief priests and the teachers of the law scoffed at him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” (Mark 15: 31 -32) If it were me on the cross, I really don’t think I could resist showing them how truly foolish they are and how right I am. This is the part of the story where the hero is supposed to regain his strength and destroy the enemy. The attack on pride hurts much more than the attack on flesh. It’s so hard not to have the last word. Jesus died. He accepted all the pain and humiliation, but we all know the end of the story. He overcame. In the end, He will make all things right. We now have the same power that was in Jesus. We know that this temporary struggle and pain doesn’t compare to the life ahead, and even in the life we live now, we have Jesus and His victory. Truly, there are better things ahead.
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Celebrating Poetry Month The month of April invited poetic efforts from all over the school— Here is a submission from a student who participated in the celebration of wordsmithery.
A Brother by Joy Randle
A
seemingly endless sea
Packed intently with meaning and depth Reaches land to set it free Soaking it with peace and breath
Both mediums still unsure Of whether the other posses a cure For the broken state each was in A state with which neither could win
Then the movement of the water Exhilarates the sand Allowing it to trustingly totter Into the sea’s foam y blue hand
Now the two that glisten under the Son Have risen and fallen together as one
A boy now has a seemingly endless brother
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Ph ot o b y Nic Ca yt on
The shift of one encourages the other
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B S
Noah: A Review by Brandon Cole
T
he new movie, Noah, has been getting lots of people talking. It has inspired a ton of controversy with its many Biblical inaccuracies and its constant stretching of the truth—but does this make it a bad movie? Under these criteria, wouldn’t Captain America, or any piece of fiction, be equally wrong? Instead, Noah should be judged by the same standards as any other fictional action or drama. The movie actually proved to be less a story of the flood, and more a comparison of competing views of humanity. Noah (who believed man was completely wicked and should be wiped out) and Tubal-Cain (the ruthless king who says that man is here to rule over everything) collide to create a moral and ideological ten-
sion with which the audience must grapple. While the viewer goes back and forth trying to decide who the real hero is, they are introduced to an interpretation of Noah’s story that will generate many conversations in its wake. Overall, I’d say if you want to see a wellmade motion picture, with amazing special effects, this is a great movie. It honestly does cause you to think and forces us to say something besides, “I don’t know.” However, a closed or narrow mind will not enjoy Noah. To enjoy it, you must view this less as a Bible story and more as entertainment. It’s not meant to be another movie based on the Bible; it’s a new idea based off an old tale. Noah doesn’t align with the Bible, but it’s a good movie. I say go see it!
God’s Not Dead: A Review by Zach Allen
T
he movie God’s Not Dead is a recent Christian drama that has received little except universal praise from the Christian audience. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie for what it is, but I believe by far the best way to watch any movie, especially one such as this, is to look at every angle critically. The central issues, as many might guess, are found in and around the debate between the main character and his evil professor ─ yes, I’d say that’s a fitting description ─ as well as the content of the debate itself. While I think any prudent Christian should take a stand against writing “God is dead,” I doubt that any prudent philosophy professor would demand that statement to begin with. By nature, philosophy deals with such questions as “Is there a high-
er intelligence?” and I don’t think any well-rounded professor would delete that from his course without discussion. Additionally, starting a debate over God by challenging evolution is likely a foolish venture, because frankly Christians disagree more on cosmic beginnings than evolutionary theorists do. Eventually the point of the debate was shifted more toward a necessary relationship with God, but in the beginning the argument was over a debate that would likely lead nowhere. God’s Not Dead, with its exaggerated characters and scripted debates, while it should not be used as a manual for debating with atheists, is still a challenging movie that should encourage Christians to stand up for their faith.
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A Call to Action: Be Different
I
have never truly fit in anywhere. I was taught from a young age to “be yourself,” so I have. Yet being my true self meant being someone who knew a lot about strange things— fantasy novels, historical fiction, manga. So even if I had friends, they rarely understood me the way I wanted. What I wanted was someone that would listen to me rant and ramble about cyborgs or dragons or time travel, and that would also rant and ramble back. I never really had that in school. But I remember the first time I ever felt I truly belonged. In 2012, my mom and I found out about an Anime festival in Arkansas, so we went. When I entered the event space and saw all the people ranting and rambling, dressed in silly costumes, I could tell that was in a place I could finally fit in. But even if I made friends in Arkansas, that sense of
belonging would never carry over to my life at school. I would still be a stray puzzle piece that doesn’t belong. The typical boundaries that divide people in school—between jock, jester, brains and beauty—should not be so rigid that some people never feel as though they fit in. Of course, all schools have these boundaries on some level, and to some degree, there is nothing wrong with having common interests. However, I know I have felt the painful side of these rigid boundaries all my life—doors slammed in my face for being different. Not only does one begin to feel misunderstood, but that no one even desires to know and understand them. Here is where our school can and should be different. We can break down those boundaries and learn to
by Lily Wilson
appreciate people’s differences. This world is made of boundaries that nobody ever tries to cross. The same was true of the world when the Apostle Paul wrote his letters in the New Testament. But Paul knew that everyone who was in Christ had a new identity, they belonged to a family that combines all types of people who would never be seen together in this world. Even back then people struggled to be together, after all Paul would not have had to remind them in his letters. I suppose that is what this article is about: to remind us why being followers of Jesus makes us different—to get out of your comfort zone and get to know someone different. Try to understand what makes them who they are. Let’s learn to love one another better and make it clear that all of us belong here, in Christ.
Introducing Create’s New Comic
T
he Passing Period is all about putting school culture into a simplified, relatable form, for the purpose of shedding light on what we as students do and how we do it – and maybe make fun of it, too. The following characters will hopefully become familiar faces in coming years, giving a little insight to how we as students relate at school.
Chester
The Passing Period
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Elaine
Brock
by Zach Allen and Clayton True
Rudy