Stark Contrasts

This morning I awoke early and decided to watch something on Netflix.  There were many serious movies and documentaries, but I wanted to watch something funny and that would not require overmuch thinking on my part.  I enjoyed Romancing the Stone earlier, so I decided to watch its sequel, The Jewel of the Nile.  I got just what I was looking for—adventure and comedy.  Yet, even in a comic adventure, I can find something serious to observe.  The main antagonist was Omar, ruler of Kadir, who pretended to be good and benevolent but was actually a power crazed megalomaniac. He desired to be considered a heavyweight personage formed from an admixture of exalted politics and religion.  Images of him at a rally were reminiscent of Nazi political rallies.  What he really wanted was to be deified, ruthless, and worshipped.  He was, to put it mildly, not a Christian ruler.  Christian rulers do not want to be worshipped (only the Trinity is to be worshipped); they do not want to be considered heavyweights and self-important (humility is considered a virtue); they do not admire mean ruthless behavior (Jesus taught love and forgiveness); they do not strive to do evil (rather they strive to encourage righteousness, goodwill, and mutual respect).  This movie had an especially bad, “bad guy.”  But sometimes stereotypes of evil men and governments can help reveal elements constituting good government.

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