My companion and I saw the film, “Inside Out” this week. First, it is not a film for kids. It has been a long, long time since we were in a film where there were as many 8 year olds and under as there were adults. This cartoon is for at least 10 year olds and older. Like most of the cartoons made by Pixar and Disney, it is made for adults much more than for young children. The 5 year old sitting next to me kept bouncing in his chair and asking him mom questions. For her part, mom did her best to quiet her son and answer his questions, but she too often talked to the characters on the screen as if sitting in her living room. But the annoyance aside, the film is well done demonstrating once again how science can help humanity understand itself. In the Sunday Review of the New York Times, the scientists that served as consultants for the film wrote their own review of the film and in it provide explanation about the science behind our emotion.
The Science of ‘Inside Out’
Sunday Review | The New York Times
Our conversations with Mr. Docter and his team were generally about the science related to questions at the heart of the film: How do emotions govern the stream of consciousness? How do emotions color our memories of the past? What is the emotional life of an 11-year-old girl like? (Studies find that the experience of positive emotions begins to drop precipitously in frequency and intensity at that age.)
Click here to read more.
It is called ‘social media.’ Really, it is letters and phone calls woven into the fabric of every day life that only requires an internet connection. Once upon a time, a person had to be intentional about keeping connections with persons from their past, now it’s as easy as searching Facebook, Twitter, or your favorite ‘social media’ platform.
There was a time in life when people would come and go through school, youth group, or jobs and I would most likely loose touch with the persons that I shared significant experiences. It’s part of growing up and defining identity after graduation, or a job change, or when people move away to another community, political or religious place. I often wonder what kind of men the boys of my Boy Scout troop became. For three years the eight of us that made up the Eagle patrol explored the woods of East Texas, learned to cook in a dutch oven, got lost, fought snakes, and helped our Scout Master read a map. This was long before GPS. Our Scout Master often got the troop lost on the way to a weekend camp-out so we became proficient setting up tents by the glow of flashlights. I wrote short stories back then based on those experiences. After we moved from Paris, TX to Beaumont, TX, those hand written stories about boyhood adventures, like the lives of those close friends, are part of distant memories stirred by the smell of a campfire or seeing current Boy Scouts struggle to learn knots.
Here in the 21st century, staying connected is much easier and can happen with less intentionality. People from the past pop up in my newsfeed on Facebook and Twitter alerts me to new members and followers. It is easy to hit the code created “follow” button and observe, or lurk, or troll people. Are we more connected than ever? Yes. Are we more disconnected, more misunderstood, more isolated in opinion, economic status, politic and religion than ever? Yes. It’s easier for the pugilists in our context.
What I like about ‘social media’ is that I get to observe what kind of adults the youth that have been a part of a mission trip, study trip, church camp, leadership team, or youth group have become or are becoming. I also stay connected to the adults that gave their time, life experience, and faith experience in all of those settings. There are many I could cite dating back to 1985. A current example is Colton. He just graduated from Eureka College and is heading to seminary this fall. Colton returned to his home congregation here in Oklahoma after attending our International Affairs Seminar when he was in high school. The study topic for the trip was faith and economics. Colton’s congregation asked him to give the sermon and talk about what he learned on the trip and his experience. He sent me a copy of his words. An eighteen year old stood in the pulpit of his congregation and began, “I’m a 21st century slave owner and so are all of you.” Here are Colton’s thoughts on “Learning to Love” published on [D]mergent.
Learning to Love
Colton Lott | July 3, 2015
I know first-hand that it takes everyone of all backgrounds to be the change we wish to see in the world; I was taught to love all of God’s children by my grandmother, who began campaigning in me back in 2004. Click here to read more.