Monday, January 23, 2006

Hockey, Twister, and "Why men hate church"

Okay, yins know I love pink, happy endings, Reese Witherspoon, "You've Got Mail," and hockey. Okay, maybe you didn't know I love hockey. So I'll say it: I love hockey. I think it is the best sport ever created. So there. You know where my allegiances lie.

My favorite movie a few years ago was "Twister." I probably broke the record of most views in the theatre of a movie that wasn't Star Wars. (It was partially therapeutic.) Now, most women didn't like that movie. Please, correct me if I'm wrong! Why? Because the movie was critically acclaimed for its special effects. Oh gag me. But hey, men dig that kind of stuff. Why did I even go to see Twister? Well, Helen Hunt is a favorite of mine, for one. But I was working at Barnes & Noble at the time and a woman who was buying the Rolling Stone with Helen Hunt on the cover had seen the movie. "So what's it about?" I asked her. "It's about this husband and wife who are about to get a divorce and in the end they don't" (okay, this may not be an exact quote, but this was almost 10 years ago...) Now, did YOU ever hear that as the description for the movie Twister?

Here are two from imdb.com:

TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa. But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans. Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados.
Summary written by Martin Booda

When Bill goes to have Jo sign the divorce papers so he can marry his new girl, Melissa, Jo finds a collection of record breaking tornados and Bill follows along, soon his duties shift from divorcing Jo to helping her with record breaking technology to create a better warning system.
Summary written by Joe Kibler

See: they mention the first scene in the movie, Bill going to get the divorce papers signed by Jo, but then they get caught up in the science of the flick. Both summaries are written by men.

I don't have a problem with that, btw. That's why I like men: they give a different perspective.

And that's what this book Why Men Hate Church, is all about. Church (most churches) has become a place where men are on staff but women run the show. Volunteer opportunities listed in the bulliten at the church I used to attend from yesterday: Ongoing: help with art projects for the kids programs. One time: fix the train table. Now, you gotta commend them for even having a project for the men. But the one that says women all over it is listed first and is "ongoing." What message do I get? Women are always needed. The one that says men is listed second and is "one-time." What message do I get? Men are useful to fix things that are broken, every once in a while.

It's quarter after nine and I'm sure I have stuff to do, (like laundry, ugh) so I'll stop here. But I'll be posting on this as I continue to read David Murrow's book. Please comment--I love a lively discussion.

4 comments:

Joke said...

You realize this is all alien to me, right? :-)

-J.

Sarah Louise said...

It's good to stretch your horizons, though...

SL

Hope said...

I read not too long ago about women tending to feel alienated from the structures of the church and men tend to feel alienated from the soul of the church and that in Western Christianity today the structure is masculine and the soul feminine. I thought that was an interesting thought.

Joke said...

I must also learn to stretch my calves, so I am not so crampy when I run.

-J.