Grace
Travis and Cecil learn the difference between Fame and Glory in this action-drama. Filmed 6/7/06 through 7/17/06 as an entry for the Fame, Infamy and Glory contest (put on by Brickfilms.com), Grace is my second big "Brickfilm." It received first place out of 13 films. It was my most difficult film to animate (thus far), and is one of my first attempts at using dialogue. I experimented further with camera movement, dramatic lighting, music composition, story telling, and title-card placement, so I'm pretty happy. It was finished in a slightly rushed manner, due to the deadline, but I can't complain, as the deadline is also what motivated me to finish. Such is life. A big thanks goes to my voice actors—you made this movie come alive. Enjoy!
Beginning to confront the myth of redemptive violence
We all live out of stories. They are our orientation to the world; they shape the way we interact with it, and the trajectory of our lives. They are not merely resources from which we extract abstact ‘values', but rather form the very actions we take.
One of the most pervasive stories of our culture is the story of redemptive violence. This idea is what justifies wars, violence and oppression of all kinds, always in the name of ‘the good' or ‘the right'. One party projects all of their own evil onto their opponent, rendering themselves ‘good' and the other party ‘evil'. The ‘good' party then feels justified in destroying or harming the ‘evil' one. We see this story played out in everything from children's cartoons to our superheroes, and in our own lives.
My story is the Judeo-Christian story, one that completely undermines, subverts, and finally defeats the myth of redemptive violence (though admittedly, not everyone sees it that way). In Jesus, I believe we finally see humanity lived to its fully non-violent potential. Here is one who calls humanity not to destroy their enemies, but to love them - to put down our sword, and to become children of the God of peace. Rather than destroying his enemies, Jesus forgives them even as he is crucified by them, and is ultimately vindicated in his resurrection.
And so it is only natural that these competing stories are the lens through which I view the film Grace. It tells the story of Travis, the young hero whose previous battle with the villain, Cecil, has necessitated some ‘mechanical augmentation'. The story tracks Travis as he battles for the glory of the Phoenix Badge, yet ultimately battles for his authentic self.
One senses the tension in Travis as he enters into the brutality necessary to win the Phoenix Badge, but still he justifies himself. "He was a thug anyway," Travis intones of the previous holder of the Badge. But undermining Travis' self-righteousness, the wise Fabron says even as he lies dying from a gunshot wound, "A glorious warrior shows grace even to those who do not." Is this another way of saying, "Love your enemies"?
The film does, however, fall short of pointing the way toward any positive or creative alternatives to passivity in the face of violence. It's one thing not to retaliate with violence; it's another to respond in ways that creatively transforms yourself, your opponent, and the situation. Non-retaliation is a useful beginning point of grace; but ultimately grace pursues reconciliation, the creation of "the beloved community" as Martin Luther King Jr. put it.
But this film bravely begins to unravel the threads of the myth of redemptive violence, and forces us to look at how we justify our own destructiveness. Perhaps it's not over something as seemingly trivial as the Phoenix Badge - but violence (in emotional, verbal, physical, and structural forms) is something we're all complicit in. Our world needs more glorious warriors who will show grace, even when others do not.