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Special Resources

Every Bible study must eventually come to an end. On the other hand, even the best and most interesting Bible study can sometimes leave you stumped, ready to close your study book and move on to a new topic. If your circle is looking for ways to extend its study of Esther's Feast or if you're struggling for a way to connect Esther's Feast with your life and faith in the twenty-first century, then this resource was designed especially for you.

Often, a film can incarnate theological themes, making them clearer than the usual abstract statements of theologians. In this resource, a film is suggested for each of the nine lessons in the 2001--02 Horizons Bible study, Esther's Feast: A Study of the Book of Esther. Like the book of Esther, many of these films contain little God-talk, yet, because they also deal with issues of justice and human relationships in realistic ways, they are indeed theological, as ethics and theology are always bound together for Christians. Each film can enrich an individual's study or a group discussion, offering insight into many of the issues found in Esther's Feast. The discussion questions are not exhaustive, but are wonderful starting points for personal reflection or group interaction.

Lesson One

The Long Walk Home

Rated PG, 98 minutes

Theme: The humiliation of enduring the injustice of racism
This film revolves around the intertwined stories of a black maid, Odessa Carter, and a white matron, Miriam Thompson, during the famous Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott in the mid-1950s. Odessa and her husband agree that they will not ride the busses until the church-led boycott ends in victory. This decision is especially difficult for Odessa because her employer lives more than ten miles from her home, on the other side of the city and beyond the reach of the makeshift taxi service run by the boycotters. Odessa quietly endures the hardships, the most troublesome of which being the racist attitudes of the Thompson family.

Key scene: Odessa and her assistant miss their own family meals on Christmas day because they are required to prepare and serve Christmas dinner for the Thompson family. They cannot help but hear the racist remarks, especially by the older members of the ignorant clan. (Scene begins at 0:29:25)

For reflection/discussion:

· How do your family members regard African Americans? Is there anything familiar in the Thompsons' meal-table remarks?

· Why did Odessa not give the little girl the present she had tucked into her apron? Do you think the older Thompsons making the racist remarks would have understood?

· What do you think the children are learning when they hear such remarks? What attitudes and beliefs about other groups are children in your family and church likely to pick up from adult conversations?

Lesson Two

Miss Rose White

TV film (not rated), 95 minutes

Theme: Hiding one's heritage
Rose White lives two separate lives in post-World War II New York. At the department store she works under the name of Rose White and never mentions her family because she is ashamed of her Jewish roots. She was born Rayzel Weiss, a Polish Jew who came to America with her father just before the war broke out, which prevented Mr. Weiss from sending for his wife and other daughter, Luisa, once he acquired enough money. They presumed that mother and daughter perished in the Holocaust. However, when they learn that Luisa survived and is coming to New York, Rose is forced to make a decision as to whether to reclaim her heritage or not.

Key scene: Wanting to hide her heritage, Rose turns down her boss's suggestion that she invite her family to the store picnic. (Scene begins at 0:53:20)

For reflection/discussion:

· What is there about American society that would lead Rose to hide her Jewish background? Why is hiding one's background seldom effective? What traces of anti-Semitism have you encountered?

· Compare Rose's situation to Esther's predicament. What finally causes Rose to change her mind?

Lesson Three

Rated G, 91 minutes

Theme: Stereotyping

This charming fable is not just intended for children. The little orphaned pig "with an unprejudiced heart," raised by a kindly sheepdog, crosses human-made boundaries to bring reconciliation and peace to Farmer Hoggett's barnyard animals. Old stereotypes are shattered by the pig who becomes a champion sheepherding pig.

Key scene: When old Maa, the ewe, is complaining about her aches and pains, little Babe is appalled that she views the sheepdogs, who have been raising him, as vicious "wolves." In turn, he knows that the sheepdogs regard the sheep as so stupid that brute force is required to get them to obey their master's commands. (Scene begins at 0:12:30)

For reflection/discussion:

· What stereotypes do we have of Jews, blacks, women, Mexicans and others, and where do we see and/or acquire them? What is the basis of these?

· How do we overcome such stereotypes?

· How does the return from the fields of his foster mother add to Babe's confusion?

Lesson Four

Eleni

Rated PG, 117 minutes

Theme: Women in the shadow of men
Adapted from the book by Nicholas Gage, this is the true story of a New York Times reporter's search for the man who executed his mother during the Greek Civil War. Just after World War II, Communist guerillas overran a small mountain village and threatened to send the starving children to an Iron Curtain country for safety. Eleni sets into motion a plan to save her children and those of her neighbors.

Key scene: Eleni's mother has counseled her to submit to the guerillas' edict, but Eleni responds that she is tired of living under the shadow of men. She has always submitted in the past, but won't when it comes to her children. (Scene begins at 1:09:30)

For reflection/discussion:

· How have women been forced to live under the shadow of men in our society? In what ways has the church been a help or hindrance in their struggle to come into the light?

· Eleni pays a price for her children's liberation-what are the costs to women today who engage in similar struggles? What price have you or someone you know paid for your place in the sun?

Lesson Five

The Long Walk Home

Rated PG, 98 minutes

Theme: The danger of siding with the oppressed Miriam, at first the dutiful housewife, enjoys life on the pedestal erected by her patriarchal white society. However, as she comes to know Odessa, she begins to question the racist views of her husband, Norman, and those in their social set. A businessman with political ambitions, Norman has joined the new White Citizen's Council and when he learns that his wife has been giving Odessa rides, he orders her to stop. Miriam must then wrestle with her growing consciousness of right and wrong.

Key Scene: Odessa tells Miriam that she does not have to help the boycotters, warning her that that once she joins the boycotters there is no turning back. (Scene begins at 1:17:00)

For reflection/discussion:

· What was the status of women in Southern society in the 1950s?
· Compare the status of women in the 1950s to the status of Vashti and Esther.
· Why do you think Odessa warns Miriam about crossing the line? What lines have confronted you in the past?
· What is the significance of the black woman reaching out her hand in the film's last scene?

Lesson Six

Rescuers: Stories of Courage, "Two Women"

TV film (not rated), 107 minutes

Theme: Dealing with the "Hamans" of the world in an oppressive situation
This video includes the stories of two women in different countries who saved the lives of Jews during the Holocaust. The first is "Mamusha," the story of Polish nanny Gertruda Babalinka who refuses to leave the side of her Jewish employer when the latter has to flee the Nazis with her son, Mickey. When the mother lies dying, Gertruda promises to raise Mickey as a Jew and take him to Palestine after the Germans are vanquished. During the next few years, the young woman has to fend off a Haman-like character, Tomas Kolchak, the Jew-hating nephew
of her landlady. In addition to protecting Mickey, Gertruda risks her life in sneaking a small cache of food each night to the starving Jews cooped up in their ghetto.

Key Scene: When little Mickey absorbs the anti-Semitism of his Polish playmates, Gertruda must talk with him and remind him of his precious Jewish heritage. (Scene begins at 0:24:20)

For reflection/discussion:

· How do children pick up prejudice against those who are different?
· If you have a copy of South Pacific, the video or soundtrack, you might also play the song "You've Got to be Taught." Does the phrase "you've got to be carefully taught" accurately describe the process of passing on prejudices or is the process less intentional?
· What are you and your church doing to make sure that children do not absorb the prejudices of family and society?

Lesson Seven

Howards End

Rated PG, 143 minutes

Theme: A man's hard heart and greed lead to his downfall Margaret and Helen Schlegel are two sisters living in genteel poverty in the London of the early 20th century. Because Margaret has befriended the ailing Ruth Wilcox, the elderly woman leaves Margaret her country cottage, Howards End. The wealthy and snobbish Wilcox family prove to be the "Hamans" in the lives of Margaret and Helen.

Key Scene 1: Ruth's husband, Henry, hesitates to tear up his mother's last note, but his son Charles urges him to do so. Henry declares that it must be a forgery provided by the scheming Margaret and the other Wilcoxes agree. (Scene begins at 0:42:30)

Key Scene 2: Later, at Howards End, the arrogant Charles attacks a young man, Leonard Bast, whom Henry Wilcox had wronged, killing him in the struggle. None of Charles' excuses nor Henry's influence can save him from a long and humiliating prison sentence. (Scene begins at 2:09:00)

For reflection/discussion:

· When have you experienced things being set right by events, rather than by courts? What does this suggest about the nature of the universe?

Lesson Eight

Rescuers: Stories of Courage, "Two Women"

TV film (not rated), 107 minutes

Theme: A faithful woman with limited power aids those with no power
In the second story on this video, "Woman on a Bicycle," French woman Marie-Rose Gineste is the devout secretary to the bishop of a rural diocese. Her boss preaches resistance to the Nazi program of rounding up the Jews. Marie-Rose is a little taken aback when first asked to join in his plan to provide false papers for the Jews, whom he orders to be hidden in the local convent. Soon, however, she is hiding her "own" Jewish family and risking her life in sneaking the bishop's anti-Nazi communiquès to the churches of his diocese.

Key Scene: The bishop asks Marie-Rose to type his pastoral letter urging the clergy to resist the Nazi pogrom against the Jews. She volunteers to deliver to everyone except the collaborationist priest. (Scene begins at 1:13:08. Note: the timing is from the beginning credits of this two-story tape.)

For reflection/discussion:

· Do you think you and members of your church could have worked against the Nazis the way Marie-Rose and her bishop did? What did you do during the Civil Rights era to advance the cause of justice and equal rights in your city or town? Was doing this popular or did it exact a price?

· Why do we need such stories of courage as found in this film? What example of "a righteous Gentile" will you leave for the next generation?

Lesson Nine

Sarafina

Rated PG-13, 98 minutes

Theme: The decision between violence and non-violence in the struggle against unjust powers
Sarafina is a high school student whose hero is the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Her caring teacher, Mary Masembuko, instills in her students a deep sense of history and the values of freedom and dignity. Witnessing the violence swirling around her, Sarafina is horrified that her classmates can be as cruel as the white policemen, when one night they chase down the neighborhood police informer and burn him to death with a flaming tire. Ultimately she must decide how she will resist the evil of apartheid.

Key Scene: Sarafina goes to her teacher's house, where she sees Mary saying goodbye to her fiancè, a guerilla who is going into hiding. When she discovers that Mary has hidden her lover's automatic rifle, she confronts her with it and Mary responds that she hates violence, and yet cannot stand apart from the revolution and do nothing. (Scene begins at 0:38:20)

For reflection/discussion:

· What are the arguments for and against using violence to fight oppression? What do you think the writer of Esther believed about this?

· What means should be used in the war against terrorism? what limits?

Edward McNulty is a Presbyterian clergyman, author of Praying the Movies: Daily Meditations from Classic Films, (Louisville: Geneva Press, 2001) and editor of the monthly film and theology journal, VISUAL PARABLES. To learn more about VISUAL PARABLES, visit www.visualparables.com or call 800/528-6522.

Looking for additional films with similar themes? Try one or more of these:

Chocolat	Erin Brockovich	The Governess	Norma Rae	The Official Story
Out of Africa	Salt of the Earth	Silkwood	A World Apart

Limited Viewing Time

If you want to use this resource for a weekend retreat or do not have enough time to watch an entire film for whatever reason, clips of a significant scene or sequence, lasting no more than three to ten minutes, can be used. Look for the key scene and [icon] after each film summary, indicating where in the movie the recommended scene or sequence begins. This point is measured from the opening logos of the film and you can use the counter on your VCR to locate the scene you wish to view. If using for a group discussion, it is recommended that the leader watch the entire film, in order to adequately introduce or set up the scene within the context of the film and the lesson of Esther that you're studying.

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