The Intern – Review

The Intern is the new movie by writer and director Nancy Meyers. It follows widower Ben Whittaker, played by Robert De Niro, who finds that retirement is just not fulfilling without some sense of purpose or feeling needed. So he applies for a senior intern program at a local internet company run by Jules Ostin, played by Anne Hathaway, who created the company just a year before and is now a sensation. The movie is charming and full of poignant themes.

The Purpose of Age

Sadly in America, those of retirement age are seen as past their prime in more ways than one. It’s as though you reach 65 and you’re no longer of use to the rest of the world. The Intern wonderfully shows just how beneficial age is, for with it come experience and wisdom that cannot be replicated without the request years.  The retired generation have spent their lives working, supporting families, running companies and gaining knowledge that should be respected, tapped into and revered for the treasure it truly is. Ben’s hard work and years of maturity begin to show their quality and rub off on those around him. It’s a reminder to young and old that retirement does not equal pointlessness or purposelessness, it’s just an opportunity to affect others with the time you have left.

Purpose is something that every human being needs to feel they have, no matter what part of life they find themselves in. Ben struggles with the futility of his activities in retirement and lack of connection with others. Life is meant to be lived with purpose and in community with others and Ben is able to find that in the internship program. He integrates himself into the culture, impacting it for the better thought being himself sharing his worldly sophistication. The sage wisdom he is able to offer those around him is invaluable, making him indispensable personally and professionally.

The Art of Manhood

Look and learn, boys, because this is what cool is. How in one generation have men gone from guys like Jack Nicholson and Harrison Ford to…? -Jules Ostin

One of the biggest themes in the movie is the lamentation over the loss of manhood in boys today. Jules asks if maybe when girls were taking part of “Take your daughter to work” days and being encouraged to be they’re best, if boys got forgotten. Now obviously, girls being encouraged to be all they can be is important, but it does seem that boys have been lost in the shuffle. Boys, like girls, need to be nurtured and encouraged to grow and excel. We live in a world where boys don’t seem to become men, they just become larger boys, who now have to worry about shaving. Obsessed with Xbox achievements and porn, the art of manhood is slowly dying.

It shouldn’t be surprising. With so many boys growing up without a strong male role model in their life, they are left to trying to discern for themselves what it means to be a man. As boys look around, there is not much help in the media or popular culture. Long gone are the days of John Wayne and Ronald Reagan where men acted like men and treated others with respect. Now we are awash in narcissistic man/boys who promote the thug life or slackerism. Boys need men to help show them the way to manhood, to model for them what it looks like and the ways to effectively live it out.

This is the beauty of The Intern. Ben shows though is actions the legitimacy of manhood in the world today and the reason it’s needed. And on top of that, he clearly illustrates that chivalry and respect for women are not only compatible but something desperately needed. It’s a call to arms for men everywhere to act like men, respect women and be their for others. Not only are older men needed, they are essential in passing on what it means to be a man to the next generation.

Conclusion

The Intern is not a perfect movie, the ending is a bit abrupt but the themes in the movie are too important to miss. It’s well worth your time, so find a friend, see it with your grandparents or parents and be reminded of the importance of all generations.

Owl Post 12-4-13

In Defense of Katniss Everdeen:

Catching Fire, the second film in The Hunger Games trilogy, has set theater records, and like its predecessor, it’s an impressive, gritty film. Suzanne Collins wrote a gripping series of young-adult novels, and the film adaptations have been well cast and well directed, especially the choice of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, the film’s star and protagonist. Lawrence manages to easily embody both Katniss’s tenacity and also her youthful ignorance at the high-stakes politics of her situation.

Why Harry Potter is Great Literature:

I enjoy spending time with people who appreciate great literature. The number of my friends who are intimate with Dante or Tolkien or Austen is, as Oscar Wilde would say with a wink, “considerably above the proper average that statistics have laid down for our guidance.” My book-loving church regularly ships in world-class English professors to give lectures and field the usual round of questions about Peter Jackson’s interpretation of Aragorn and Faramir.

And I’ve noticed that in these circles, it’s often a faux pas to admit that I, like nearly every other Millennial in America, own extremely well-loved copies of all seven Harry Potter books. And I would lose all credibility with many of these people if I suggested offhand that I think the Potter books are in the tradition of the great English novels, deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence, and are easily the most morally and socially insightful works of fantasy published in this generation.

The Real Truth about ‘Boring’ Men:

So not every guy proposes with lip syncing, rolling cameras, and a choreographed entourage.

Yeah —  so what if  your Dad didn’t?

He just pulled that beat-up Volkswagon Rabbit of his over in front of Murray Reesor’s hundred acre farm right there where Grey Township meets Elma Township, pulled out a little red velvet box, and whispered it in the snowy dark: “Marry me?”

How Doctor Who Survived 50 Years:

When it started in 1963, Doctor Who should not have succeeded. A committee created it, to fill a time slot. It had a small budget. The BBC intended for it to be a children’s educational show focusing on science and history. Oh, and it debuted the night after John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

And yet it worked, as seen in the incredible hype preceding Saturday’s 50th anniversary special—an extra-long, star-filled special called “The Day of the Doctor.”

Gospel-Centered Sex?

I recently read an article from a prominent blogger on the subject of the new “gospel-centered” emphasis in books. He commented on various books that applied the gospel to every area of life from the ivory towers of theology, to the mom caught up in the chaos of home and family. One quote at the end of his blog got me thinking: “There is not yet a “Gospel-Centered Sex” book; however, it is probably on the way and may well be very helpful! If a couple consistently applies the implications of the gospel to the marriage bed, they will inevitably have a healthier marriage.”

How to Raise a Pagan Kid in a Christian Home:

Every Imperfect and Normal Family wants their kids to turn out right. So, we establish goals for character development and try to create an environment where our kids can mature. Church, school, sports teams, family relationships… each of these provides a context where our kids can learn to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Too many times, (Christian) parents have it as their goal to make their kids good and moral. It is as if the entire purpose of their family’s spiritual life is to shape their children into law-abiding citizens who stay out of trouble. The only problem with this goal is that it runs in stark contrast to what the Bible teaches. The gospel is not about making bad people moral, but about making dead people alive. If we teach morality without the transforming power of the gospel and the necessity of a life fully surrendered to God’s will, then we are raising moral pagans.

Stopping An Affair Before It Begins:

At one time or another, most of us witnessed the devastation that comes through infidelity in marriage. We have seen marriages stretched almost to the breaking point and we have seen marriages destroyed by an unfaithful husband or unfaithful wife.

Affairs do not begin with sex. Falling into bed with a man who is not your husband or a woman who is not your wife is simply one step in a long chain of events, one decision in a long series of poor decisions.

J.J. Abrams at TED in 2007: The Mystery Box