I met a friend for lunch at a truckstop.
He ordered meatloaf.
So obviously, I’m not careful when I choose my friends.
Among the many topics of conversation was ‘Toy Story 3’.
We both agreed it was masterfully done.
My friend said, “Especially the ending where…”
His voice trailed off.
“I know, ” I said. “Andy gives his toys to…”
My voice trailed off.
We both looked at the table.
Neither of us could speak.
Two grown men, sitting in a truckstop booth…
…choked up from reminiscing about an animated movie.
Masculinity on display.
Pride prevents me from relaying this story without offering a justification.
Why do Pixar movies pack such a punch?
Why do I…
…an adult male, full of testosterone and manliness…
…a rough-hewn chunk of macho…
…react emotionally to computer rendered graphics?
Because they’re not mere cartoon characters.
The graphics represent people.
We forget we’re watching squiggly lines and colored pixels.
Those characters represent human souls.
It’s obvious.
Finding Nemo didn’t break box office records because it was ‘a film about fish’.
(I’m blocking the photo book montage in “Up” from my mind lest I be rendered helpless.)
The same thing happens when we encounter REAL people.
We don’t think of human beings as muscles, nerves and organs.
We know we’re made of more than our collected physical attributes.
We have souls.
An eternal essence that makes every person unique.
Fastidiously designed by a Master Animator.
The invisible soul is the realest part of ourselves.
That’s why it’s okay to get misty watching cartoons.
Go ahead!
Cry a little bit!
…but you should probably leave the truckstop.
34 Responses
My son-in-law, Michael Greenholt, is an animator who worked for a good number of years at Disneytoon Studios (now at Warner Brothers), and he told me that the people at Pixar (also owned by Disney) were very good at taking experiences from their lives and translating them into animated features. He said that as they progressed into different stages of life (losing a parent, kids becoming teens, etc.), they would incorporate the relevant themes from their experiences into their movies. Good post.
I read a book by Philip Rosenthal who was show runner/director/producer for Everybody Loves Raymond. He describes a similar process in the writing room of that show. He says the success of their writers was due to the fact that they brought their personal lives into the scripts.
@mrsmcmommy
So, just to confirm: you are saying that Jesus is your god.
Yes?
Just to confirm, I gave the the most complete answer I have on the other thread when I said ” God doesn’t have a single name, and he doesn’t need one” and “I think there’s a reason no one worships Baal or Mithra or Zeus anymore… I think the character of Jesus more closely reflects the True God.”
And I ALSO meant what I said: that I’m not taking any more questions from you…because, I want to know the Truth. And I don’t trust you to help me get there, because you’re not a logical thinker. Your judgement is clouded by pride and the way you stubbornly cling to your identity as an Atheist rather than opening your mind.
So, what do you make of the emotional effect Pixar has on all of us? (And the video of the little girl watching a penguin movie, I posted up-thread?)
*Smile*
Here we go … the classic indoctrinated christian hand wave.
So typical of the evangelical fundamentalist.
Realized they have made a serious error in judgment by adding one too many eggs to the hermeneutic basket and suddenly … oops…try to back track but end up limping after shooting themselves in the foot.
Yes, we have a winner! The narrative construct, Jesus of Nazareth, the whiter than white itinerant half-wit is your god.
A make-believe god-man for whom there is absolutely zero evidence. of his veracity.
So tell me, exactly where among your vacuous stream of incoherent nonsense (paraphrase), Miss ”I don’t care if the bible is 100% fiction, but yeah, Jesus is the creator of the universe ” is there any logic in a single thing you have espoused?
Oh … I forgot, you’re not taking any more questions from moi because, liker the rather silly girl you are, you have been found out.
Naughty, mrsmcmommy; you will make Jesus very angry
Boo hoo, sad face…..
Instead of collecting not-so-clever quotes to cut-and-paste, perhaps you should study a little science and archaeology before you try to proselytize?
Jesus of Nazareth doesn’t mind ignorance but I am sure he, oops, sorry, He doesn’t appreciate blatant stupidity.
And remember, you’re a sinner and you also were the cause of make believe Jesus’s crucifiction.
So funny.
Do you have contempt for the people in this thread who confessed to crying over make-believe men, too?
Still trying to sidestep, I see.
That’s very naughty, mrsmcmommy.
Time to ‘fess up.
Your belief/religion is like a Wish Sandwich: two slices of bread wishing they had something to put between them.
Give it up, your argument has more holes than a Galilean fisherman’s net.
A good gambler knows when to quit,.
Walk away from the table, mrsmcmommy, your bluff has been called.
Whatever let’s you go back to your blog and tell you three readers, “I totally won an argument with a Christian today!!!”
Anyone who’s interested can go back to the previous thread and see all the questions your belief/religion can’t answer. But I seriously doubt anyone is interested.
They already know a sandcastle doesn’t build itself. And, if your belief/religion won’t let you answer that question, you probably need to get a new one.
So, should people stop crying over Pixar movies? Doesn’t it seem silly to cry over cartoons?
Three readers? One more than I thought I had! What a bonus.
I thought you weren’t going to answer any more of my comments.
With all this hand waving isn’t your wrist sore yet?
Oh, I agree, sandcastles do not build themselves, but neither do narrative construct man-gods either.
It’s hard enough trying to bluff with a pair of twos, but you sat down at the table with no cards.
You have already made yourself look silly with your completely illogical argument and I’m sure even your dad must have flinched a little when he read your 100% fiction remark.
Seriously,all the king’s horses and all the king’s men won’t put your Humpty Dumpty argument back together again.
Acknowledge it’s all faith and walk away with some dignity intact.
“Walk away with dignity intact”
This from the most petty, arrogant, undignified commenter to ever bluster a blog space.
You’ve offered nothing but spiteful criticism of a faith nobody has ever expressed.
I’m proud of my girl’s willingness to take your abuse.
I’ll give you the last word (again) so you can demonstrate your dignity (again).
Ah … and so to compensate for the arrogant whining, here comes daddy to the rescue. Not happening I’m afraid.
The goddidit argument will not work and worse, neither will the Jesus of
NazarethNowhere plea.You don’t begin a defense of a belief with an unsupported presupposition, John and then try to piss on everyone because you have not the intellectual ability to back a single claim with evidence.
That you have apparently indoctrinated your own daughter is despicable.
Unless it was the other way around , of course , and then it is simply plain stupidity.
A father should be proud of his kids.
But a father should also be responsible and continuing with this religious nonsense is something you ought to have a serious rethink about.
“Sandcastles do not build themselves. Neither do narrative construct, man-made gods.” Yes! Or anything, I would add. NOTHING builds itself. It has to be helped. Guided. Built. 🙂
Glad we agree, you feisty, angry little Deist.
——-
To the other readers of “Comedy Sojourn” take note: this is the bottom of the Atheist’s toolbox. The pure hatred. The bold accusations. I understand if it’s a little intimidating at first. (Nobody wants to be called a liar. Nobody wants to be taunted. Nobody wants to have crass language hurled at them.) But–when you realize it’s the death shriek of a tiny worldview that can’t answer life’s most important questions, you learn to see the angry comments in a positive light. This is a victory.
Ark has provided just another bit of evidence for God…. because he, like all of us, craves to know the truth and gets upset over the mere FEELING that someone has lied to him. We’re all experiencing emotions over animated toys. And Ark is experiencing emotions over the words typed into a computer by a ball-of-carbon called a “housewife.” It’s HIS worldview that says none of it really matters anyway.
…if you’re interested in some of the questions that you, too, can ask an Atheist to make the chemicals in his head bubble, feel free to ask! I’m working on a pretty big list!
Just remember not to be too shocked or defensive when they bare their teeth and growl. It’s really harmless. They’re just jealous that your belief in God frees you to ask ANY question (literally ANY question) without fear that the answers will be “too religious.” God is big enough to incorporate science AND religion. Rejoice and be glad! (Matt. 5:11)
“A scientific discovery is also a religious discovery. There is no conflict between science and religion. Our knowledge of God is made larger with every discovery we make about the world.” –Joseph H. Taylor, Jr.
(Okay, Ark. Your turn. Last words! And, please oh please oh please, make them “You’re a Dickhead” again. I’m afraid that comment was too far down the other thread for my friends to appreciate it.)
If you need that many words to make such a dreadful attempt at a rebuttal I think I’ll just smile.
You’ll grow up one day … I hope.
Ark, honestly, words fail me but I’ll do my best. If your half a brain can keep up, here’s some solid advice that has nothing to do with Christianity that you are free to ignore:
If you ever want to have even a hope of appearing intelligent, you might consider following your own advice. Back up your argument with real evidence (if you have any) instead of accusing your opponent of the same. You could at least bring a knife to this gunfight instead of trying to convince the audience that your rival has no weapon.
Be polite. If you believe your argument is worth any more than the broken cheese cracker we all know it is, you might exhibit a little more self control and not be so pathetically threatened by another worldview. No one – Deist or non – wants to listen to the enraged and abusive rantings of an insecure atheist. Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument.
No name-calling. On the back of my last point, I have to ask, what are you: three? We’re not in the sandbox anymore, Toto. We’re all adults here. Use your words, don’t just throw a tantrum. You’d be surprised how willing we are to listen to reason if you’d just articulate it in a way that doesn’t belittle the crap out of people.
Lastly, if you really believe we’re all that stupid, why don’t you just leave us alone with our delusions? We kinda like believing there’s more to this world than you can see, and that we actually mean something; that we’re not just masses of cells and neurons running around on a spherical greenhouse, firing and decomposing pointlessly. I guess my biggest question for you has to be this: if we really are as dumb as you say, why are you threatened by a fantasy you know does not exist? Why does my delusion offend you so?
But to answer that sensibly would mean you have to think. I’m not sure I have faith enough for that.
This is the first thing that I thought of when I read your post, JB. I wonder if it’s the reason you want to cry …
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2014/08/13/how-toy-story-illustrates-losing-the-faith/
That’s the first thing you thought of?
I bet you’re really fun at the movies!
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Daddy and daughter duo of derisive retorts !
🙁
That wasn’t a video.
Post a video next, Carmen!
This stuff is fabulous!
Those characters represent human souls.
No they don’t. That’s you imposing on reality a belief you’d like to be true.
The characters people. And the feelings evoked in your brain are due to your sense of reciprocity, the same neurocircuitry humans share with other critters who exhibit the same concern for the welfare of others. This is a biological response you’re feeling… whether the source is real people, real events, real suffering, or not; whether the evoked feelings come from dreams or books or characters in a computerized story. It doesn’t matter the source; the same circuitry is stimulated. And we know this because we can interfere with that circuitry and affect the associated feelings.
By applying the metaphysical term ‘soul’ – as if this explains anything about anything – is a typical example of you imposing on reality a faith-based belief and presuming it to be the case. That’s all this statement of yours is. No amount of open and honest and legitimate study on the soul – what it is, where it resides, how it interacts with biology, why we possess it – has yet to produce any increase in human knowledge or indicate evidence for this empirical claim. Once again, religious belief crosses the boundary into science’s domain and pretends to be an equivalent ‘explanation’ about reality. Studying these kinds of vacuous faith-based assertions misleads us into woo. Empirical study of the brain’s neurocircuitry, however, does make inroads into answering all of these questions and furthers our knowledge about the human condition. Your faith-based belief is a pale facsimile of honest inquiry by comparison and a misleading guide into woo.
Just wait until science let’s Tildeb “interfere with your circuitry” and help you see the truth, JB!
Circuitry is ALL THERE IS.
Eventually we’ll be able to sprinkle chemicals on the popcorn and we can get that ‘end of Toy Story’ feeling without even watching the movie!
… okay, fine, I’LL share a video.
https://youtu.be/zJFIp8-HZ9k
Hey Tildeb,
Here’s a statistic that won’t make any difference to you because you’re an angry, myopic skeptic with no sense of humor…
This post has only been up a few hours and it has already triple the amount of activity that my posts on atheism receive. I’ll go ahead and impose my belief on that reality:
People don’t care about your ‘reality’. It’s a sad, dull, gloomy little room full of sulking cynics.
People do have souls. And people want to talk about this stuff WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more than they want hear your bullshit.
Carry on.
The post is touching about two truckers guys being similarly affected by the ending of Toy Story 3. But why do you have to try to slip in this religious belief as if THAT somehow explains it? It doesn’t. It’s a sales job to use shared human emotions as the vehicle to import faith-based beliefs and piggyback on the movie’s evocative ending to carry forth your evangelical mission. That’s inherently dishonest of you and so it’s important to point out why you are being emotionally manipulative here.
I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve gone through this.
Religious belief is the ONLY thing that explains what happened at the end of Toy Story 3. Science is mute.
You’re upset because your religious views are different from mine. The difference is that I’m not accusing you of manipulative dishonesty.
As a courtesy, I told you that most of my readers don’t care about your opinions. If you want to keep railing against the power of Pixar, be my guest. I don’t think your cynicism will win you many disciples.
I’m not the least bit cynical about the power of reciprocity to affect our emotional responses. That’s exactly how Pixar movies (and many other great tales) are crafted. You’re trying to pretend that my criticism of your assertion about a soul is in some way in conflict with the emotional power of stories. Not at all. I’m pointing out how you piggyback your religious faith-based claim – that really is a soul – on this emotional encounter. You’ve done the rain dance thing once again, John B an emotive response to a movie is not evidence for a soul any more than rain is not evidence for a magical power of dance. I’m criticizing you for smuggling this connection into the truck stop encounter but refusing to admit doing so.
As long as you stick around, I’ll not be dancing alone!
Well, I’ll echo the words of Neil Carter and fully endorse the claim that the most exciting fairy tale in the world isn’t more satisfying than a story that happens in real life. And dealing with life as it really is I think is very valuable… especially when it comes to solving real world problems and coming up with real world solutions. That’s what the original Toy Story was really all about and why doing so may seem so much smaller than the grand ideology Buzz deluded himself with, but that by doing so makes real connections that enrich life way beyond the false sense of cosmic importance the religiously motivated seem to think is morally superior. That’s why I keep calling your model a facsimile that doesn’t align with reality as it really is.
What should also be apparent to the honest reader is how you have used the touching truck stop scene and the emotions of the Toy Story 3 final scenes to import and piggyback a faith-based assertion that adds nothing valuable, meaningful, or accurate and attached it to an event like a parasite hoping that people won’t notice. In fact, this is a standard method used by various cults and indoctrinating situations to get people feeling powerful emotions first before inserting the indoctrinating messages as a means to emotional relief. Ironically, you’re using a neuroscientific technique to affect the neurobiology of your target audience to advance your supernatural agenda in their place! This is what emotional manipulation is in action and learning to recognize it when it’s happening I think a service in advancing critical thinking.
Of course you’re going to try to vilify me for doing so. That, too, is a standard tactic to protect the message being indoctrinated from legitimate criticism. The last thing I would expect is for you to accept responsibility for using emotional manipulation to achieve your ends: advance your religious agenda. That takes a level of moral autonomy and ownership you’ve already given away.
You’re a comedian, you’re not supposed to make me cry…
Have you seen Inside Out?
They’re two sides of the same coin. 🙂
I love Inside Out. So… yeah. Point taken. 😉
“Thanks for the adventure. Now go have a new one!”
I can’t even…
Yep.