“But just as it’s written, ‘That which the eye hasn’t seen nor ear heard neither occurred to the human heart all that the Divine has made for those in relationship with Them” (1 Corinthians 2.9).
Sometimes things are just too far outside our imagination to make sense.
That, at least, is my theory why The Fifth Element is one of the more divisive summer science fiction films. Released in early May of 1997, the movie is the story of an ordinary man (Bruce Willis’ Corbin Dallas) who finds himself pulled into a conflict that threatens the galaxy when Leeloo falls into his cab. Suddenly he is wrapped up in a search for the five stones that, along with Leeloo, form a weapon capable of destroying the great evil that is on a path of destruction that leads to Earth.
Filled with beautiful yet strange sets and alien characters (and a scene-chewing Gary Oldman), The Fifth Element is, I think, a visual feast and something that still feels fresh and exciting twenty-five-plus years after its release. And, while I’m not alone in that thought, there’s a large audience that have a very different opinion of this film. Ones who didn’t like it at all. This is, after all, a movie that won an award at Cannes and was nominated for a couple of Golden Raspberries.
It’s surprising, I think, that this doesn’t happen more often. Art—films, books, music—is subjective and what I love someone else may find annoying, dull, or dissonant. But there’s something about a movie projected high and wide before our eyes in the dark that enhances our reaction to things that are a little out of the norm, a little more different than we’re expecting.
This summer while exploring some of science fiction films that were released in this season, we’re going to talk about imagination. More than any other genre, science fiction is about imagination. Often it’s an exercise in if-this-goes-on, extrapolating tomorrow from today. But, at its best, it’s an experience of looking at something in a way we never have before.
Which brings us around to the verse above. Paul restates the words of Isaiah in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. In his letter, Paul is referring to the revelation of God in Jesus that is so radical and different that reason isn’t enough to grasp it. The Spirit is what can bring us to the understanding of the reality Jesus spoke about, and died for. In other words, it’s something that requires a bit of imagination.
But imagination asks much of its audience. It dares them and challenges them to think of a world that may be radically different not only from the world they know but the future they may have in mind. And changing or re-envisioning how we think the world may be or can be is scary. It can touch so many deep, sensitive parts of ourselves, which can breed very different reactions.
Those reactions can be accepting or harsh, welcoming or dismissive, which something so different like The Fifth Element or the words of Jesus both set off. But they both remain, waiting to be re-approached. Waiting for us to see something new in our world and in ourselves.
And, perhaps, discover a new vision.
Open my eyes to see the world through Your imagination so I may dream Your dreams.