When looking through many different movies, and lyrics I chose the movie Con Air, starring Nicolas Cage. Cage portrays Cameron Poe, an ex Army ranger who has just returned from the Gulf war. Right from the start Poe is faced with adversity. His return was not what he had hoped for. After he had spent time with his wife, Poe decided to call it a night, however a local gang decided to start a fight while they were leaving the parking lot.
Poe easily wins the fight due to having such extent training in the military. After the brutal fight scene, he ended up killing one of the assailants on accident. This is where the movie takes a sudden turn for Poe. He is charged for that act, even though it was in self-defense.
We next find Poe at a high-security prison where he is to spend the next 7 years. Throughout that time we learn about his new daughter Kaci who is Poe’s major purpose for getting out of jail. He gains a new friend in his cellmate Baby-O. After many years in prison, Poe learns that his pardon was granted; all that separates him from being with his family is one flight. Little did he know the plane would be filled with crazed convicts trying to overtake the plane.
For the most part, the entire movie portrays a worldview similar to that of the Naturalist stance. Excluding Poe and Baby-O, the entire cast doesn’t even acknowledge God. Many times the two friends are faced with difficult situations. When Poe was about to leave prison, Baby-O asks who will watch his back Poe replies God will. In another scene, Baby-O is shot through a struggle on the plane.
He then questions Poe about if there is a God. His answer, I’m going to show you that God does exist! These two take a very theistic view towards God, although they don’t admit to being a Christian, they do acknowledge “a” God of some form. The entire “gang” of convicts follows a naturalist worldview exactly. There is no God; they can altar their own destiny. This is very evident throughout the entire movie. The character that portrays the naturalist world best would be Cyrus Grissom, the leader of the renegade convicts.
Cyrus feels that he has total control over every situation. God doesn’t exist; therefore humans act as supernatural beings. There are obviously two sides to this struggle, good and bad. Good being Cameron Poe and bad being Cyrus Grissom. Each has a small following. Poe leads Baby-O and various law officials.
They feel that human beings are under God. Although they don’t exactly say which God, they feel that he does play a vital role in their lives. On the other hand, Cyrus and his following have very different opinions. Cyrus, in a way, plays the role of God. He controls everyone on the plane, and has the power to do anything he wants.
When someone on the plane is not useful to him, he ” ll simply kill him or her. They have no respect for anyone or anything. They show complete disrespect the law officials. Man is just a finite being.
Whatever they do, even evil, will have no consequence on their souls. Man is here with no real purpose; the individual must make something “exciting” during their time here on Earth. For Poe and his followers, God is the truth. We again, do not clearly find out which specific God is the truth, however, we do see that he has some type of moral values. They feel that God has all truths; it is up to the individual to follow those truths he has set. Humans don’t control their fate, God does.
Grissom’s view of truth is that there is no truth. In a way, they are their own God’s to a degree. This is very evident throughout many scenes during the film. Cyrus has a feeling of “godliness.” He thinks he is invulnerable to everything that comes his way, even death. When looking at the different reasons to live life the movie shows two different reasons. Poe has more of a biblical standard.
Through his military background, he was trained to never leave any man behind in battle. He takes this approach into the plane crisis. Baby-O always seems to be in some situation, that Poe has to get him out of. Poe’s driving force throughout the movie is to finally meet his daughter Kaci.
He does anything he has to in order to get the plane out of Cyrus’s control. His life parallel’s that of many “typical” American families. Cyrus has no moral values whatsoever. He goes through life doing whatever he has to, for the good of himself, if that harms anyone else, then too bad. His arrogant attitude clashes with that of Poe greatly towards the end of the movie. During the final struggle, it is very easy to see the worldviews clashing.
From a biblical standpoint, the movie has many, many untruths to it. First off, there is a God. He does control our lives, and does have a perfect will for us. Many times, people live their lives very similar to Cyrus and the others. We go through our lives thinking about ourselves constantly. We need to take all the problems we have and give them to God.
Often times, we take for granted that God is omnipotent, and has control over all our lives. There is only one God, and it’s definitely not Cyrus Grissom. I can agree with Cameron Poe’s stance on life at times. Humans have a purpose here on Earth.
God determines that purpose, it’s up to us to listen to God. Poe seems to be a Christian, but at times I think he shows us that he’s very self-reliant. He seems to almost think that he is oblivious from all the violence in the movie, and at times does many things that most would find impossible. This movie at times is a little hard to understand. When looking at this from a Christian worldview it’s easy to see how people in society stray away from the scriptures. I feel that many people in the prison system take this approach to Christianity because they feel that God has “wronged” them.
In many cases, prison is the answer for some people. That sort of structure and discipline helps many, and allows room for God in their hearts. Even though it strayed from the Biblical worldview, I felt it was a movie that had good acting, and a strong plot that made the viewer think.