Christmas Controversy

Today's film is not embed-able, but here are the discussion questions for it, which can stand on their own:

Do you wish people a “Merry Christmas” or a “Happy Holidays” at this time of year? 

Do you think the spiritual aspects of Christmas will still be prominent in mainstream Canadian culture in 50 years?

Have the negative influences of corrupt televangelists and other less-than-Jesusy expressions of Christianity contributed to the secularization of Christmas?

Should Canadian identity be found in a secular state model, a multi-faith mosaic or a Christian melting-pot?

Snap

How trusting are you with loaning your property to others? Have you ever been taken advantage of?

How much do our political and social systems influence the way we view property? How might different systems influence our connection to material things?

How would you react if you were the subjects in this film?

Does the end justify the means in this film? How do you weigh means against ends in your life?

Artists sometimes end up grappling with the legality of their work (for example: street art and vandalism laws or sexually explicit art and obscenity laws). Should artists ever be allowed to break the law?

Malignant

How has cancer impacted you or those close to you?

Does our society deal well with chronic disease or do those facing it end up marginalized?

Should cancer research funds be focused on the most common cancers or the most deadly cancers?

Have you ever had to walk alongside children dealing with trauma?

Is mortality something that occupies your thoughts or a topic you avoid? Do we avoid the topic culturally?

In This World - Moby

Do you believe there's intelligent life on other planets? If so, will we ever find it? Will it ever find us?

A rocket carrying a new rover the size of a car was launched this week in the most exhaustive effort ever to find evidence of past microbial life on Mars. Do you think it will find anything?

Why are stories involving aliens so popular? Why do the majority of them feature menacing visitors instead of benevolent ones?

Some religions strongly reject the idea of life on other planets. Why would the idea of life outside of earth be threatening to someone's spiritual worldview?

The Extraordinary Monday of Herman Brumby

Have you ever experienced a surprising event that had a significant impact on your life?

Have you ever found yourself in a circumstance that seemed surreal?

Are there aspects of your regular existence today that might seem surreal to others, or to you at an earlier time in your life?
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If you were dropped into another family at birth, how different do you think you would be? What would be the same about you regardless of how you were raised?

Do you believe people have souls? Do souls exist before birth and/or after death?

Have you ever dwelt on the mystery of the beginnings of human consciousness?

War and Remembrance

What does Remembrance Day mean to you personally?

Are the themes of Remembrance Day being lost in newer generations?

Can a pacifist participate in Remembrance Day?

Are the Remembrance Day themes different for current conflicts like Afghanistan than earlier ones like World War II?

Is there a difference between supporting the military and supporting the political decisions behind military actions?

Memories

How accurate do you think your memories 
are?

Have you ever had a disagreement with 
another person over the difference between 
your recollections of an event?

Do you tend to dwell more on the past, present or future?

What are the strongest influences on your memories? 
(photographs, reminiscences from others, keepsakes, videos, other elements?)

How do your memories influence the way you live today? How do our societal memories or histories influence the way we live collectively?

When you’re life ends, how do you hope to be remembered?

Superyou

If you were a superhero, what would your power be?
Are there aspects of superheroism that are present in the real world?
Are superhero stories becoming a new mythology for modern times?
How do you integrate mythological and/or supernatural ideas into your life?

Porcelain Unicorn

How much difference can individual efforts make in the midst of society-wide atrocities?

Has the holocaust directly affected your family or others close to you?

How does an entire nation allow such atrocities to happen? Could this happen again? How susceptible to destructive ideas are Canadians?

Did the horror of the holocaust leave western society more vigilant against human rights abuses and genocide?

Three Minutes With Gates

Have you ever had occasion to  tell someone your life's story? What are the highlights and low points? Do you think of your life as a narrative or just a collection of events?

When you walk past someone panhandling, how do you respond?

How do you think the average Canadian views ex-cons? How about employers?

How hard is it for people to change? Have you changed? What role does community life play in encouraging positive changes?

Are All Religions The Same?

What common ground do many 
religions share?

What are the sources of religious conflict?

Where does the line between religious freedom and human rights protection lie?

Why is it that Jesus appears in several different religions, but occupies very different roles?

How do modern expressions of religion differ from the lives and teachings of their founders? How different are these founders from one another?

Connected

Is humanity’s natural state competitive
or cooperative?

Have you ever had a connection to another person imposed upon you (caring for an ill relative, hosting someone in your home etc)?

Do you think the world will ever experience a man-made apocalypse?

Is this film a metaphor for any current world issues?

Heavenly Appeals

Do you believe in some form of
 afterlife?

Do you think there is some ultimate justice in life or after death?

Is a spiritually-based understanding of justice necessary to a strong sense of morality?

Why do you think certain images are so strongly associated with our conceptions of heaven and hell?

Phone Calls from Flight 175.

This week's film can't be embedded on our website, 

but you can view it by clicking here.

Then please return and share your thoughts here!




Where were you ten years ago today?

What was your initial reaction when
you heard about the World Trade Centre attacks?

Is life different now than it was before 9/11?

What does it mean to be a “peacemaker” in the world today?

Do you look at the world today hopefully or fearfully?

Choking On Church

When you hear the word "church," do
 you choke?

Overall, are churches positive or negative
 parts of our society?

Are other social structures in people's lives taking the place religious organizations used to occupy in previous eras?

If you could redefine the word "church" to be anything you want it to be, what sort of organization would it describe?

Why do many people have very negative experiences or impressions of churches, while others have very positive ones (sometimes regarding the very same organizations)?

Affluenza

Have you ever spent time in a country that's significantly less affluent than Canada?

Can people be affluent without becoming disengaged from the needs of the poor and marginalized?

How has western materialism affected teens and young adults in your experience?

Is there a cure of "affluenza"?

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers.

Have you experienced "the culture war"?

Why does the religious right seem so much more vocal than other movements within Christendom?

How have conservative religious ideologies influenced Canada?

Do you see the Christian church and the person of Christ as similar or different?


You can watch the entire documentary, broken into several parts, beginning here.

Thirst

In your experience, does wealth and privilege constrict people's generosity or give them greater motivation to share?

Is our culture more self-focussed than others, or is selfishness a universal human issue?

What are some of your experiences grappling with the needs of strangers?

Do you believe in a any reciprocal concepts such as Karma, "what goes around comes around," or "do unto others ..."?

Why Man Creates (Part 1).

 

What are your creative outlets?

What encourages creativity? What stifles it?

What factors cause various cultures and historical times to value creativity differently?

Do you prefer to work alone or collaborate on creative projects? Why?

Why do we create?

Liv

When times are dark for you personally, what gives you the motivation to keep living?

What is it about children that affirms life in the face of adult problems?

Have you had any experience with depression?

Do you believe the supernatural phenomenon in this film has any basis in reality?

Music and the Human Spirit

What role does music play in your life?

Why are musical tastes so different, subjective and sometimes polarizing?

How deep does your connection to music go?

Are there spiritual aspects to music?

200 Countries, 200 Years.

Do you believe the plight of humanity as a whole is improving or worsening?

Do you expect the relationship between developed and developing nations to change in the future?

How do you contextualise your obligations and relationships? (familially, locally, nationally, globally) 

Does the scale* used in for income undermine the idea of global improvement Rosling suggests?


 * The scale for income is logarithmic (without the logarithm, the distance separating the wealthiest nations from the poorest would span a much greater visual distance).

Reading Your Moral Compass.

Do you have a personal moral code?

What influences have informed your 
moral perspective?

What moral systems do you agree with? Which ones do you disagree with?

How do you deal with moral conflict: Personally? Professionally? Culturally?

Why do we believe in concepts like right and wrong? Where have those concepts come from?

Do Not Disconnect

In your experience, is technology helpful in connecting with other people, or does it create more distance? How do you think new technologies will address social connection/disconnection in the future?

Why do people seem disconnected from one another in urban environments? Does this change in different neighbourhoods, cities and towns?

Do you tend toward introversion or extroversion? How does this affect your interactions in public spaces?

A Senseless Act

What is the origin of prejudice? Can people ever be fully aware of, or free from prejudice?

Have you ever mistaken someone else's kindness for malice?

When you encounter a stranger, do you tend to be guarded or open?

Infinity

If your imagination could manifest real situations, like the people in the film, what would be created? Do your ideas tend to be fanciful, practical or both?

Has viral marketing blurred the line between advertising and art, or just increased the saturation of commercials?

Has computing power influenced the means you use to express yourself creatively? Is raw imagination enhanced by digital tools or constrained by them?

The Meaning of Life.

Is there a meaning to life?

Why are there so many different opinions on the purpose of life?

Have you ever experienced something that has caused you to re-evaluate your life?

Can you relate to any of the opinions and ideas shared by the people-on-the-street in the video?

The Last Three Minutes

"The Last 3 Minutes" Directed by Po Chan from Shane Hurlbut, ASC on Vimeo.

What do you think happens in the final minutes before death?
What happens after death?
Have you even been there for someone in their final moments?
If your whole life flashed before your eyes, what experiences would stand out?

Homeopathic E.R.

What are your views on homeopathy and medical care?
Why is animosity between the homeopathic community and medical experts so common?
Is homeopathy a science, a spiritual belief or a mix of both?
Can there be points of conciliation between modern medicine and homeopathy?
What do you think is behind the real healing that comes sometimes from placebos?

Last Minutes With Oden

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

Have you ever had a pet?
What is it about humans that allows us to connect with other species in such a close way?
What is you position on animal rights?
How do you think pets view us?