Popular culture is sadly producing a generation that is growing up without heroes. There is no lack of celebrity — wealthy, attractive individuals whose tragic lives are on perpetual display in the supermarket tabloids; but our children have very few real heroes. Even the superheroes of the comic-book world now must have a dark side. I’d love to introduce you to some real heroes, and you can meet them all at the movies (all now on DVD).
Peter Marshall was a Scottish preacher who came to America in response to the leading of the one he called “the Chief.” He became the pastor of New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., and then was selected to be the chaplain of the United States Senate. His life is colorfully portrayed in the film, “A Man Called Peter.” While most people wouldn’t leap to rent a movie about a pastor, this Academy Award-nominated film from 1955 is definitely worth your time. Discover why Chaplain Marshall became the “conscience of Washington.”
Last week, I recommended the book “Killer Angels” as one of my favorites of all time. I am pleased to tell you that it was made into a movie in 1993 with the simple title, “Gettysburg.” Martin Sheen was better at being the president on “West Wing” than he was at playing Gen. Robert E. Lee, but Jeff Daniels is great as Col. Joshua Chamberlain, the real hero of Gettysburg. In the last 15 years, my family has had dozens of guests come visit us from out of state. In our role as tour guides, we invite our friends to watch this entertaining film, and then we take them to the actual battlefield at Gettysburg. It greatly accelerates their understanding of the key players and events of those fateful days. Don’t be tempted to rent the sequel though. “God and Generals” was a good book that Ted Turner turned into a ponderously boring movie, losing about $50 million in the process.
Eric Liddell is not a household name in America — but I wish he was. He is renowned in both Scotland and China. He was the son of Scottish missionaries to China who became the hero of the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Eventually, he returned to China and lost his life in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. “Chariots of Fire” is the best film on my list of heroic movies. It tells Liddell’s story set against the story of Harold Abrams, another tremendous athlete who, as a Jewish man, used the rampant anti-Semitism of his age to fuel his passion for running. “Chariots of Fire” won four Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1981. Liddell is the personification of genuine faith that produces the courage to do the right thing, regardless of the cost.
There are many other movies that introduce us to real heroes. I wish “Amazing Grace” had done a better job of capturing the story of William Wilberforce. He single-handedly defeated the slave trade in the British Empire — but it took him 50 years to do it. The film is a little slow, but Wilberforce is someone worth knowing about. “Apollo 13” is a film full of heroics, but I assume most readers have seen it. Naval Academy graduate Jim Lovell is brilliantly portrayed by Tom Hanks, as he kept his crew encouraged while they miraculously piloted their wounded spacecraft back to Earth.
Peter Marshall, Joshua Chamberlain, Eric Liddell and William Wilberforce are all heroes of ages past — but if you take the time to meet them at the movies some cold winter night, they will warm your heart and inspire you to make a difference. Your local library will have most of these films to check out for free.
