In our culture that values ambition and success, the individual becomes a commodity or a statistic. Whether it is the academy or the hospital or the church, the personal needs of the individual can be lost in our race to greater status and growth. In this faith review of Patch Adams, you can discern these issues as the lead character challenges the impersonal structure of the medical establishment, so that we may recognize the worth and dignity of each person we encounter.  The film is geared toward an adult audience, with themes of sickness and death, but can also be appropriate for discussion with high school youth.

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How might encountering the suffering of others bring us out of our isolated lives? How do we overcome hardships, including physical disability, in our lives together in community? In this faith review, you will discover these themes in the 2011 film, Dolphin Tale. Also included are several discussion questions, both general and from a theological/faith perspective.

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How do we reach “the least of these” — those who are poor and dispossessed, broken and weary, confused and depressed? What does it look like when we reach outside of our own private worlds and enter the world of another — perhaps a darker world than we are accustomed to? In this lesson designed for youth groups, the class leader will facilitate discussion and activities around this theme, using clips from the film, Radio.

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According to Union Presbyterian Seminary student Star Crawford,  What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a wonderful film that challenges us to take a look
at how we live our own lives. Are we truly living, or are we just coasting through life? Are we light and joy? Are we living with passion? Do we show compassion? The film shows us how to love others and ourselves and the power the lies in hope.

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Union Presbyterian Seminary student Newton Cowan offers both a review of Wit, and a document suggestions ways to have a conversation with the film in an educational setting.  He suggests that Wit can be a stand alone film,  or used in a series on medical ethics.

Click the image to read both of the documents related to this film.