Jen and Vow: On My Daughter's Competition Entry to Work With Film Maker Justin Lin
My daughter, Janalyn, created the short film Final Vow as her entry in a competition to work with Hollywood film producer Justin Lin. Per the contest rules, she was limited to just four lines of given dialog. I am very proud that she had the wherewithal to use the four lines twice with some interesting twists. You can see her short film here:
http://www.yomyomf.com/contests/interpretations2/last-vow/
I would appreciate if you would 'like' it, and share it if you would -- popularity counts.
In the film, young lovers about to be married have doubts, betrayal, and run headlong into ruin. I was troubled by the film. Yes, it is Hollywood's version of entertainment, but I reflected on the darkness of this world wherein this sort of thing could actually happen: 1) that people could be like this and do these things in real life; and 2) that this could popularly be construed and accepted as "entertainment," which it is. "What is missing," I wondered, "that allows this?"
The answer was "Jen."
Yes, God answers some questions in Wade-Giles ('jen' is Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin Chinese "ren"). I learned of jen from A History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung Yu-lan (translated by Derk Bodde, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952; and a very good read, by the way). Jen is a Confucian concept. It is the love of God. A lot of people think that Confucius did not believe in God, but nothing could be further from the truth. He was an ardent religionist, but exceptionally pragmatic in its expression. If you have the love of God, you will make every effort to make better the world of men and women, for all that we can see of God is man.
So jen has been called human-heartedness, compassion, and perfect virtue. Men and women of jen work everything they can to good for their fellow man. They are benevolent, and they care to govern so they can do the most good for the most people. Or like Confucius, they strive to help others raise their character to minister well. Jen manifests in li, one's behavior.
What is missing in the characters my daughter's actors portrayed is jen, unconditional forgiveness, the artifact of unconditional love. Unconditional love, patience, understanding, grace and forgiveness: do you see these in Last Vow? No, but at least my daughter pegged their absence, and she did it very well. Had that been her assignment, she would have nailed it. But she is in a competition to create Hollywood entertainment, and she portrayed the world the way it really is. Jen is missing. That is what sells in Hollywood, and that is what bothers me.
http://www.yomyomf.com/contests/interpretations2/last-vow/
I would appreciate if you would 'like' it, and share it if you would -- popularity counts.
In the film, young lovers about to be married have doubts, betrayal, and run headlong into ruin. I was troubled by the film. Yes, it is Hollywood's version of entertainment, but I reflected on the darkness of this world wherein this sort of thing could actually happen: 1) that people could be like this and do these things in real life; and 2) that this could popularly be construed and accepted as "entertainment," which it is. "What is missing," I wondered, "that allows this?"
The answer was "Jen."
Yes, God answers some questions in Wade-Giles ('jen' is Wade-Giles romanization of the Mandarin Chinese "ren"). I learned of jen from A History of Chinese Philosophy by Fung Yu-lan (translated by Derk Bodde, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952; and a very good read, by the way). Jen is a Confucian concept. It is the love of God. A lot of people think that Confucius did not believe in God, but nothing could be further from the truth. He was an ardent religionist, but exceptionally pragmatic in its expression. If you have the love of God, you will make every effort to make better the world of men and women, for all that we can see of God is man.
So jen has been called human-heartedness, compassion, and perfect virtue. Men and women of jen work everything they can to good for their fellow man. They are benevolent, and they care to govern so they can do the most good for the most people. Or like Confucius, they strive to help others raise their character to minister well. Jen manifests in li, one's behavior.
What is missing in the characters my daughter's actors portrayed is jen, unconditional forgiveness, the artifact of unconditional love. Unconditional love, patience, understanding, grace and forgiveness: do you see these in Last Vow? No, but at least my daughter pegged their absence, and she did it very well. Had that been her assignment, she would have nailed it. But she is in a competition to create Hollywood entertainment, and she portrayed the world the way it really is. Jen is missing. That is what sells in Hollywood, and that is what bothers me.
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
10:48 PM
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