Last night I watched the science fiction movie The World’s End (free on YouTube) and it was pretty awesome. I I couldn’t tell if it was from 1993 or 2013, which I thought was kind of awesome, too (it’s from 2013 and stars Simon Pegg as Gary King).
Lots could be said about the comedy, the story, the twist, the editing (superb editing) but I’d like to skip all that and talk about how I was caught off guard when the final few scenes strangely coincided with what I’m learning about a book in the Bible… Ecclesiastes. You know the one that says there’s a time for this, a time for that, like that song?
The pastor at the church I go to just so happens to have started a series on Ecclesiastes, kicking off with chapter 1 (the list of seasons like the song isn’t until chapter 3). Pastor Paul explained the chronology of the book in relation to King Solomon’s life; a season he (Solomon, the author) was in after he’d kind of let himself indulge in the pleasures of the world and now he’s reflecting on it all. The word “meaningless” (or “vanity”) pops up a lot throughout Ecclesiastes because Solomon seems to have tried everything and nothing really worked for him. Not wisdom, not folly, not riches, not women, not food, nothing! Nothing except for God, as the book finalizes in its last few verses where it’s written, “The end of the matter is this: Fear God and keep his commands.” But it’s the emptiness from a deflated Solomon that is mirrored by Gary King in the last moments of The World’s End. Now seems like a good time to say that YouTube has a video for EVERYTHING. I was actually able to find the scene I’m talking about with Gary’s low point, the moment in the movie when all seems lost, Gary could quit or give it one last heroic effort. There’s never been a movie where the main character quit at the low point (otherwise, what the heck is the point of the movie to begin with!?) so of course Gary powers through but it’s in that desperate scene where we pick up with the movie. Notice Gary’s confessions sounding a lot like Solomon… hoping in things that just don’t quite match their promised glory.
Gary’s friends seem to have it all together (spoiler alert, they don’t) and Gary admits everything he’s been chasing is like chasing the wind. A false hope. That’s exactly what Solomon confesses in Ecclesiastes! Gary is in the middle of realizing that everything he thought was promised him as a young man was a waste. A lie. Empty. A lot like Solomon searching for wisdom, folly, riches, etc. It turns out that everything Solomon searched for (apart from God himself) was meaningless. Also, in the final scene (after the one above, the villain calls Gary “King of the Humans,” and in Ecclesiastes, Solomon refers to himself as King of Israel. A lot of parallels going on, definitely not what I expected on a random Tuesday night.
If you get a chance, watch the movie. It’s funny, heartfelt, clever, and kind of wild in a really good way. It’s also British so if you like their accents, you’ll be jumping in your knickers about this one. Then read Ecclesiastes and see if you notice the same sentiment from King Solomon.
-Out of the Wilderness
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Out of the Wilderness 