This article continues our Power of Film series, in which thoughtful viewers share their experiences of meeting God at the movies. (SPOILERS are possible in this series.)
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Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven caught me as I was learning to use film as a way of understanding culture and ethics. Until I was twenty years old, film was entertainment, but after seeing Unforgiven, I was able to look at films with more appreciation. For most of my life, although I was unconscious of my efforts, I practiced what Rob Johnston, in his book Reel Spirituality, refers to as “cautious” viewing. With Unforgiven, I began to “dialogue” with films about ethics and morals.
Unforgiven is a Western where bounties are set on people’s heads for the crimes and misdeeds they have committed against society. The characters all execute such bounties and are paid well for their efforts. Their ethics are driven by an aversion to “injustice,” even though we see their unjust personal ethics displayed on screen. Clint Eastwood’s character in the film, William Munny, is traumatized by an ethical dilemma that would take the very energy from his soul if he continues with the work for which he has been hired.
William Munny is noble, honorable, and dignified. In light of his family, his friends, and the past that so haunts him, he is driven by morals, and he stays true to those morals to the end. His shame about his past motivates him to balance any injustice done. He is willing to do all that he can to make sure the evils in his past do not return, and when challenged, he is bound to honor the moral system he has put in place. Unforgiven showed me just how dedicated a person can be in executing justice.
God can use unorthodox means in order to accomplish God’s tasks. As reported in the latter prophets of the Hebrew Bible, God can raise a foreign nation to conquer the people of Israel in order that they might get back on track with their covenantal relationship with Yahweh. The goal is restoration and justice, and a similar goal of reconciliation and justice for continued civility drives William Munny’s character. Unforgiven showed me that I need to maintain my relationship with God so that I can learn from the evils and glories of the past in order that today I might make better the paths of righteousness and reconciliation for tomorrow.