TMR 266 : Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Movie Roundtable)

The Mind Renewed : Thinking Christianly in a New World Order

For the 9th of our TMR Movie Roundtables we welcome back our good friends Mark Campbell and Frank Johnson for a three-way discussion on Steven Spielberg's 1977 sci-fi classic, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Inspired by the unlikely combination of "When you wish upon a star" from Disney's Pinocchio and the Watergate Scandal, Spielberg's masterpiece tells a double-threaded story of "close encounters" with alien phenomena—in fly-on-the-wall style—that culminates in one of the most amazing cinematic experiences of all time. In one thread, intergovernmental researchers find decades-old aircraft (still new) and a ship in the middle of a desert, and discover that people around the globe are hearing the same five-note melody from the sky. In the other thread, electrical linesman Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss)—among other "chosen" individuals—witnesses strange lights overhead and becomes obsessed with the shape of a particular geological formation. Eventually the two threads combine in a "close encounter of the third kind" in which human contact with extraterrestrial beings is established. Join us as we reminisce about our experiences with the film, discuss the production and reflect theologically upon its themes. [Podcast theme music: Moment of Green by Antony Raijekov (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).] For show notes please visit https://themindrenewed.com