At the Movies 2021 | The Mitchell's vs. The Machines

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5

Friends, take hope and take heart that our God walks with us through our darkest seasons and gives us life.

Today, we continue with one of our favorite message series of the year called, ‘At the Movies.’ This series connects relevant issues illustrated in popular films with the wisdom of God’s Word.

And today we look at one of the most popular animated films of the summer, “The Mitchells vs. The Machines.”

[[[show pic of film poster]]]

This is a movie about the awkward, craziness of family life!

It’s a movie about not giving up on each other.

It’s a love story between a father and a daughter.

And it’s a movie about the robot apocalypse…

Because who agrees that technology is taking over our lives?

***Wait, I am feeling a phantom vibration right now. Do you ever get those? Like when you’re certain that you just felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, but it didn’t. :)

Yeah, I need help.

In fact, last Monday some of you had the most productive 6 hours of your day in a long time when Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp shut down, didn’t you?

Yeah, we all need help.

In July, Netflix reported that more than 58 million households watched The Mitchells vs The Machines in the first 28 days of its release, making it the most successful Netflix animated film in history.

The film is about the Mitchell family. The oldest daughter, Katie, is starting film school, and while on the family road trip, the social media monopoly, Pal, sends robots to capture human beings into little green pods - by enticing them with free wifi - and then send them on a way trip into outer space.

Essentially, social media and technology take over the world.

On the night before the Mitchells embark upon their road trip to take Katie to school, the Mitchells sit down for one final family dinner together at home. This scene depicts a common setting: the tech connected - but relationally disconnected - family? Take a look:

Play CLIP 1 - Mitchells at the Table - 1:48

Not only does every moment of this film make you laugh, but it holds a mirror up to us and asks:

How do we harness the best of our technology without being taken over by it, and how do we embrace the best of our humanity by deeply connecting with others in it?

A few weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled, “Drowning in Dopamine.” The author described how social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, along with gaming and online shopping, stimulate dopamine releases in our brains.

When you get something that you want, your brain releases dopamine to say, “That made me feel good. I want some more.” Our brains love dopamine because dopamine gives you the feeling of pleasure.

No wonder why you love scrolling through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Youtube, Amazon, Netflix, whatever… because all of these sites use computer programmed algorithms designed to feed you more of what you want, and when you get what you want, your brain releases dopamine, and when your brain releases dopamine, your body feels pleasure.

In the article, however, the author reports that extended periods of social media use cause what medical experts call ‘dopamine floods’ … in the brain, and when this happens, our brains shut down the dopamine receptors to preserve the brain, leading to emotional responses like depression, anxiety, and fear.

You know that saying, ‘too much of a good thing…’ Well, it’s not only true, it’s biology.

Too much of a good thing literally shuts down your brain, and…

When we receive dopamine hits from simply watching screens, then doing life off screen becomes even harder.

Social media companies make big investments to accurately predict and provide you what you want on your social media feed because the more that you feel pleasure for getting what you want then the more watch time that you will spend on the platform.

More watch time equals more revenue.

Social media is built on a business model based on satisfying your cravings, but the algorithm is the consumer, and you are the product.

What “The Mitchells vs The Machines” captures so well with such light hearted humor is the invasive and detrimental side of that business model on our lives.

Make no mistake, according to this model, you are the product, and your life is the revenue stream.

You are the product. We are the product. We are the ones being consumed.

One YouTube engineer said of the social media algorithms that he created, We are training them [[[the algorithms]]], and [[[the algorithms]]] they are training us. “Inside TikTok’s Highly Secretive Algorithm,” Wall Street Journal, July, 21, 2021

In a book released by the Barna Research Group titled Faith for Exiles, [[[show pic of book, Faith for Exiles]]] author, David Kinnaman, writes:

Generation Z, which comprises 15-23 year olds, spends on average 2,767 hours per year, the equivalent of 7.5 hours per day, connected to social media.

Compare that figure with how many hours the typical young person invests into spiritual formation per year: about 150 hours.

That means: for every one hour of spiritual formation, a young person spends 20 hours on social media.

Kinnaman writes: The age old questions of being human remain unasked, shriveling like neglected seedlings. Deep spiritual longings, which ought to be lovingly tended and skillfully cultivated, are being choked to death by binge television, immersive gaming, and social media scrolling. Faith for Exiles, p. 17

The deeper into the rabbit hole of social media that algorithms take you, then the greater the distance that forms between you and others, you and yourself, and you and your creator.

Now, please hear me say that amazing, life-affirming moments happen on social media all the time.

In fact, the Gospel goes forth from this church through several different social media platforms every Sunday and multiple other days during the week. I am aware that some of you even found this community through social media.

[[[hold phone]]]

This piece of technology allows my children to know their grandparents. The same for many of you!

I’m certainly not condemning social media or technology. We need it. In fact, to disconnect entirely from social media and technology could do you a disservice in our culture, but let me encourage you:

Above all else - above your platform, above your influence, above your desire for affirmation and likes, above all else - guard your heart - because your heart is exactly what social media algorithms are after… for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

Some of you might need to disconnect from social media for a while and reconnect to your real life. About a year ago, I disconnected from social media almost entirely. I am rarely engaged. This won’t be forever, but right now, I need some space from it. This is due in part because I want to invest more time with my wife and 4 kids, but also because my heart needs it.

Some of you may need to disconnect, too, but all of us need to hang up and hang out.

And shorten the distance between ourselves, others, and our Creator.

In the film, the distance between Katie and her Dad is palpable. They want a relationship so badly, but they don’t know how to overcome their distance. Ever been there? Take a look:

Play CLIP 2 - Understanding - 1:33

Katie says, Dad doesn’t care…

But Dad says, I care so much!

Katie and her Dad want the same thing. They want what all of us want: they want to feel needed and known by each other. Isn’t this the best of humanity when we feel needed and known by each other, but overcoming the distance requires the risk of vulnerability.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The prayer that precedes all prayers is may the real me meet the real you.”

This is like ‘no filter’ - heart wide open - vulnerability. This is the key to overcoming relational and emotional distance, and it’s also the best of your humanity.

Vulnerability is how we show up for each other.

If you feel distant and tangled up in social media and need to find some relief, then perhaps today, you need to hang up and hang out. Get close. Listen. Let yourself be seen. Take a step toward vulnerability.

The Gospel story gives us a model for how to embrace healthy vulnerability through a well-known and surprising passage in John’s Gospel.

In chapter 1, John writes of God’s vulnerability by entering into our world in the person of Jesus Christ and showing his love for us, even in the face of open rejection by God’s very own people.

John wrote:

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. John 1:10-11

Yet, in God’s compassion for his people, even when his people rejected him, God chose to redeem what sin destroyed, recover the distance between Himself and his people, and reunite what sin divided.

In his vulnerability, God risked rejection for reconnection.

He willingly entered into the fray of human life to seek and save those who are lost. Luke 19:10, Jesus’ words.

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John continues,

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. John 1:12-13

In Christ, God offers new life for you to experience the best of your humanity, not dictated by old ways or habits or algorithms or how people defined you in the past.

No.

In Christ, your Heavenly Father chose you as his very own, gave you an inheritance, and guaranteed all of his promises by making his Spirit alive in you!

In his second letter to the Corinthian Church, Paul wrote,

He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So, Paul says, we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 2 Corinthians 5:15-16

In other words, because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, that same Spirit of love that lived in Christ now lives in us, which means how we regard others is now based on how Christ regards us.

How does Christ regard us? Paul says in the very next verse,

Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus regards you as new, pure and holy.

Social media companies, however, view you as a commodity based on algorithms that evaluate you according to the number of likes by your name.

But Jesus says, no, you are not a label. You are not a sum total of your likes. God wanted you to experience the best of your humanity in relationship with him, which is why:

The Word became human - God overcame the distance and separation - and made his home among us. Showing us how vulnerable he was willing to become to save us! He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14

A glory so compelling that nothing in this world can top it!

God doesn’t want to be apart from you, so God came all the way from Heaven to Earth for you long before any of us ever received him.

God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8

God created you to feel needed and known.

God created you for intimacy.

So let’s hang up and hang out.

Let’s redeem tech and social media as a tool to bring out the image of God in others.

To share a few ideas about how we might do this, please join me in welcoming our Student Pastor, Brooke Perry!

——

6 min

Key Question for Brooke:

How do we harness the best of tech without being taken over by it, and how do we access the best of our humanity by deeply connecting with one another in it?

Thank you Ryan! Such a simple question! No, I do think we sometimes get a bit scared about this topic though, and it can feel super big to tackle, but I really believe that we have been given an opportunity to connect in powerful ways using technology, and still not allow it to overpower us.

A: Technology is not the enemy - it’s just that as with everything else - food, music, even who we’re spending time with and for how long, it needs to be managed and used in a healthy way. Our students, especially, have only ever known a world with technology in it, including social media. This is how they communicate. It’s a part of their language, and we’ve all adopted it as well.

So, we can’t just try and limit our technology use because this is the world we live in - we want to live, as individuals, well in this area, and also become and model for the next generation how to be digitally wise. We have an opportunity to be on mission in the digital field as well. Which means we need to be more focused on how to be digitally discerning rather than digitally disconnected. Try saying that five times fast! Ultimately the goal is to be wise about our consumption so that we do not allow the digital space to consume us.

There are so many gifts that come from being digitally connected. Most of my deepest and closest relationships don’t live here in Miami, so technology is how I stay connected with them! However, especially with social media, we have to make sure we’re keeping the social part the main part, and not just consumption of media (or worse yet, being consumed by media)

We just have to make sure that it’s kept as a tool for life and relationships, and not as a source of life or relationships. One of my biggest grievances is when I see people only being able to be social online, and not knowing how to interact in person. I believe this is one of the biggest areas to focus on when we’re talking about growing deeper in our relationships in the midst of a technologically run world.

So as we think of practical ways to make sure we’re regularly hanging up and hanging out, I believe that attention should be paid to not just quantity of time, but quality of time on screens. Screens are here to stay, and Gen Z needs thoughtful, informed and sound guidance for digital health. They need screen-literate leaders to offer wisdom for their digital lives.

***ASK: So how might we do this? What are a few practical next steps that we can take today?

Practical:

- Connect in person about things that you see someone posting online. When you see your kid or your siblings or friends post about something, facetime them or call them or text them or next time you see them in person, ask them about it. Allow social media to help you keep up with stuff, but not be the only way you’re knowing about someone’s life.

- You know what I’ve seen from young people around me? When you’re in person, connect that way! It’s awesome for an option when you’re not near someone in person - but when you’re at dinner, with friends for a game night, having a family birthday party, etc...designate one person to take photos if you want, and share with the rest of the people there, but stay off your devices. Teach your kids that there will not be any catastrophic consequences to not being on your phone at all times.

- Create “no-phone zones” This could be the hour before bedtime, and you have everyone be in the living room reading or playing a board game or just resting and doing a face mask. Car rides are incredible spaces to implement this. Meals. Etc...Don’t feel the need to force conversation in these spaces, but simply create the space conducive to things coming up! I tend to drive my niece and nephew to and from Fort Lauderdale multiple times a month and I started asking my nephew to take his airpods out and just hang with me in the car and sometimes we ride in silence, but sometimes things come up that simply wouldn’t if he was staring at his phone. Model this!! It’s not a next gen problem.

- Set limitations and to-do’s that need to happen before going online - a personal one for me is that I don’t get on social media in the morning until after I’ve had my personal devotional time, or I’ll make myself read a chapter of a book in the evening before getting back on my phone. A friend of mine was a digital marketing person for the PGA and when he’d get home from work he would turn his phone off for an entire hour and just go workout or sit on his porch or do something to disconnect. Create a habit! Another helpful limitation is to not have your phone in your bedroom! Get a real alarm clock.

- Finally, I have some really great tools that I’ve recently discovered that we can offer this morning.

SHOW SLIDES OF SAMPLE RESOURCES FROM BARNA

They’re free resources from the Barna Research Group about how to live “tech-wise” as individuals and as families. We have some examples on the screen for what they have to offer, but it’s essentially a seven-week challenge where they provide scripture, direction and different challenges each week that simply exist to help us be more intentional with our digital spaces. Check out more information in the sermon notes if you’d like to have access to these resources.

This can feel like a lot, and it can be hard to undo habits that we all have, but ultimately we want to deepen and strengthen our relationships, we all want to be needed and known - and if we all would commit to just trying, even one of these things as individuals and as families, I really believe that we can be healthier than ever when it comes to being digitally discerning and wise.

There is so much more to this, stay tuned! We will be offering workshops and parent intensives, we want to be there for you guys and help you through this!

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At the end of the film, the supreme robot confronts Katie and asks, ‘Why are humans worth saving?’ Listen to how Katie responds:

PLAY CLIP 3 - Why humans are worth saving - 1:38

Your family is worth fighting for. As parents, one of the greatest gifts that we can give to our children is to fight for them.

Your kids want to know that they’re worthy of your attention, so show them by putting down your phone and coming close.

Each day when I get home from the office, I ask my kids to tell me the best part of their day. Recently, my two sons, Levi and Jacob, have been saying, “When you got home.”

I want to make sure that I am always fighting for that. I never want to lose that and never want my tech to get in the way of that.

Neither your tech nor mine will ever love you like your kids do… or your friends… or your family… or how you love others, and that’s truly the best of our humanity! That’s the best of God’s Spirit alive in you!

Hang up and hang out with your kids.

Hang up and hang out with your friends.

Hang up and hang out with Jesus.

What’s your story that God’s writing?

Katie would say, there was a time in my life when I was so focused on fulfilling my dreams of becoming a filmmaker, immersed in social media, and on my way out the door to college that I became self-focused and disconnected from those who loved me most, but then the robot apocalypse happened and we became humanity’s only hope for survival, but my family came together in ways that we didn’t know we could. I saw how much my family needs me and loves me… and how much I need them. Now, I’m in college on the other side of the country from them... but we’re closer than ever before.

Do you have a story like that?

What’s your story? It’s not finished yet. Today is a new day, and Jesus is near. Turn to him, and receive his gift of life.