What Should We Do with our Feelings?

Written By Paul McDonald

Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we embark on our mission to explore the 2009 movie, Star Trek. In Spock and Kirk, we see the tension between two ways we deal with our own emotions. Spock tries to stuff and control his feelings, while Kirk embraces and lives for them. Both pursuits are flawed, and we need to understand two things. It’s okay to feel, and we were made for more. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.

The Quotes

  • I feel like I’m playing the game of Life and I’m losing.

  • I love how God has other plans for us.

  • Jim has determined he can’t live up to the standards his father set for him, so he doesn’t even try. Spock spends his life overachieving to prove that he’s the best in spite of his mother’s humanity.

  • Dreams feel unattainable so we don’t even try.

  • It’s okay to feel.

  • We were all made for more.

  • The places where we feel the most different, unique, and out of place are the precise things the world needs from us.

  • You can control your actions, but not your emotions.

 Themes

  • Contrast between Kirk and Spock as two examples of how we react to our lives

    • Spock: stuffs his emotions, protective of his mother (who is mocked and considered less-than), considered a defective Vulcan, desires to please his father and “be more Vulcan.” Diminishes and tries to control his feelings

    • Kirk: glorified because his father died a hero, always living in the shadow of his father, he’s been running from his feelings and his opportunities, he had spent his life dangerous for nothing. Embraces and lives for his feelings.

    • Jim doesn’t try to live up to his father’s example. Spock does everything he can to prove that his mother’s humanity doesn’t make him defective. Both pursuits are flawed. Their relationships are broken and incomplete. Both men lack something in their lives.

  • The amphibious relationship with emotions

Resources

Questions

  • Did you prefer Star Wars or Star Trek? Why?

  • Which character resonates with you and why? Spock, who experienced condescension and disregard? Or Kirk, who lived in the shadow of a hero?

  • How do you try to be like your dad? How do you fight his influence on you?

  • If you have siblings, how have you competed with your brothers and sisters? How have they competed with you? How has competition harmed your relationship with them?

  • What no-win situations have you faced? Which decision did you make?

  • How have you settled for a normal life?

  • What does it mean to be dangerous for good?

  • How have you been dangerous for nothing?

  • How have you edited your memories? Your life? What ends up on the cutting room floor?

  • What is your relationship with your feelings?

More info

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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster

Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston

Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).

Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.

Links:

Paul McDonald
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