As I have been spoiler dodging, I have honestly been reading absolutely no articles about HTTYD 2 and not watching any of the new videos that have been released. Because of that, the above news came as a bit of a shock, and came from someone else telling me. I'm, well, saddened by it, but I'm at least glad to know about it beforehand so that I am not just stunned silly when the film comes out. I plan to post my view about it here and now, and then possibly post about it after having seen the film when I know what actually gets said or done in the actual picture.
First off, I'm not as surprised as I could be. I already knew that the director stood, to a degree, proudly in the camp of folks who believe that homosexuality is completely legitimate. Also, in the series, a few of Gobber's lines and actions struck me as being suggestive. I didn't think that they would really go anywhere, but with the heightened playing field of the sequel, apparently they have.
Now, I must say, I am a Christian, and I firmly, firmly, firmly believe in the voracity of Scripture. Because of that, I will say here and now that I believe homosexuality is a sin and is wrong. It grieves me to see my favorite franchise promoting it, especially to children.
But I need to continue. I don't know who reads my blog, and apparently their are at least of few of you. I may or may not take some heat from the fandom when I stand up and say that this is a blight on the franchise, but that is a risk I am willing to take. But, to those of you who read this, I want you to also know that I am not homophobic. I am not terrified of those who claim to be gay. I am not incredibly disgusted by people who are tempted in that direction, and I cannot bring myself to hate people who fight for it when they believe what they are doing is right. Without a Biblical standpoint, the idea seems innocent, and it seems judgmental to deny homosexuals what they wish. But that is how it seems to the world, not how things are. I cannot stand over those who claim to have homosexual leanings and judge them because if it were not for the constant, consistent, persistent, and absolutely undeserved mercy of God in my life I would be no different. I might not indulge in that kind of mindset or lean in that direction, but knowing my own heart, I dread to think that I could be so self centered that I would destroy myself in other ways, maybe even ways that are far darker than homosexuality. Men without God are blind to what is right. It is only by His mercy that I can see this as wrong. Because of that, if you are reading this and believe that homosexuality is perfectly fine, I do want you to know that I disagree with you, but I am also grieved for you, and I cannot and will never be able to bring myself to hate or loath you. I wish you did not have that view, I wish the director of HTTYD2 did not, and I would be so, so happy to see my God mercifully stoop down and open the eyes of many people in the culture and show them that this lifestyle truly is wrong. Homosexuality is sin, but God has saved me from my own sinful, wicked heart, a heart that is every bit as black as the most flagrant gay, and I believe that he can and will save others from whatever sins they struggle with.
As far as the film goes, I still think I will enjoy it. I will be unhappy when I see this come out, but I do not think it will ruin the film as a whole. I enjoy Doctor Who and Sherlock, and both of those series have homosexuality throughout. Those two series really do just shove it in your face, and you can't really watch it and miss the theme. To be honest, after seeing those series, I imagine whatever Gobber does will be very, very mild feeling. I'm stuck here dreading the absolute worst, but I am sort of hopeful that it will not be as in-your-face and obvious as other things I have watched. I do believe that the main theme of this movie will be a very good one, even from a Christian standpoint. A lot of the plot seems to be focused around the real and deep love of a family, that family being Stoick, Valka, and Hiccup. It is a straight and traditional family, and judging by the trailers and news, I think (though I have been spoiler dodging) that the second film will have a very family centered heart. I could be wrong, and if I am, I will be sad, but I think that the major theme of familial love and loyalty will really overshadow whatever happens with Gobber and his coming out as gay. I think the director is actually a moral man who has, whether he notices or not, a grasp of many Christian ideals of right and wrong (including love, loyalty, courage, mercy and compassion). Though he disagrees with a Christian viewpoint when it comes to homosexuality, he still holds to story elements and themes that I fully agree with, and because of that I do think that the overarching message of the three films will be something I can heartily agree with and massively enjoy. When watching this film, I will probably just have to mentally block out a blight on my favorite film, but I should hopefully have quite a lot of good and wonderful thing to focus on throughout the film.
So, I will be seeing this film still. Really no question. If the film is as good as I still expect it to be, I plan to see it many times in theaters, and I think I will really enjoy it. I will just be sad that it promotes a sinful lifestyle as being fine. I do, I really do, feel bad for any of you who are parents or perhaps have younger siblings. Whether or not you take them to see the film because of this, that is a choice you will have to make. Obviously it will depend on how openly it is conveyed, but in the end it will come down to whether you feel comfortable letting younger kids be exposed to it. I personally would suggest that if you plan on still taking young kids, watch the film closely with them, and if the gay reference is obvious enough for them to understand, explain to them that that is wrong.
I, well, I expect to take a few jabs because of this. EVERYONE knows I love this franchise, and now something comes out in it for the first time that openly conflicts with my views as a Christian. I intend to handle it like I am now, explaining to people that I do not think it is right, I am very sad that it is in there, but that it will not ruin the film for me. Of course, I would understand if it ruined the film for others, and it will be up to your own conscience to dictate whether or not to see it with yourself or to take others. I hope you will be able to make wise decisions.
Again, I'm sad that this is in here. Really, really sad. But it does serve as a lesson. I put a lot of hopes into this film, and now it turns out that it will have something in it that will really make me unhappy. For the longest time I saw HTTYD as being blameless enough for me to enjoy without first having to explain that I don't agree with elements. Apparently those days are over. We still don't know the context of what will happen or how things will be stated, but whether they are subtle or not, they are still there, and I will still be sad when I see it. I do think I will still be able to really love the film, but I won't be able to ever recommend it again without first giving a disclaimer. This is what happens when I put so much hope and faith into something that, though good and beautiful, is from the world, and because it is worldly, it will inevitably conflict with my spiritual beliefs. Now it has, and I'm sad to say that HTTYD no longer remains innocent... and because of that its not quite as beautiful in my eyes as it used to be.
This was a very difficult post to right. If I have offended anyone I am sorry, but in some cases it may be necessary to offend someone for their own good. I am sad, to the point of tearing up while writing this, but I do think I can still enjoy the film, but I also think I need to make my standing on this issue here, and I need to express how genuinely sad I am to see the innocence of HTTYD that I loved so much rather stripped away.
Update: I've still not read the article, but by what I've heard the comment is VERY brief and very subliminal. I imagine you would have to be looking for it to catch it, but considering pro-gay ideas are popular in Hollywood right now, this is getting a lot of hype. I don't think this will actually be a big thing in the film at all. However, I have also been told that they may develop this further in the third film. If that is true, I really, really, really will be sad because at the very least it does look like this is all just Hollywood hype and that the actual bit in the film is very under-the-table and very brief. That is sort of what I expected. This does mean that if you are concerned about younger kids you might can watch the movie just to be sure that this wouldn't be a problem, but according to current descriptions of what gets said, it's so small and ridiculously unnoticeable that I think pretty much anyone who watches it will be fine. Now, we'll all notice it because the news and articles have brought it up, but if they hadn't this sentence would feel really unimportant. I'm at least glad to know that in the second film it won't be anything major... but I'm crossing my fingers for the third one. This is honestly what I really worried about, something coming up in the sequels that would actually make me enjoy the first one less. Hopefully it will remain a minor issue.
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