Soul Searching
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Movie Reviews of Soul Searching
Movie Review: Dated
Summary: 2 Stars
On the positive side the presentation tries to let teens speak for themselves. Yet, the presentation is somewhat dated. Teens currently change rapidly and within a four or five year period you have a new breed. For someone totally unfamiliar with teen thinking it does provide a frame of reference. My experience with teens and their parents also suggests that even parents who give their teens a good model of faith and religious practice does not assure that such will rub off on their teens. Movie Review: Great teaching tool
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great tool to show parents what is going on in the lives of teenagers today. I am using it to teach a parent Bible study. Everyone should watch this video.Movie Review: Informative But Not Representative
Summary: 3 Stars
Finished watching the documentary with the lead researcher (Christian Smith) and two directors (Timothy and Michael Eaton) available for a quick Q&A following the screening. As the other reviews have raved, the movie is of the highest media and video quality, telling a compelling documentary of how youth today see issues of spirituality and religion. Though informative, my concern however in making this video a "must see" for all parents and pastors is in its lack of an accurate representation of youth in America. That is, who really are our youth and did the movie accurately portray this? For instance, not until the last 10 minutes of the movie was an Asian American edited into the final cut, with only a few seconds given. In comparison, the majority of the interviews were with White, middle to upper-class youth. Though there was one African American and a few Hispanic Americans throughout (in addition to the White Americans), the Hispanic Americans were from the inner cities, and appeared rougher, adding to the negative stereotyping of Hispanic Americans (e.g., there weren't any White Americans from lower socioeconomic status, nor any Hispanic Americans from middle-class suburbia). My concern in raising these issues is to bring up the point that although the book and study may have addressed the issues of representation well (I have yet to read the book), the movie either failed to edit in a more representative group of "youth" or a step previous, did not conduct enough interviews with a substantial sampling to warrant a must see movie on teens and religion/spirituality. If I were a youth pastor from a Korean American church, I'd have to think twice about whether or not to use this documentary.Movie Review: A Wake-up Call for the Future of Religion In America
Summary: 5 Stars
This compelling movie provides an overview of the most comprehensive study of teenagers and religion in America conducted by the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) that was reported in the book "Soul Searching" by Christian Smith, Oxford Univ. Press. Every parent of teens and pre-teens, youth workers, and religious leaders should see this film. The movie traces the lives of several teenagers and their families from a variety of religions perspectives and interviews the principal researchers who discuss the major findings of the NSYR research in light of the lives of real teenagers. Several youth workers also respond to the challenging lives of teenagers in light of the research findings. But, this research and film concerns far more than teenagers. This is a wake-up call for adults and religious leaders alike. The faith of teenagers it turns out is most often a reflection of the faith of their parents as clearly documented in the film. In other word "we get who we are." Parents who believe that dropping off their kids at church or synagogue for religious training is enough will be deeply disappointed with the results. What happens in the home is surprisingly more important that what happens in religious institutions. This is an excellent resource to show at a gathering of parents of teenagers or a gathering of parents and their teenagers. Discussion questions are provided and this emotionally challenging film will certainly lay the foundation for significant discussion. Any household, ministry, church, or synagogue that is serious about passing on their faith to the next generation will re-think their approach after viewing this film (and reading the book). Watching this film will change the way you raise your teenagers or minister to teenagers.Movie Review: Excellent resource for parents, youth ministers, and social scientists
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the documentary "Soul Searching" (based on the findings of the National Study of Youth and Religion--NSYR) several months ago and found it to be well produced and very informative. I was drawn to the film on several levels. First, as one trained in developmental psychology, I was interested in what the film might tell me about the development of the religious and spiritual lives of youth, and how that development might fit within or alongside what I know of other realms of development. Second, as an adult member of a mainline protestant congregation, I was interested in what the findings might have to say about effective youth ministry and religious education. Finally, as a parent of children heading into the teenage years, I was interested in understanding what potentially lies ahead (and the role of the family and other social contexts). On all three levels, I found the film very thought provoking. The core findings of the NSYR are laid out in the film (many of which are not at all what one might expect), and illustrated by teens speaking for themselves on various issues. Christian Smith, the lead investigator of the NSYR, provides helpful commentary along the way, but his presence in the film is understated, keeping the focus on the teen commentary. A nice balance is struck between demonstrating the "typical" types of teenage responses revealed by the NSYR data on the one hand, and avoiding the all-too-frequent over-generalizations about teens on the other. I came away from the film (as a social scientist, parishioner, and parent) with many questions sparked in my mind, and found the book version of Soul Searching (By Smith and Denton, 2005) additionally informative, with thoughtfully nuanced explanations of the study findings. Within the context of a congregation, the film would be a great basis for a broader conversation between those working in youth ministry, teens, and their parents. I look forward to future results from the NSYR.
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