| CultureWatch DVD Review - An Education |
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An Education  Certificate 12 It’s 1961 and 16-year-old Jenny (played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan) is aiming for Oxford University. Her parents, having lived through some tough times, lead a modest, restrained life. They pin their hopes on Jenny who, they believe, has the world at her feet. It puts huge pressure on her, and she longs for something more exciting than a boring middle-class life. Then she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard). He is charming, fun and sophisticated, and he introduces Jenny to a world of glamour and excitement. He’s everything she longs for, and he sweeps her off her feet. An Education Certificate 12 It’s 1961 and 16-year-old Jenny (played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan) is aiming for Oxford University. Her parents, having lived through some tough times, lead a modest, restrained life. They pin their hopes on Jenny who, they believe, has the world at her feet. It puts huge pressure on her, and she longs for something more exciting than a boring middle-class life. Then she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard). He is charming, fun and sophisticated, and he introduces Jenny to a world of glamour and excitement. He’s everything she longs for, and he sweeps her off her feet. It is no surprise that David easily seduces a naïve teenager. More surprising is that David hooks Jenny’s parents just as easily. Although in many ways they’re satisfied with their modest life, their hopes for Jenny reveal that they also long for something more, even just a touch of glamour. David senses this and expertly plays on it, offering the very things which they dream of. Jenny and her parents all see in David just what they want to see. None of them stop to ask questions or wonder about things which don’t quite add up. It is understandable that Jenny makes this mistake as an adolescent. But her parents fail in their responsibilities when they do the same. When it all goes wrong, Jenny rightly criticises her father for not protecting her, for being just as starry-eyed as she is.  In fact, we all do exactly the same thing. When we’re tempted by something, we see what we want to see and we push aside nagging doubts and troubling questions. When we think there’s a chance for our desires to be fulfilled, we easily go with the flow and ignore our responsibilities. This is just what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were tempted by something very desirable: freedom and wisdom. These things are not wrong in themselves. God created us to experience them, but in the context of a relationship with him, not independently of him. As with David, the temptation was not all it seemed, and it was based on lies and deception. But Adam and Eve ignored their doubts and their consciences, and naïvely accepted the offer at face value. We all do it. When it suits us we suspend our critical judgment. And as Jenny discovers, the consequences can be devastating. This article was first published on Damaris’ Culturewatch website (www.culturewatch.org) – used with permission. © Copyright Tony Watkins |
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