The Iron Giant

Hi everyone, I hope your new year is off to a great start! I thought that since I'm still new to this blog, I would come up with a way to tell you guys more about myself. After some brainstorming, I realized what better way to do that than by talking about some of my favorite childhood movies and why I love them, since ultimately, movies are meant to shape and impact us, and these certainly did for me as a child!

Starting off with a truly classic masterpiece, we have The Iron Giant! The Iron Giant takes place in 1957 and tells the story of 9-year-old Hogarth Hughes who lives in Rockwell Maine with his widowed mother. Hogarth is a brave and adventurous boy, and one night, while his mom is at work something from space crashes down near his house.

While investigating, he discovers it is a giant robot. He sees the robot wander into a power plant and get electrocuted. Hogarth runs in and shuts off the power saving the robots life. From then on, Hogarth and the Giant begin to form a bond. In its crash, the robot has lost his memory, and while hiding it from both his mother and the government agents investigating what happened, Hogarth teaches it through his comic books and the experiences they share together.

As fun and exciting as this movie is, it also does an excellent job addressing relevant and timeless themes of friendship, the long-term effects of the decisions we make, and also the nature of humanity. Hogarth and the Giant form a heartwarming friendship that emphasizes on trust and care for one another.

Throughout the story of the film, Hogarth teaches the Giant how to have a sense of right and wrong. One of the comics the Giant loves is one about Superman, but he is also irritated by the villain of the comic: Atomo The Metal Menace, who has a physical likeness to him. Hogarth calms him by saying "You are who you choose to be".

This is the main theme of the movie and is a wonderful message for both children and adults alike. We don't have to be immoral, villainous people. We have the opportunity to choose to be kind and moral, even in our sin nature. Just like how the Giant decides he wants to be Superman, we too can choose to be a hero to others.

Christ chose to come down to save us through His sacrifice. We as Christians can show that same love to others. Philippians 4:8 tells us " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." We are to take these qualities of truth, honor, justice, purity, and love and implement them into our lives and spread them to the lives of others.

For me, The Iron Giant is more than just a story of a boy and a giant robot from outer space (as awesome as that was to me as a kid!). It is a touching example of friendship and how we can live a life of love for others despite our imperfections and sin nature. I hope you enjoyed part one of my favorite childhood movies, I have two more still to come! How about you, what are some of your favorite childhood movies, and what makes them so special to you?

God bless! 😀
Austin