Written by Steve Norton
History stems from its storytellers. Stories shape us, giving us hope or driving us to anger. Based on our experiences and what we’ve learned about life, each of us tells ourselves a story that affects the way we interact with the world.
And, in a world of tragedy and brokenness, we yearn to hear a new story.
This belief lies at the core of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the latest chapter in 20th Century Studios’ rebooted franchise. Set 300 years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, this is a time when humanity has been almost wiped out due to a devastating virus that has turned them into mindless beasts. During that time, the world has become dominated by apes who have developed the intelligence once held by man, but none of the technological know-how.
Here, we’re introduced to Noa, an ape who feels lost after a tragedy leaves him homeless. Infuriated by the actions of the brutal Proxima Caesar and his ruthless marauders, Noa sets off on a quest for revenge.
But, along the way, he encounters Raka, a peaceful orangutan who believes there is more to life than anger and retaliation. For Raka, what matters most are the tales of Caesar, the once-great leader of the apes who taught them there was a better way to live. Through their conversations, Noa is shocked to learn the history of the apes and their relationship with mankind were once very different.
Caeser believed that “apes together strong,” and Raka takes this to mean they should live in peace with humans and each other. As Raka tells his story, Noa sees the story he’s always known is incomplete. And he is challenged to re-examine his rage-fueled life because of his new discoveries about the past.
There’s some profound truth in this sci-fi kingdom. To Noa, the world has only ever consisted of a pattern of survive, sleep, and repeat. But because of Raka’s story, he begins to find a deeper purpose. Suddenly, the emptiness he felt begins to be replaced with something more meaningful.
For people of faith, this should sound extremely familiar. After all, when we look at the Scriptures, we recognize the power of a story passed down through generations. The Israelites were an oral culture and knew the need to share the stories of God and his mighty work with every generation. To them, these stories gave their lives meaning and purpose, guiding them and helping them connect with their history.After all, Jesus is a storytelling God.
Jesus is a storytelling God.
The nature of Christ’s Good News is rooted in the way he spoke about how things are supposed to be. He used prophecy to highlight the ways the Grand Story was unfolding all around the Jewish people in Galilee and Judea. He used parables to help them understand truth. (In fact, Matthew 13 says “he did not tell them anything without using stories.”)
Jesus knew that, by sharing stories that served as metaphors for The Story, his listeners could discover who they’ve always been meant to be. Storytelling was the best way to show us our value.
But stories can also be used to manipulate. Let’s go back to Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and the villainous Proxima Caesar. He too believes in the stories of Caesar and claims them as his own. But to him, “apes together strong” has a different meaning.
To him, the teachings of Caesar are about power and control. And Proxima’s followers jumped at the chance to claim their right to strength. Having never heard the story other than from Proxima, his followers have placed their trust in a leader who promises a better world through brutality, even though the promise turns out to be an empty one.
And this is a practice that still happens today. Throughout history, there are a number of examples where Scripture is twisted to further political agendas. (Let’s not forget there were Christians who used the Bible to justify slavery.) The same Jesus who gave his life as a sacrifice for all has been used to validate toxicity, violence, and evil.
If knowing the story is essential to life, so too is knowing which storyteller we can trust. When we hear the words of Jesus, we learn of a Kingdom far greater than any of our own making. Rather than taking power as Proxima Caesar sought to do, Christ empowers through sacrifice, humility, and grace, and he teaches us to do the same.
And like the tale Raka tells Noa, the words of Christ show us that we are part of a story that’s so much bigger than ourselves.
Steve Norton is a writer and podcaster based in Toronto, ON; he’s also an editor at ScreenFish. Read more from “Behind the screens” column.
