1 Corinthians 15: 35-50 (links validated on 1/18/22)

In his review of the movie E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, Calvin College professor Roy Anker describes how ‘A lonely, heartbroken boy, Elliott, all of ten or twelve years old, stumbles upon a … needy creature, a rather funny-looking alien. Elliott’s father has run off with his secretary, and the alien’s friends have left him behind lest they be captured by marauding American scientists. Neither of these two is very formidable, to say the least, for they are indeed among the least of these — both exiled and also alien, albeit in different ways. They need each other, big-time, and fast friends they become, first out of necessity and then from within a deep well of love, given what they do for each other … ‘Mid-way through, as the alien lies dying on a gurney in a lab, because earth’s atmosphere is not so good for aliens (and ever less so for humans), Elliot himself also begins to die … Until, that is, the creature, named ET by Elliott for “extra-terrestrial” (the name, appropriately, begins and ends with the first and last letters of Elliott’s own name) severs his tie with Elliott in a gesture of supreme love, for without Elliott’s “life” he cannot live, “withdrawing” himself from Elliott so Elliott might live … ‘In order to dispel any mental “fuzz” about what’s going on here, it all comes rather clear, shockingly so, as if suddenly slapped in the face. Though skeptical of his plan, Elliot’s mates make off with the government van holding the remains of supposedly demised ET...

always good insights!

In his marvelous review of the movie E.T: The Extra Terrestrial, Calvin College professor Roy Anker wrote for this CEP website , he notes, ‘A lonely, heartbroken boy, Elliott, all of ten or twelve years old, stumbles upon a similarly bereft and needy creature, a rather funny-looking alien from only-God-knows-where. ‘Elliott’s father has run off with his secretary, and the alien’s friends have left him behind lest they be captured by marauding American scientists. Neither of these two is very formidable, to say the least, for they are indeed among the least of these—both exiled and also alien, albeit in different ways. ‘They need each other, big-time, and fast friends they become, first out of necessity and then from within a deep well of love, given what they do for each other . . . Mid-way through, as the alien lies dying on a gurney in a lab, because earth’s atmosphere is not so good for aliens (and ever less so for humans too), Elliot himself also begins to die. ‘Until, that is, the creature, named ET by Elliott for extra-terrestrial (the name, appropriately, begins and ends with the first and last letters of Elliott’s own name) severs his tie with Elliott in a gesture of supreme love, for without Elliott’s “life” he cannot live, “withdrawing” himself from Elliott so Elliott might live . . . And while viewers watch and wonder and even weep at this, as I did back when, we don’t really get it, at least not yet, meaning the full shebang of the story the film tells...

(an Illustration)

("Two elderly residents of a nursing home were sitting in the lounge when suddenly a sweet old lady wandered out of her room and down the hall without any clothes. One said to the other 'Did you see that?'. The second responded 'Yeah, but whatever she was wearing sure needed ironing'....")