#juxtapose that to Thomas and Ellen and things get even more interesting

[theirwolfbicanthrope]

Jumping off from this discussion with @ladykatibeth, but I want to talk about the parallels between Friedrich Harding and Count Orlok. I think there are a lot to be found, and in a way this gives some insight into Orlok more, imo.

In a lot of ways, Orlok and Friedrich mirror each other, both in personality/status, but also in the ties they have to Ellen and Thomas, respectively. The film itself imo draws up parallels - both via dialogue and in specific context of moments between Orlok/Thomas and Friedrich/Ellen.

Obviously we know Orlok is jealous and resentful of Thomas' connection with Ellen, but so to I think Friedrich is...not necessarily jealous of Ellen's ties to both Thomas and Anna, but neither is he all that thrilled or happy about it. She's an Other, and he doesn't like the potential scandal, the gossip she could cause. He resents when her mental health deteriorates and it pulls Anna's attentions from him. And even though technically she's of a higher class than Thomas, it's pretty clear that her mental illness in a lot of ways negates that (in Friedrich's view) and could potentially harm Thomas' ability to progress in life in a way that Friedrich approves of.

"I will be addressed as the honor of my blood demands it!"/"Know your place, madam!"

Orlok takes great offense of Thomas not addressing him properly, and when Ellen is finally too exhausted and frustrated to keep speaking with difference to Friedrich, he immediately bristles and takes it as insult. (Granted he is sleep-deprived and scared about his family, but this is something that has been building up for some time.) These moments between Orlok and Thomas vs. Friedrich and Ellen mirror each other (and also show how both Ellen and Thomas struggle to meet the "standards" of their gender roles, imo).

Orlok is the powerful figure tied to Ellen who feels possessive of her and will not take this outsider speaking to him with anything less than the respect he believes he is due. Friedrich comes across in much the same way, as Thomas' friend and benefactor and Anna's husband.

Thomas is a threat to Orlok's connection with Ellen. Friedrich, imo, sees Ellen as a scandal waiting to happen, and therefore a social threat to Thomas and Anna (and himself - and really, I believe he views Thomas and Anna as extensions of himself; one could also argue Orlok sees Ellen in a similar light; a possession).

Then there's Friedrich's dynamic with Anna as foreshadowing/a mirror to Orlok's with Ellen.

"I cannot resist her."/"He cannot resist her blood!"

Friedrich even says the 'cannot resist' line twice - first to Thomas, then again to Anna herself at the beach (which is then interrupted by Ellen, helping to lay more groundwork for his growing weariness and resentment of her).

I do not think it's coincidence that this phrasing is used for both Friedrich's love for Anna and Orlok's obsession with Ellen. The script itself even says when the men find Friedrich dead with Anna that 'he could not resist her'. The fact that Thomas finds his best friend dead in the embrace of his dead wife! This is such purposeful foreshadowing of what he will face at the very end.

"He could not resist her."

This is about Friedrich - but it is also Orlok's own undoing.

[wombwindow]

The Other Side

To know a subject well one must look at the core positions, the evidence, the tangents, what has come before, what is happening now, what will most likely come, and the important arguments brought to bear on the subject in question. Do we know the pro-life position? Can we articulate our view beyond: “Life is sacred or It’s a baby!” With so many lives at risk, if we haven’t taken the time to become informed, why haven’t we—why haven’t we sought out how to articulate our convictions? Have we truly equipped ourselves with the information necessary to engage those in our culture who hold the pro-choice/pro-abortion view? How will we help others understand and accept the truth of the pro-life position if we don’t have a firm grasp ourselves?

Education is imperative. A strong foundation is vital if one is going to build something that lasts. Knowledge and understanding are powerful tools, but only if they are taken out of the toolbox. Before one can meaningfully engage others, one must first engage themselves. Before the body of Christ can lead, it must be lead. It is for this very purpose that Anna’s Choice exists. Our books and resources will help anyone embrace the pro-life worldview and develop, what I like to call, the life paradigm.

Fellow Christian, fellow concerned citizen, please utilize Anna’s Choice. Our website (www.annaschoice.org) is a gateway to resources, equipping, and connectivity. Explore the books, movies, quotes, and links provided to gain a firm foundation in the pro-life view, a holistic view of the dignity of human life. Read a book or two from our recommended list each year, follow our blog, or spend time searching the linked websites, discovering their many powerful contributions to the life movement. Watch the movies, use the quotes for encouragement, inspiration, and conversation starters, or pick up a copy of Who Am I and start studying the biblical revelation of life. Think about joining us as a Bible study partner or pray partner. Get informed and get involved. Know the truth and set others free!

The best way to identify what is false is by knowing what is true. To that end, let me suggest a few key resources that will assist us in discovering and articulating the truth. First, my devotional book, Love is for Eternity, will help anyone understand the biblical revelation of the dignity and value of life from conception forward. Knowing God’s revelation of life is paramount to the believer and useful to anyone wanting to understand the role faith plays in the pro-life movement. Second, read In The Womb by Peter Tallack. Understanding human development in the womb is essential to grasping the scientific, medical, and observable reality of human life during pregnancy and the humanity of the preborn child. Third, get acquainted with the history of the movement and the core arguments for protecting human life. Read any of the books by Francis Schaeffer, Dr. John Willke, Harold O.J. Brown, George Grant, and Randy Alcorn, but especially, Grant’s Third Time Around and Alcorn’s Why Pro-life. Fourth, become familiar with the damage abortion does to women, men, and extended family members long after the procedure is completed. Books like A Solitary Sorrow by Teri Reisser, Fatherhood Aborted by Guy Condon and David Hazard, Lime 5 by Mark Crutcher, Subverted by Sue Ellen Browder, and Changed by Michaelene Fredenburg will all challenge the lie that abortion is good for women, men, and society. Fifth, get a copy of the newly released Abortion Worldwide Report: 1 Century, 100 Nations, 1 Billion Abortions edited by Thomas W. Jacobson and Wm. Robert Johnston (www.globallifecampaign.com.) This conservative, well-researched accounting of the global abortion tragedy will break our hearts and motivate us to action. Lastly, if books are not your thing, please engage in the documentaries, movies, YouTube clips, and links provided at www.annaschoice.org. This will facilitate another strong foundation of knowledge and opportunity. Take the time to become informed because lives all around us hang in the balance.

But what about the other side? I want to encourage you to read and study their perspective as well. Knowing the mind of those who oppose us can prove invaluable. It can yield insight, strategy, wisdom, and empathy. It can help us discover how the pro-choice/pro-abortion side uses language, sees the world, and processes their beliefs and ideas. And, most of all, it will sharpen our understanding of the truth. TRUTH—one of the indispensable supports of understanding and overcoming. But if we are to truly triumph over abortion, we will need to love like our Savior. We will need that other indispensable support of understanding and overcoming—GRACE. For it was Jesus Christ who came in grace and truth (John 1:17)! And it is the combination of grace and truth that will topple abortion in America and the world. Grace for those who’ve fallen victim to the choice for abortion and the rhetoric thereof. Grace for those who’ve performed abortions. Grace for those who’ve championed abortion. And grace for all of us who’ve live in a world that condones, encourages, and finances abortion. Grace alone, however, without truth, will not be sufficient either. Both grace and truth are necessary—vital—and will be needed to carry the day.

As the pro-choice/pro-abortion view is the prevalent view in the media, academia, and governments, it will not be hard to find. Life News, a link under the resources tab at Anna’s Choice, often does a fine job of juxtaposing these competing worldviews, but any Google search for pro-choice, abortion, or Planned Parenthood will give one plenty of opportunity to sample the other side. I only ask that while we’re looking at the other side, we also season that time with the Bible and the pro-life position. Below are a few interesting books I’ve read from the pro-choice/pro-abortion view:

Abortion Practice by Warren M. Hern – published in 1984 and then again in 1990 this groundbreaking book on abortion practice by M.D. Warren Hern will inform anyone about the procedure of abortion from an abortionist who practices in the field. Hern’s dedication is telling: “This book is dedicated to the memory of all women who have died from abortions in the hope that their sacrifices will not have been in vain or be repeated.”

This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund – An abortionist tells her story of personal abortion, becoming a traveling abortion practitioner, and the harassment she suffered while providing abortions. A case study in deception and the manipulative use of language. On page 158, Wicklund writes, “Much of the debate is couched in misleading and untrue statements. Embryonic tissue is referred to as an ‘unborn child.’”

Beyond Choice by Alexander Sanger – The grandson of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, tries to forge a moral argument for abortion yielding tragic and sometimes comic results. Like all foundations built on sand, Sanger’s argument doesn’t stand. Making a point about the Constitution and the Bible, Sanger says, “Ironically, the opponents of a right to privacy, who argue that it is nowhere written in the Constitution, argue that, even though abortion is not mentioned in the text of the Bible, that opposition to abortion should be one of the most important tenants of the Christian faith.” Sanger asserts the common but erroneous notion that because the word abortion is not written in the Bible it has nothing to say about the subject.

Dispatches from the Abortion Wars by Carole Joffe – Joffe’s book is full of hysteria, half-truths, lies, and preposterous conclusions. At one point the author insinuates that a man who beat his girlfriend with a bat, at her permission, to cause a miscarriage was driven to his action by pro-life activism and abstinence education. Joffe’s book is one of the scarier looks into the pro-abortion mindset.

How The Pro-Choice Movement Saved America by Cristina Page – The irony of Page’s title in light of the now 60 million aborted baby girls and boys tells you all you need to know about her book. The work is a classic war on sex stereotyping pitting the prudish, backward, repressed lifer against the liberated sex for pleasure crowd. Page even espouses that the pro-choice movement has saved more lives than a movement that actually works in-behalf of human life to preserve and save it. Her findings are based in assumptions about birth control and are incredibly dishonest when one accepts the truth that the abortion industry daily kills children by the thousands in America.

Humanitarians, Christians, people of good will, we need to equip ourselves with the truth about life and human worth so we can stand up against the greatest evil of our time with grace. Use Anna’s Choice and the many other life affirming resources within to grow in truth and grace. Discover life, faith, and the fullness of human dignity with us. May the truth set us free. And may abortion become illegal and unthinkable in America once again!

God bless, Joel Patchen  

www.annaschoice.org