Who is Your Master?

Written By Paul McDonald

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Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we will delve into a fascinating discussion about the movie Ronin. The term ronin refers to a unique class of samurai who are essentially masterless warriors, navigating a complex world without a guiding figure. Action reveals your character, which in turn uncovers who or what your master truly is. While you might initially think you don’t have a master, your choices and your actions ultimately reveal the influences and powers that shape your life. Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this captivating movie.

About Christian

Christian Schu is a dedicated filmmaker who sees filmmaking and advertising as storytelling arts. Since starting commercial filmmaking in 2015, he has focused on creating narratives that deeply engage viewers through emotion. His career includes work in virtual studios, sports events like the WTA Mallorca Open, and collaborations with German business speakers. Since 2019, he has been producing visually stunning content for top hi-fi brands including Focal Naim, Bowers & Wilkins, and Bang & Olufsen. Christian's passion for storytelling began with childhood Lego play, now translating into impactful, award-winning cinematic work. For more information, visit https://christian-schu.com/.

The Quotes

  • We crave connection with someone who will impact our lives, if even for just a short time.

  • Actions reveal your character, and character reveals your master.

  • Untrustworthy people don’t believe other people.

  • I needed to go through what I didn’t want to do in order to understand what I wanted to do.

 Themes

  • A story that allows you to fill in the gaps

  • This movie leads you into your own interpretation of the story. It zooms into an episode of their lives, and then ends. This imitates our lives, where we have episodes, parts where other people are involved, where questions might not get answered, but at the end, we have to keep going.

  • The power of “disposable” friends-someone you meet who aligns and connects with you, but only for a brief period of time.

  • The fallacy of being a masterless warrior

Resources

  • Christian Schu

    • Website: https://christian-schu.com/

    • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christianschu.official

    • Instagram: https://instagram.com/christian_schu_film

    • LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/christianschu

  • “In feudal Japan, the warrior class of Samurai were sworn to protect their liege lords with their lives. Those Samurai whose liege was killed suffered a great shame, and they were forced to wander the land, looking for work as hired swords or bandits. These masterless warriors were no longer referred to as Samurai, they were known by another name: such men were called Ronin.” - opening lines from Ronin

  • “It’s no secret that a liar won’t believe anyone else.” - from The Fly by U2

  • “Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet." - from Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Questions

  • What stories leaves gaps and questions unanswered? 
How does a story with unanswered questions actually engage you more than a story that tells you everything you need to know?

  • If God is the storyteller of your life, can you trust him with the unanswered questions and gaps in information? What would that look like?

  • When have you made a great “disposable” friend?

  • What do the patterns of your life reveal to be your priorities? Based on your actions, who/what is your master?

  • What does it mean to “witness the wonder?”

More info

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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster

Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston

Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).

Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.

Links:

Paul McDonald
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