October Baby – HRE201 Movie review questions
Overview
At some point, everyone must make a journey of self-discovery.
For most, the journey is made difficult because of doubts:
doubts of self-worth, doubts of faith, or doubts of purpose.
Questions hound us until all we know is our doubt, our fear,
our frailty. Our humanness.
This is particularly true for Hannah Lawson, a college freshman haunted for years by her uncertainties. “I have so many unanswered questions I feel but can’t even begin to speak because there are no words to express them,” she writes in her journal. Hannah’s journey to self-discovery begins with an unexpected, life-shattering announcement: she is adopted. Not only that, but she was adopted after surviving a botched abortion.
This study explores Hannah’s path to love and forgiveness as a mirror of our own journeys to the ultimate source of love and forgiveness: Jesus Christ. It asks us to consider where we find our identity, what the truth means to us, and how the power of forgiveness can change us. Most of us will never have to face the same situations Hannah does, but we all need the redemption she finds.
- Identify three main themes of the movie.
- What is your favorite part of the movie? Explain.
- In the film, Hannah learns that her parents have kept many secrets from her over the course of her life. How would you react if your parents had kept the same information from you? Would you react similarly to Hannah? Why or why not?
- What aspects of Hannah's road trip to find her birth mother did you most enjoy in the film? The different locations? Her friends? Why did you like those aspects of her journey the most?
5. Should the police sergeant have dropped any charges against Hannah and Jason for break and entering? Explain.
- When Hannah finally meets Cindy, her birth mom, she feels even more rejected by her. How did this scene make you feel?
7. If you were married with a new daughter like Cindy, would you tell your husband and her about your past? Explain.
- Many critics have praised Jasmine Guy's performance as Nurse Mary in the film. Nurse Mary tells Hannah the shocking story of her birth. Do you think she was right to tell her? Explain.
- By the film's end, Hannah was able to forgive her birth mom. Do you think that you would have been able to forgive? Explain.
10. October Baby was inspired by true events- After watching the special feature on the Blu-ray or DVD about the film and novel's real life inspiration, do you feel like the fictional story of Hannah accurately represented Gianna Jessen's real struggles? Explain.
11. Our culture is fascinated with identity. Advertisers attempt to convince us our identities can be found in this gadget, in those shoes, in these clothes. Political and theological debates center on whether “we’re born this way,” as Lady Gaga puts it, and what it means if we are—or if we aren’t. Yet for all the answers authorities and advertisers claim to have, we continually find ourselves asking the question: Who am I? Why am I here, and why should I even be here? We even find ourselves wondering if it’s even possible to answer those questions. Is there anyone who can tell us who we are?
Where Do We Find Our Identity?
Read Ephesians 2.1–10; John 15.1–17; 1 Corinthians 12.27–31
12. Much of Hannah’s anger in the film stems from the hurt and shock of finding out the secrets her parents, Jacob and Grace, have been keeping all these years. In fact, those secrets drive a wedge between Hannah and her father that nearly severs their relationship. The truth is powerful; concealment of that truth can be even more so.
What criteria should be used for concealing the truth?
Read John 8.28–36; Ephesians 4.20–25; Proverbs 20.5
13. Arguably the most powerful scenes in October Baby are related to forgiveness, its power, and the healing that comes with it. As the priest tells Hannah, “Only in forgiveness can you be free.” It isn’t until Hannah accepts and understands that power of forgiveness that she can come to terms with her origins, her anger, and her doubts.
What are the additional benefits of forgiveness?
Read Colossians 3.13; Matthew 6.14–15; Psalm 103.1–12