A few weeks ago, husband and I went to the movies to see the film Nebraska. If you haven't seen the film, see it. It's about a father who believes he won a sweepstakes, and his son who drives with him from Billings, Montana to Lincoln, Nebraska to pick up the winnings. The father is originally from a small town in Nebraska, and they stop there for the night.
The interactions between father and son and the relationships that unfold in the small town are revealing--they reveal so much not about small-town life, but about who we are and our own relationships.
After watching the film, I came away thinking about my own Nebraska. What is the backdrop for my relationships? Quiet rolling hills? Miles and miles of farmland as far as the eye can see? Or a suburban landscape dotted with cookie-cutter houses? Perhaps a cityscape?
You see, the landscape of Nebraska is just as much a character as the father and the son. Silent, it both loves its children and suggests the turmoil and conflict also inherent in every relationship.
So it was interesting to read this article in the BBC about a man who traveled 1000 miles across India to collect his prize. I wondered what he saw and how his attempts to get paid affected him, his family, and his village. And what happened when he couldn't pay back the money he borrowed? Did the BBC step forward and help him? Or was he sucked even further into poverty? And how does the backdrop of India play into his story?
