I’ve never been much of a fan of the movies. My friends are always talking about movies they have seen and asking me if I have seen them, and the answer is almost always “No.” I’ve thought about it from time to time. I like storytelling. I enjoy reading novels. I appreciate the artistry and teamwork required to make a movie. However, I haven’t prioritized going to the movies in my life. While many of my friends have gotten into streaming movies to watch at home, it hasn’t been an entertainment we have pursued. My friends have large televisions and dramatic sound systems that allow them to have theatre-like experiences in their homes. Those items haven’t been priorities for us, either. We don’t own a television set, but I do have two large monitors on my computer, and we watch movies and videos on one of them. The sound from my laptop isn’t the greatest, but it isn’t the worst, either.

There are, however, a few movies that have made an impact on my imagination. I watched all three of the original Star Wars trilogy in movie theaters. The first came out just as I was finishing graduate school, and we went to it in a theatre during a visit to our home in Montana during one of the last breaks of our seminary career. The Empire Strikes Back was watched during a trip to Montana to visit my father when he was near the end of his life. He was a pilot and an adventurer who died of an aggressive cancer before he reached 60 years old. I was a new pastor, serving a congregation and dealing with my grief. The movie theater provided an escape, and the story of a simple hero was appreciated. Return of the Jedi came out after I became a father but before the birth of our second child. The second and third movies were released when we lived in rural North Dakota. There wasn’t a movie theater in our town. I watched both on visits to Montana in the city where my wife’s parents lived. At that time, there was no theater in my hometown either.

However, when I was growing up, there were two theaters in my hometown. One was a relatively small facility on Main Street. I remember watching Disney’s Bambi in that theater. Since it was released a decade before I was born, I think our little theater didn’t often show first-run films, but I don’t know much about the story. The other theater in our town was a drive-in theater that showed movies in the summer. I watched quite a few movies on the drive-in as a teen. It was one of the first destinations where I was allowed to take the family car once I got my driver’s license.

The drive-in was the location of one of the early dates I shared with my wife. It wasn’t our first date, but I took her to see Easy Rider early in our relationship. I think we went during the summer before we began college, which would have been about a year after the movie’s first release. It is the story of two young men seeking alternative lifestyles, riding Harleys, and exploring America. They experience bigotry and hatred from small-town residents and have a frightening drug experience in New Orleans.

I don’t remember much about the film, but it was part of the culture of my early college years. One of my freshman roommates took on the character of Billy, played by Dennis Hopper in the movie. He had a fringed leather jacket like the character, and he liked it when others called him Billy. For a while, he called me “Captain,” the nickname of Watt, the other principal character in the film, played by Peter Fonda. I enjoyed some role-play for a while, but it got old pretty quickly.

The thing that did have a more lasting impact than the movie itself was the song from the soundtrack. Born to be Wild was a rock anthem for my college years. It could be heard booming from the speakers of the stereos in our dormitory, and I had an 8-track tape with the song that got played a lot. “Get your motor runnin’/Head out on the highway/Lookin’ for adventure/And whatever comes our way.” We’d sing along with “Born to be wild, born to be wild.”

The song appeared in commercials, other movies, and television and continues to be heard in many different venues. It was the most famous song released by the band Steppenwolf. The band became associated with the movie. Steppenwolf eventually settled in Los Angeles, where they played alongside the Doors and other bands of the time. I don’t know how many people know how immigration is featured in the story of the iconic band. Four of the band's five members were Canadian, and two of them were German immigrants to Canada.

John Kay was born Joachim Krauledat in East Prussia. His father was killed at war before his birth. He and his mother escaped to West Germany and, from there, were admitted to Canada as refugees. Nick St. Nicholas’ birth name was Klaus Kassebaum. His family were post-war immigrants from Germany to Canada. They played together with The Sparrows, where they were joined by Jerry Edmonton and his brother Dennis. Keyboard player Goldy McJohn joined the group. McJohn was a classically trained pianist who pioneered the use of the electronic organ in rock music and is often credited as the founder of Steppenwolf.

Music and art continue to cross cultural divides and international borders. Many Canadian artists are important parts of the US music scene. Joni Mitchell, Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Justin Bieber are just a few Canadians who have achieved fame in our country. I doubt that a trade war will have much of an impact on music's international appeal. Still, music can help remind us that there is more value in friendship and sharing than in animosity and competition.