INTERVIEW: Rachel Mann.

Rachel Man discusses her new Lent course, Still Standing, based on the award-winning Elton John movie, Rocketman, which explores identity, relationships, failure and redemption …

Elton John’s story, as told in Rocketman,  is undoubtably fascinating and powerful but how is it relatable? 

If we see Elton as just another wealthy superstar who can indulge his every whim, then perhaps it is hard to relate to his story. What’s brilliant about Rocketman is how it peels off the mask of privilege to reveal a really scared human being who’s lost sight of what really matters to him and others.

Indeed, the power of the film lies in Elton’s discovery that the more willing he is to face up to the consequences of half-a-lifetime’s poor decisions the more he can become truly ‘child-like’ and be reconciled with the sad child he cast off many years before. It is a hopeful story which handles the realities of Elton’s life with authenticity and wrestles with challenges we all face: that of growing-up and accepting ourselves for who we are. 

At the core of the movie is Elton’s friendship with lyricist Bernie Taupin which remains to this day. Where in the Bible can we find friendships of this special kind? How can they inform our own?

There are a number of really important, intimate and trusting friendships to be found in the Bible. Think of David and Jonathan. It is so close and tender that they make a covenant of their friendship. We might also talk of the friendship of Ruth and Naomi or of Jesus and the disciple whom he loved, John. Part of what these kinds of friendships teach us is that we can have relationships which are based on profound love, trust and respect. So many relationships in our society are marked by power and exploitation; they do not help us grow and become our true selves. These amazing relationships show us otherwise. They model not only companionship and loyalty, but affection too. Lest anyone think this kind of friendship is reserved for individuals, arguably St Paul demonstrates the same level of friendship for the Church at Philippi, in his Letter to the Philippians. 

In the 1970s Elton achieved global stardom on a level with The Beatles in the 1960s, who John Lennon claimed were ‘bigger than Jesus’. What should Christians make of this kind of ‘worldly’ success and, indeed, Lennon’s comparison?

It’s fair to say that the Christian faith has, at best, an ambiguous relationship with what might be called ‘worldly’ success and wealth. While it is the case that, down the centuries, there have been a fair number of Christians who have held substantial fortunes, Jesus says things about wealth and worldly success which make his hearers uncomfortable. He famously suggests that one cannot serve both God and Money/Mammon (Matthew 6:24). He also invites us to know where our treasures lie. Indeed, each Ash Wednesday, one of the established lectionary texts is Matthew 6:19-20, in which we are invited to seek after treasure in heaven. 

At the same time, there is a profound sense in which the Christian faith is seriously ‘this-worldly’. I think there is a very strong case for saying that being a Christian requires us to be profoundly attentive to the world in which we live now. The repeated effects of financial crises, austerity and the coronavirus pandemic reveal the profound divisions in our societies. We are not ‘all in this together’ in the same way. Equally, cultural ‘moments’ like Black Lives Matter and #MeToo reveal that our world is profoundly inequitable and marked by stains of privilege and prejudice. We do not need to be fully paid-up Liberation Theologians, who believe that God has a preferential option for the excluded, to know that how we live in this life matters to our Christian formation and character.

I guess I am saying that being Christian does have implications for how we live in this world. It is not simply a matter of saying ‘I believe X’ and then never bearing fruit in holy or gracious action. During the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, the widespread and justified condemnation of President Donald Trump’s use of the Bible as a prop reveals how calling oneself a Christian is not the same as being one. 

However, when Christians talk this way we risk coming across as priggish or pompous. John Lennon’s words, in some ways, cut to the truth about how Christ had been displaced by ‘celebrity’ more generally, and by rock stars in the ‘60s, in particular. Christ, as Jesus Christ Superstar suggests, has become a species of celebrity. I wonder if, over fifty years on from Lennon’s words, it is time for Christians to be a little humbler about who we are, even as we proclaim Jesus as saviour of the world.

At the height of his fame Rocketman suggests Elton struggled to see himself or come to terms with his real identity. We’ve all had moments like this in our lives to a greater or lesser extent. What can help us grow more clear-sighted and less self-deceptive? 

I guess we have to acknowledge that, sometimes, as with Elton, it only at the lowest point – the point of crisis – that we properly come face-to-face with ourselves. I know that that has been true for me at various points of my life. Leaving aside those times of crisis, I think that what more often helps us is friendship and relationship, particularly those relationships which hold us to account and can speak truth to us, rather than indulge us. It will come as no surprise that I want to say that the central relationship in that journey of truth is a relationship with God. The living God loves us utterly as we are, and in doing so challenges us to be less deceptive about who we are. This work of learning to be more oneself is slow work, but one I find utterly necessary.

‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word’. With all the conflict in the world today, it seems we could do with understanding why it is hard to say sorry and something of the nature of forgiveness. Do you think of forgiveness as a beginning or an ending? 

Maybe I can split the difference and say that forgiveness is a terminus. It is both a beginning and an end. When we begin to live lives of reconciliation and forgiveness – forgiveness of others and, crucially, often of ourselves – we bring toxic cycles of revenge and hate to an end, but we also set out on new paths. Gosh, I find it as difficult as anyone else to forgive, but surely along that path of reconciliation lies life and hope and the practical reality of love?

Lastly, and to finish on, have you always been a fan of Elton John? And do you have a favourite song or album? 

Excellent question! When I was young, back in the 1980s, I didn’t have much time for Elton John. He struck me as a washed-up, overblown showman who was beloved of middle-brow, middle- aged suburbanites, scared of real music. Teenagers really are so judgmental, aren’t they? I wanted either authentic, gritty folk, complex progressive music or brain-shattering metal. By the time I was really aware of Elton’s output, he was in a real mess and his music had lost focus. It was only in my twenties that, as someone who was serious about music and had survived my own ‘rock and roll’ crises, I began to realise that Elton and his song writing partner Bernie Taupin were bona fide geniuses. As for favourite songs or album, I do think Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (both song and album) is remarkable. The opener Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding is incredible.

Rachel Mann’s new book, Still Standing: A Lent course based on the Elton John movie, Rocketman is available now in paperback for £6.99 from dltbooks.com and all good bookstores. It is suitable for prayer and worship groups using Zoom or for individual study.