What's in a name

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Who are we? Where do we come from? How can our lives have a lasting significance? These are some of the searching philosophical questions raised by the action adventure sequel National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Like the first National Treasure, on the surface this film is simply a fun treasure hunt through some of the highlights of American history. The puzzles, conspiracy theories, and thrilling action sequences are perhaps best described as a lightweight version of Dan Brown, except that most of the historical facts in this film are accurate. However, as well as setting out to educate and entertain, Book of Secrets also touches on deeper issues surrounding the past and the way in which humans engage with history.

Opening with the assassination of President Lincoln, we are told of the key role which Thomas Gates, ancestor of National Treasure hero Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), played in stopping Confederate forces from tearing apart the newly-born United States of America. Ben and his father Patrick (Jon Voight) are naturally proud of their patriotic lineage, until the arrival of black-market antiquities dealer Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris), who alleges that the truth about what happened on the night of the assassination is a very different story. Wilkinson produces a missing page from the diary of assassin John Wilkes Booth, which appears to implicate Thomas Gates in the plot. In order to clear their ancestor’s name, Ben and Patrick, along with sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and Ben’s ex-girlfriend, archivist Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), embark on a quest to prove the veracity of Thomas Gates’s account. Pursued by Wilkinson, they cross plenty of geographical and legal boundaries as they race to discover the truth. Clues from the diary page lead the adventurers to a far greater secret, which in turn points them to a treasure beyond imagining. However, there are many dangers to face along the way, and for Gates and his team, the ultimate prize is not gold, but evidence and a clearer understanding of the history of both his family and his country.

For all the main characters, history is more than just an interesting pastime. Ben and Patrick Gates are motivated in their quest by the desire to prove that their understanding of past events is the correct one. They are distressed by the allegation that their ancestor was not an American hero, and are determined not to allow his reputation to be tarnished: ‘I will not let Thomas Gates’s name be mud’. Antagonist Mitch Wilkinson is motivated by very similar concerns. Without such a distinguished ancestor in his past, Wilkinson is obsessed with the idea of creating a name for himself, thus giving his family a legacy by which they will always be remembered. Describing himself as, ‘just a man trying to make his mark on history’, Wilkinson seems prepared to do anything to achieve this goal. History is thus something which the characters in Book of Secrets take extremely seriously. And, with neither side willing to give up, it soon becomes a life and death issue for all those involved.

Academic historians and archaeologists will be familiar with the passion for the past that is exhibited by the characters in this film. However, the way in which history is approached in Book of Secrets is very different to the traditional scholarly perspectives on the subject. While academics tend to treat knowledge of the past as an end in itself, the adventurers in the film engage with it as a means to fulfilling a greater purpose. This becomes particularly clear when the hero decides to remove an ancient artefact from where he finds it, and then throw it into a river in order to escape his pursuers. Gates and Wilkinson are more concerned about what history means to them, and its relevance to our times, than with the actual documents and items they discover, even when those objects are made of gold. This approach reflects more closely the reasons why most ordinary people are interested in the past. Names and dates are fairly meaningless to non-specialists, but where history impacts on the way we see ourselves and our world, it becomes something worth exploring.

As National Treasure: Book of Secrets shows, history is closely linked with our sense of identity. The past actions of Thomas Gates affect the way in which Patrick and Ben see themselves. Having an ancestor who died for his country allows them to see themselves as participants in a tradition of loyal patriots and heroes, protectors of the American ideal. For Ben and Patrick, their identity is bound up with where they come from, and when their ideas about the past are challenged, their sense of who they are is also under threat. Mitch Wilkinson sees in history the chance for him to create a name for himself, thus gaining a lasting significance and in some way living on after death. The idea that he could be remembered in history gives his life meaning and purpose.

These concepts of where we come from, who we are, and how we will be remembered are issues with which most people grapple, whether through serious study of history, or through more light-hearted entertainment like National Treasure. They are ideas which have been important to humans throughout our past; we have told stories about our ancestors for millennia, and like the civilisation depicted in the film, we have left many impressive monuments as a legacy to the world. And these central questions about identity and eternal significance also feature strongly within the Christian worldview. The Bible asserts that deriving our identity from what has happened in our past, and looking for significance through the legacy we leave behind is not a secure foundation for life. Not everyone has a past which will inspire them to greatness; for many people, the past is something they would prefer to forget. And the Bible reminds us that all human achievements eventually crumble away and are no longer remembered. Yet it also acknowledges the human need to understand who we are and what our lives mean: ‘I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end’ (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11, TNIV). The Christian perspective is that to understand our identity we need to know not where we come from, but who we come from. Christians believe that we can only truly be ourselves when we have a relationship with the God who created us. For Christians, history is not about humanity; it is the story of God’s work in the world. Thus we discover our identity by placing ourselves within his story, and we look to our relationship with God to provide us with a lasting significance and an existence beyond death.

We can choose to be like the characters in National Treasure: Book of Secrets, and focus our energies on making a name for ourselves and our families that will be honoured for generations. Or we can ground our identity in a relationship with a God who loves us no matter what we’ve done, and who will never forget us.

Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. (Isaiah 49:15-16, NLT)

 

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