Pop the Bubble
Should We Pop The “Religious Media Bubble”?
Phil Cooke posted this very short but very intriguing post. He includes a poll to the right of his blog, to which I voted that Christians should be more involved in secular media. It is almost funny (hypocritical?) of me to say this being that I work in the Christian bubble creating content for within that bubble. I guess creating content for a church is a little different that creating for traditional movie or broadcast outlets. At least that is what I tell myself. I guess I have just always felt that all these “Christian” movies or TV stations really do is exist to pat Christian’s on the back.
An example would be the recent movie The Last Sin Eater. I never saw the movie myself, but Christina went to watch it with some family. Before she went, I decided to look up some reviews so she could get a taste of what some people were saying. The consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is: “This earnest Christian parable is undone by its pompous dialogue and cheap FX.” In the end I wonder what the actual goal of the film was. Was the purpose to be evangelistic? Christina’s description of the movie made it seem like that was the intent, but she also made it pretty clear to me that no non-Christian would be influenced by this movie.
On the other hand, “Amazing Grace” was a movie made in the secular market (Walden Media) but to me presented an amazing story of faith that was inspiring and very spiritual without being over-the-top or cheesy. I was amazed to learn more about William Wilberforce and his fight against slavery. As a Christian I was encouraged that I don’t have to be a minister by trade to serve God. He can use me wherever I am with the skills and talents he has blessed me with. I also can see how a non-Christian could watch this movie and not be put off by a preachy storyline. Admittedly I doubt that it will have a huge amount of support from non-Christians (I could be wrong), but it is still a step in the right direction.
I love when people talk about films without actually having seen them for themselves. I saw The Last Sin Eater. I totally disagree with Christina. It’s a very powerful film and I know some non-Christians who felt so, too. The theme of needing redemption and forgivenes is not just a Christian contruct. It is a universal human theme. Wow, what a concept. A film with a bold, but not preachy presentation of the truth of the cross being presented right there in a secular theater. Somehow I’m not seeing the downside. Yeah there were two special effects shots that looked like the product of a $2 million budget. They lasted about 5 seconds each, out of a nearly 2-hour film. I saw Anger Management on TV the other night and it has some really cheesy green screen shots. That film cost $80 million to produce. I’m going to give Sin Eater a little slack on that.
I’m actually happy to hear that some non-Christians enjoyed the movie. I hope that it had a great impact for the Kingdom. Christina (my wife by the way) is actually usually very forgiving for things in the Christian market. She (like me) grew up in the Christian bubble, and is usually very positive about redemption and good stories. My problem with some Christian movies (including how Christina described The Last Sin Eater) is that they tend to be so preachy. I guess I could watch the movie myself and then review it, but I have no desire really.
Either way, I would love more than anything for a Christian movie to truly impact non-Christian’s lives. That usually doesn’t happen though.
Kyle,
Check out walden’s website, http://www.walden.com. The company statement is cool too. One of the heads of the company used to work with at risk kids, keeping them in school. They try and produce educational films and films that have teachings, which in most chases are christian ideas even if they don’t want to admit it. Look at their list of movies and you’ll see a trend. Most of the books they’ve turned to films were written by christians and the other movies have themes that point to God and a higher power. They teach love, forgiveness and the power of the these.