Thursday, 02 April 2009
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Do We Really Need a Christian Film Industry?
by Aaron of Faith & Geekery
There’s been quite a kerfuffle lately surrounding the recent comments of Movieguide’s Ted Baehr (you know, the guy and the organization responsible for that Christian movie awards show that Mike wrote about) calling for Hollywood to recognize that its failing finances require a “stimulus package” consisting of the creation of more “family-friendly, uplifting and inspiring movies.” These comments are based on some pretty shaky statistics that allegedly show that the movies that make the most money are those that revolve around “capitalism, patriotism, faith and values.”
I’m sure you can see why statements like that might have some people up in arms.
Several people and organizations have responded to this craziness, including ChristianityToday, Brett McCracken, and Jeffrey Overstreet (in which he makes the wonderful comment, “If I based my diet on what food sells best, I’d be dead in a week”).
Well, now NPR has amped up things up with this article. The story contains remarks from San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival organizer Doug Phillips. Speaking at the festival, he said:
Christian filmmaking is coming of age. Christian filmmaking is coming of age! … We’re going to have our own Steven Spielbergs. We’re going to have our own filmmakers that can tell great stories, produce tremendous films, but they’re going to be doing it with a Christian world view, and they’re not going to be embarrassed about that.
Meanwhile, many of us are indeed embarrassed, and not just by his remarks.
Once again, this has drawn reactions from ChristianityToday and Jeffrey Overstreet, both of which (along with the articles above) are worth perusing.
For anyone who has read Briner’s Roaring Lambs, it’s alarming to see this kind of separatist movement. To follow Christ’s example in dealing with culture is to engage it, not to withdraw from it or create some sort of walled off section of it. Jesus engaged culture by meeting people on familiar ground, but then turning their expectations and traditions upside-down, using their understanding of culture to then counter it in a different way to make His points and to change hearts and minds.
Sadly, the withdrawl of Christians into their own cinematic enclave is just what the world expects of us, and is not in any way countercultural. It shows others in society that what they’ve always suspected is correct–that we can’t play nicely with others, that we always have to have our way, and that we’re not satisfied unless we can shoehorn a gospel presentation into everything we do.
Of course we want to present Christ in every way possible, but that is supposed to be done by living a life that clearly imitates Him and shows genuine, relevant love, compassion, mercy, justice, and truth–things that really are countercultural, unexpected, and challenging. Instead of treating people as opportunities to add more salvation notches in some spiritual gunbelt, we need to show that we care about them as people in a way that is sometimes alien in this day and age, and then take appropriate opportunities to share the complete message when the occasion is right.
Naturally, the other side of the coin that requires caution is making sure that in all of this we’re working for God’s glory, not for our own aggrandizement or for the sake of feeling good about ourselves.
It’s a fine line to walk. It’s difficult and challenging. I don’t think, though, that God would have called us to do it if it were easy.
Anyway, the best summaries of this come from both CT and Overstreet. CT says:
Christians don’t need their “own” movie industry. Yes, Christians should make indie films, and make them really, really good. Keep honing the craft, improving the art, and telling the best stories — but learn how to do those things from the best in the business, not by creating a Christian-ese ghetto that only preaches to the choir.
And Overstreet (referring to his book Through a Screen Darkly):
That’s where I shared stories from my own life about the awful consequences that can come from such good intentions, and I also shared examples of what is possible when Christians cast off “branding” and instead glorify God with quiet excellence. If we stop focusing on creating “Christian Spielbergs” we may realize that God is already revealing himself through Spielberg himself, and that by working in the world rather than separating ourselves from it, we follow Christ’s own example.
I heartily agree. What are your thoughts?
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Comments (31)
one of my favorite directors, Scorsese, describes himself as a very devout Catholic. And his Last Temptation of Christ is my favorite Jesus-related film. his faith really shines through in that masterpiece, and i would admire him for it even if i believed differently.
the point is... there shouldn't be a difference in respect between a Christian director (or any other profession), and a director who happens to be Christian.
I whole-heartedly disagree. These films are doing much more than just "preaching to the choir." There's no Christian separatist movement here. The truth is, no where else would these kinds of movies hit the box office. No Hollywood producer would touch them. The only way to get them out there, to the public's eye, is by starting a Christian movie industry.
I don't see these people complaining about the Christian music industry.
There's no such thing as a Christian film industry. By definition an industry/organization/location etc. can not be Christian. Only humans can.
And human Christians don't need to sequester themselves and start their own thing, that only leads to more problems.
We need Christians in the film industry. That's all.
My primary complaint is simple enough. Why does John Q. Directorson (who makes "Christian movies") have to be "The Christian Spielberg"? Why can't he just be John Directorson, developing his own unique cinematic style, instead of needing to provide a "Christian alternative" to someone who is already established in his own right? Until we get over this "attack of the clones" mentality, we're not going to see any good Christian movies, ever.
You can easily find plenty of top-quality films from the "mainstream" that affirm positive values and are, if not definitely, at least not opposed to, a "Christian worldview." Think The Incredibles or Ratatouille or even The Dark Knight. Didn't Jesus say "Anyone who is not against us is for us"?
Also, this is quickly becoming the golden age of independent films-- one just took home the "Best Picture" Oscar, in case anyone missed it-- so anyone who's willing to put some skill and creativity into their craft has a good chance of getting an appreciative audience. The trick, though, is not to try to package a message into a movie-- it's to make a good movie and let the message speak for itself. "Show, don't tell."
@Papillon_Mom@xanga - I wouldn't be so sure-- I'm a Christian composer and musician, and I detest the "Christian music industry."
In my opinion, almost all of the Christian music these days with any quality to speak of is being done by independent artists (Ken Medema, Marty Goetz, Keith and Kristyn Getty, etc.) who are well away from established Christian labels, which now are mostly owned by secular corporations anyway.
As for "Christian" movies being picked up by the Hollywood box office, I seem to recall a flick by a Catholic director called The Passion of the Christ doing pretty well not too long ago.
@Pass_the_Aura@xanga - Yes, but if you remember... it was also produced by an already "mega star" by the name of Mel Gibson...
And i don't like modern Christian music much either... but my point is... these major magazines aren't screaming about them.
The one problem I have with uplifting films is this: they're too cliche.
I abhor any story that makes its name by wallowing in simplistic elements that reduce life into terms of black and white. Are we to wonder why non-christians think we're idiots when we never question why we believe, simply regurgitating the Christian argument against?
Now if they were to make Christian films that explored theology and actually (get this) asks questions... then maybe I'd be interested. I think I'll try and blog on this.
The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson was funded out of his own pocket if i remember correctly, as no one wanted to touch it, in fact they said he was done in Hollywood if he made the movie.
The only new movies i have seen Facing our Giants and Fireproof for marriages were produced entirely as I understand a Church.
I don't know if we need a private industry, just a brief glance looks like this is already the case, but we do need better movies per se to compete with the world views that are now so dominant in the industry. And if that takes a private industry to produce good quality family movies i am all for it
Eww.
I honestly cant stand Christian movies, and a lot of christian music because it is horribly written, horribly directed, and has horrible acting. I dont mind there being a Christian genera out there, but if this is the best the Christian world can produce then we suck. everyone went on and on about how good fireproof was so i was hoping it would be good. but curt camerons acting has not improved and it was very cliche and very stupid. and this is the best that we have to offer. that was supposedly the best christian movie ever and it sucked. now what is wrong with this picture? are we as christians supposed to give second best service? no we are supposed to be the best...and we definently dont do that in this area of life.
There are enough bad movies out there as it is. If a Christian can make a solid movie that is worth watching, he can market it in the current industry. He may have a harder time since he can't go for the cheap tricks that boost some interest, but the real quality movies don't resort to that all the time anyway.
Ofc, the idea of a "Christian movie" turns me off anyway, and I'm a Christian.
I just want to be able to watch descent movies without the sex scenes and language.
@princess1505angel@xanga - yes. I think this applies to all industries and sports.
I do not wish to be either disrespectful or direct any remarks to you personally, but to the thesis .I would disagree with the presuppositions as well as the premise here.
Just from a business point of view this is nearly laughable. New businesses open everyday . Some are niche, some are merely responding to a market.
Making films is about investing money to make a profit in the end, If it was entertainment alone there would not be a industry. If I see a market that can be exploited that the current market is not making a concious effort to tap or placate to, I will let that market know that my new business will placate to them.
MY new business does not have to try to be the end all of movie companies, but focus on what my business plan and market is. Meeting the unmet needs of the market is what being in business is all about. You see it in record labels and it is no big deal.
You have a billionaire who invested in BET. From a business point of view there is nothing wrong with focusing your efforts to reaching out to particular segments of the population.
People who support ventures like this seem to also support the idea that Christianity should be fighting on all fronts when it comes to evangelism. However, when it comes to actively engaging with culture in a relevant way, movies from a Christian film industry could do more harm than good.
It goes for any movie with any message, but when that message starts getting "preachy", it attracts people who already believe it but usually repels those who don't. Christian movies would, and do, have a hard time not being "preachy."
@Buttercup - Good choice! The Descent is actually a decent horror movie without any sex scenes, though there is some language.
Joking, btw.
I've always believed that a Christian film is a film made by Christians, which may or may not have a deep underlying message involved. And of course, everyone's view of what a 'good' film is, is necessarily different.
Full disclosure requires that notify you that I do partake in The 168 Project every year, and currently, working on this: http://is.gd/pgy7
@squanto_07@xanga - Thank you for your comment. You said everything I was thinking. Only one other thing I would add, is we supposedly serve the most creative Being in the universe, and we can't even compete with poorly made Hollywood B-movies! It doesn't speak well of our maker!
I think you are over thinking this, I think it is good for a christian movie industry because lets be honest have u watched shows lately, they bash christians make them the fall guys and overall jerks. Sorry there needs to be some defense. I aslo agree the acting needs to get better, but you have to start somewhere, trust me when I say if you had your own company then money which you need to make movies would come in and you could make good thought provoking movies. Look Universal, and MGM make about 1000 or movies every year, I do not know where I got that number, anyways they make a lot, some of them are horrible they are terrible, In the past ten years I can think of five movies, that were Christian in nature and had some success. I get tired of people saying Christians should stop copying, read the bible, there is nothing new under the son, story lines are similar, sure there is an occasional twist, and the ones who can make those twist make the movie good, do not bash christian music, as DC Talk, and POD were people who not long ago had a style all their own, it is easy to point this out but Nelly who was once popular, used almost the same beat for all of his songs and just changed the words, Puff Daddy, used other peoples music and wrote lyrics, why do Christians beat up on christians, when they do what everyone else already does. I think it is a good idea, but you need to have a target audience and so what if it is christians, last time I checked I enjoyed entertainment and God saw nothing wrong with that
Normally I'd agree with you, but I think that Christian films need the sort of budget and connections that can be provided by a unified industry. There are always dangers, but I think at this point some centralization of efforts can be effective. Most christian movies are low-budgeted and barely cause ripples in mainstream culture. It's plausible that such a creation will help them generate some visibility, if at the cost of individual originality. I think if they do create one, they should focus on financing christian projects, not evaluating them to see if they fit an expected mold.
@princess1505angel@xanga - The same, then, should be said of The United States: "There's no such thing as an American country; there are just Americans... There's no such thing as a civil rights organization; there are just individuals who believe in promoting civil rights."
I think it's a good idea for Christians to have their own industry, however I think they should work on the kind of films they do put out there. Putting family-friendly films and films with Christians values is good... but no ones going to watch them if they do not have good style, characters, plot, etc... (the theatre major in me is very critical of Christian-based movies, even with me going to a Christian university, I feel that films do not have to be "Christian" to have good values in them :).
Take care!
The problem I see with "Christian" films is that most of them are pretty fake, and just don't measure up...it kind of makes Christians look bad, imo. I think movies like Prince Caspian and the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were awesome, and Fireproof was a good movie too.
I think it's great to have decent movies out there, since I don't watch the awful ones, but I don't think they necessarily have to be labeled as Christian...
i'm sure there are good christian movies out there..somewhere..but i've never seen them. every one i've seen was extremely tacky, peopled with bad actors, and everyone conveniently converts by the end of the film. i find them to be ridiculous. and i also take issue with the lumping together of the christian faith with capitalism, patriotism, and the oh-so-vague "values". ughh!
@woodrowwilson@xanga - Thanks for the spotting my typo! lol
It's possible to make a good movie that supports Christian values such as loving your neighbor, without labeling it Christian. Then people will judge it based on it's content and not be automatically put off because it's supposed to be a Christian film. Then you're making an impact on lives as Christians should want to do.
I don't see any specific place in this article or the quotes where there is a Christian Film Industry.
"Fireproof" was a great movie, period; not just great because it's a "Christian movie." The actors were like real people, and it wasn't all about making the guy into a jerk. Both spouses contributed to the problems in their marriage. Every problem wasn't magically solved overnight, either.
If you look hard enough, I think there is a thread of Christian symbolism in most movies. Would "The Matrix" and its sequels be considered "Christian" because of all the spiritual overtones and the existential struggles? They're hard for me to watch, though, because there's blasphemy (which seems to get worse in each one), sex in the second movie (I always fast forward through it), and of course all the graphic violence.
"Lord of the Rings" is kind of the same. I know people who don't even like that series just because it's boring to them, rather than because it has certain Christian themes. There's spirituality in the Harry Potter series, but that's kind of ruined by the witchcraft being portrayed as something good or bad depending on your motivation for casting spells.
I echo the sentiments of the person who said that I just want to watch something wholesome and with an uplifting message. Forget all the cussing, sex and blood flying everywhere.