Open Hearted, Not Open Minded

For decades, our culture has been crying out for acceptance and for people to be “open minded”, especially "closed minded" Christian conservatives.  "Be Tolerant"  "I was born this way."  "Coexist"  What should our response be?  Should we just accept that the way people are is alright?  Or should we protest against all the things we disagree with in society?  What does the Bible say on this? 

Some would argue that protesting is the appropriate response and while I do think there is an appropriate time and place for making ourselves heard, I don’t believe that picketing and protesting are the right ways to do it. Whenever I think of protestors, I think of people filled with anger shouting messages of hate. Westboro Baptist Church comes to mind, the infamous “God hates Fags” protestors who make the news. It is images of Christians like these who make up the media and the public, fueling their presupposition that all Christians are haters. (See my previous article Hollywood “Christians” at www.reelchristians.com/hollywood_christians.html.) But this is not biblical. In the Beatitudes, Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth” and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” In fact, Christ never protested in hatred, but rather in love. He came to edify and teach, not to shout or belittle. 

Others would say that we should be silent and just “go about our lives”, accepting that this is the way the world is. Or even keep to our own community as the Amish do. But this is clearly not what the Scriptures teach. When Jesus saw how the people were abusing the temple court, he became angry and forced the people out in righteous anger. Jesus was very vocal, making his wisdom known and making people uncomfortable. This is why he had so many enemies, because He spoke the Truth with conviction. The same is true for Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. It is our missions as Christians to share the grace and love of Jesus Christ with the world as stated in the Great Commission. So then, what should we do, and how should we do it? 

First and foremost, we should pray. Prayer is the single most powerful weapon we have in Christ and many (me included) fail to use it to it's full potential. In John 13:35, Jesus said that we will be recognized as his disciples not by our logic or by our loudness, but by our love. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Not that logic and loudness are bad things. No, in fact, we are called to love the Lord with all our heart (love), soul, mind (logic), and strength (loudness). But love must come first. If we have not love, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, then we are nothing. So, instead of just “accepting” that this is the way people are, we should reach out to them in love. We should have open minds, but open hearts. 1 John 4:7 says, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." Ephesians 4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." If you have any comments, feel free to email me. There is a link to my email on the side. 

Blue Like Jazz

       A couple of weeks, I had the amazing opportunity to go to DCC (Denver Christmas Conference) with Campus Crusade for Christ and had the incredible, and unexpected, privilege of seeing a rough cut of the film Blue Like Jazz, based off the book by the same title.  (See my previous article on book-to-movies conversions and creativity!!)  The movie follows Donald, a boy who is burned by the church, as he runs off to most Godless college in America.  As the story unravels, Donald continually sees God “following” him in everything he does and eventually realizes how he as well as many other Christians misrepresent the power and love of God.

       Overall, the film, which is scheduled to be released in mid-April, is very well done and the “godlessness” is very strongly and realistically portrayed.  The acting is good and the characters are believable and relatable.  However, it is a film that I would not invite all of my Christian friends to see.  There is a lot of language, a lot of drinking and drug use, and a lot of sexual dialogue.  But this all brings up a good point.  

       Recently, I have been researching what are some things that make Christian movies weak and fake.  One of the main problems with Christian films is that they don’t get sin right.  What do I mean by this? Well, secular films make sin (language, sex, and so on) look appealing and tempting.  On the other hand, many Christian films make sin look unappealing and often times just fake.  The choice between the right thing and the wrong thing is a “no duhh” situation that seems unrealistic.

       As with Blue Like Jazz, the amount of sin in the film will attract a broader audience among non-Christian college students and presents a very vivid picture of what a God-less college looks like.  What are your thoughts on “sin” in Christian films?  Are there certain things that are more acceptable than others on screen?  Is it worth adding a little bit of edgier material to reach a wider audience with the Gospel of Christ?  Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think!!

Hollywood and Creativity

          Many people believe that Hollywood has run out of ideas because the vast majority of films being released are either remakes or based off of books or TV shows.  But has Tinsel Town really lost all of it’s originality?  According to BlogCritics.org, every year about 40,000 movie scripts are registered into the Writer’s Guild West.  This huge number suggests that TONS of originality is out there, so why does Hollywood seem to ignore it?  Why stick with remakes and “based-ons” when they could be making new, fresh films?  Is Hollywood afraid?  Why are so many films created based on toys (G.I.Joe, Transformers, etc), books (Like the obvious The Da Vinci Code, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia as well as the Bourne series, James Bond films, Fight Club, and countless others), or old movies/TV shows (3:10 to Yuma, Clash of the Titans, King Kong, Footloose, and Godzilla, the latter set to be released in 2012)?  This paper will seek to answer some of these questions.

There are several reasons why Hollywood tends to make films that are remakes or based on books, a few of which I will list below.  For one thing, it saves  the studios a lot of money.  By remaking a movie that has already had some success, the studio is provided with “free advertising”.  Audiences seem to enjoy returning characters from popular films, which also explains why so many of the sequels, triquels, and prequels are made.  It almost ensures that the film will make decent amount of money.  Also, it provides easy, and often simple, plots that greatly reduces the need for writers.  Another common trick is rereleasing.  Walt Disney rereleased his films every five or so years so that a new generation of young children could experience the excitement that the previous generations had seen.  This also helped recirculate films that were successful in the past.   Many films are made into BluRay or 3D and rereleased into theaters.  A great example of this is the Titanic 3D set to be released next year.

Some have observed that many films out of Hollywood come in pairs.  For example, in 1998 Pixar studio released Bug’s Life a mere month after DreamWorks studios released Ants.  These two films are remarkably similar, dealing with life from an ants perspective and also showing bug wars.  Later, in 2004, DreamWorks studios released Shark Tale a year after the success of Pixar’s Finding Nemo.  Again, both of these films told the story of fish and sharks.  There are many other examples of the “movie pairing”, such as this years Friends With Benefits and No Strings Attached.  The “movie pairs” are most likely trying to attract the same audiences as the other.  But don’t think the days of “movie pairing” are over.  Even next year, two Snow White adaptions are being released, the first called Mirror Mirror (starring Julia Roberts as the Queen in this goofy spoof) and the second Snow White and the Huntsman (starring the Twilight sensation Kristen Stewart as Snow White in this classic-made-epic).

Thousands of films have been created based off of books and other items.  Some of these films have been great successes while others have been tremendous failures.  Quite a few have even gone all the way to receiving Oscar nominations or awards.  So why are book-to-movie conversions so common?  Some would argue that Hollywood has lost originality so it looks for inspiration in popular books.  While there may be some validity to this statement, it is not the whole story.  Many directors like to show us their own takes on different popular stories and try to incorporate new special effects.  This not only benefits the studio (if it is a success, obviously), but it also helps the publishers and authors of the books get new attention and circulation among a younger audience, as previously mentioned.  Novels and other stories provide studios with already fleshed out characters, a strong plot, and sometimes, even the promise of a sequel.

Many suspect that Hollywood has lost its originality.  I, however, would argue that this is not the case.  Thousands of original scripts are written each year, proving that a lack of originality is not Hollywood’s issue.  The reason Hollywood makes so many remakes, “movie pairs”, and book-to-movie conversions is simple: these are proven to bring in money.  Hollywood has become obsessed with “hitting it big”, so it is less likely to take on original, untested works and keep to the “proven” success of former books/movies.  So the problem is not that Hollywood has lost its creativity so much as the general movie-going public has become content with remakes and “based ons”.

Hollywood and Christianity

The Ledge, a drama/thriller coming out this fall, tells the story of a happy Christian couple.  As the story plays out, the wife starts a new job and eventually has an affair with a coworker.  Her husband finds out and is enraged.  He threatens his wife’s lover that if he does not commit suicide by the same time the next day, he would kill his wife.  Towards the end of the trailer, there is an intense barrage of scenes in which the husband menacingly recites Psalm 23 as his wife’s lover prepares to jump off a building.

This is just one example of how Christians are portrayed as negative, oppressive, and sometimes even evil in mainstream Hollywood films.  Christians are often seen as the hateful, unforgiving, intolerant, prideful, hypocrites.  But why?  Why are Christians seen in this way by Hollywood?  If we are supposed to be the salt and light of the world, then where does this picture of Christians come from?  What does Hollywood have against Christianity?

Perhaps a better question would be “What does Hollywood not have against Christians?”  Biblical Christianity stands for practically everything Hollywood does not and stands in the way of everything Hollywood is for.  Here are just a few example:

- Rampant sexual immorality: The amount of sexual material and references in films today is appalling.  The film industry today encourages sex before marriage, sexual expression, and homosexuality as aspects in a “fulfilling” life.  The vast majority of film and TV characters impulsively throw themselves at whoever they happen to like at the moment without any moral restraints.  Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, stands against all of these sins.  The Bible condemns sexual immorality and stresses the importance of sexual purity.  The Church strongly supports sexual fidelity and faithfulness to one spouse.  

- Obscenity and Profanity: Most of the film that coming out of Hollywood are filled with obscenities or profanities.  Even G- or PG-rated movies contain light profanities and often take the Lord’s name in vain.    The Bible clearly states the importance of keeping a clean mouth and taming the tongue.  Proverbs expresses the importance of oral restraint and self control.  Most Christians stand against profanity and speak out for purity of the tongue.

- Violence:  Violence is a common element in the entertainment industry today.  In fact, TV characters are 50x more likely to be in violent situations than the average person.  Recent studies have shown that the average high school graduate has witnessed 15,000 murders and 200,000 acts of violence in media.  In the film world, violence is often the answer to the problems characters encounter, the Bible firmly expresses that vengeance is the Lord’s.  In fact, the Sixth Commandments states that “Thou shalt not murder.”    Christians are instructed to be slow to anger, quick to love, and keep wisdom and discerning in our hearts.  We are instructed not to judge others, unless we too should be judged.

These are just a few of the dozens of issues that Hollywood and the Church disagree on.  Others include environmentalism, family values, and even politics.  Hollywood often regards Christians as its enemies, sometimes writing them off as selfish bigots who hate everyone.

Well, now that we have found out why Christians are despised in Hollywood, what does this mean for us?  Hollywood has incredible power into the masses but lacks the right messages.  The Church, on the other hand, has been preaching the right message for over 2000 years, but does not have as much power as Hollywood.  The problem with most Christian films coming out today is the quality.  Most are cheap, independent films with weak story lines and actors who need lessons.  Add to that an strong Christian message and the general secular public won’t touch it with a 30 foot pole.  It is my personal theory that if the Church is to take its message to the silver screen, the first step is to start creating quality films that display biblical themes without calling them “biblical”.  Once these films have gained an audience, more Biblical content can be added to future films.

In Scripture, the apostle Paul instructs us to do everything to the glory of God.  Why should entertainment be the exception?  I have seen over the past couple of years a large movement in Christian film making.  Even though it is still learning to walk on its own, a few years down the road I believe it will be a powerful influence in our country as well as in the world.  I have felt God moving me to create this blog for a couple of years now, and now that I have, I want it to be a blog that is filled with discussion of recent movie releases and issues in Christian movies and how we can improve them.  To God be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.

The Green Lantern review

“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight.  Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power...Green Lantern’s Light!!”  These are the words of the oath declared by the Green Lantern Corp, an army of intergalactic aliens dedicated to destroying evil and protecting the peace.  These warriors each possess a green ring which allows them to fly and create anything they see in their mind.  The ring is powered by the Will of every creature in the universe and is the most powerful energy source in the Universe.  This is the underlying setup for the DC “Green Lantern” movie of summer 2011 starring Ryan Reynolds as daredevil pilot Hal Jordan.

Hal Jordan is a prideful, playful, and irresponsible fighter pilot who struggles with the nightmares of his past.  His father was killed in the same line of work and Hal now suffers from fear.  Fear of heights, fear of getting too close to people, fear of commitment, fear of death.  But one day, he finds a mysterious glowing ring (well, actually the ring finds him) and is told by the rings original owner, a dying purple alien, that he was chosen to be the next soldier in the Green Lantern Corp, an intergalactic peace keeping corp dedicated to the destruction of evil.  He must stop the threat of Paralax, a monstrous being that feeds on fear, before it consumes the Earth and the entire universe.  He battles his own fears in order to triumph over the physical representation of fear that threatens the entire Universe.

The film “Green Lantern” is very enjoyable in and of itself.  The script is witty and clever, though containing some light profanities and cuss words as well as some innapropriate talk.  The acting is good and the action is impressive and the computer graphics are stunning.  The characters are both believable as well as loveable (at least the ones you should love are).  There are few elements that set “Green Lantern” apart from most super hero movies.  For one thing, Hal Jordan is one of hundreds of super heroes just like him, only they are scattered throughout the Universe.  Also, Hal’s girlfriend, Carol Ferris, knows pretty much from day one that Hal is the Green Lantern.  When Hal first gets the green ring and goes to the distant planet Oa, the home of the Green Lantern Corps, he is regarded as weak and inferior because of his humanity.  Hal begins to suspect that the ring made the wrong decision and wishes to get rid of his powers.  Only through Carol confrontation of him does he come to realize that he has been running from responsibilities all of his life and is irresponsible and learn to stand up to his own fear.

Through a biblical lens, the movie portrayed strong elements of courage and the importance of overcoming our fears.  Throughout the Bible, the angels of the Lord tell people “Do not fear” or “Do not be afraid.”  In fact, phrases like “fear not”, “do not be afraid” and “do not fear” appear about 365 times in the Scriptures.  It is clear that God wants us to hold on to faith and courage.  The film mentions that the Universe was created by a group of immortal aliens who also created the Green Lantern Corp.  This is contrary to the what the Bible teaches in that God created Universe in the course of seven days.  There is a strong call towards taking responsibility and being mature.  In 1 Corinthians 13:11, the apostle Paul writes, “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child.  When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

Green Lantern was a great action flick with some very strong biblical themes.  All the same, caution should be taken as to children viewing due to the language and violence.  In conclusion, besides some inapropriate content, the movie is a great summer blockbuster.

Welcome to ReelChristians Blog

I want to extend my sincere thanks to you for visiting this blog.  This blog was created for the express purpose of uniting Christians interested in and/or involved in any aspect of film making.  I will be posting regularly on the issues of upcoming films, films in theaters and/or recent releases, and some articles discussing what good Christian films might look like.  I want this blog to be a "audience participation" site where several discussions can take place as to the film industry and how we as Christians can make a difference in one of the most influential, as well as corrupted, tools today.  Again, thank you for visiting and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
In Christ Alone,
Mason Brown (Aspiring Actor)