Don't Try This at Home

Quite a few posts back, I vented my frustrations at the new trend of churches making movies. My conviction behind that is there are better ways for the church to show the gospel to those who need to see it. I try to share ideas for such ways whenever they are revealed to me. My conviction stands, but I have other reasons as well.

I'm a movie snob. I've seen a few, and I'm a sucker for good storytelling, whether it be literary, cinematic, or both. All that to say I have strong feelings on the subject.

These strong feelings make me fidget often in Christian circles. I hold my tongue because many friends are excited about this great new movie with little to no production quality, and they strongly recommend it. I don't like popping people's balloons, so to speak, as it's frowned upon and may cause them to cry. Or me, or both. When in doubt, smile and nod.

I recently saw a popular Christian movie, and as with all movies I watch, I looked for the good. The best I came up with was potential.

A story should reflect effort put into it. It's good to have a message, but if that's the only point there are other (and better) methods for that. Movies are about storytelling.

Part of telling the story is being aware of cliches. An online entertainment magazine brought my attention to the "magical black man" cliche in movies such as the Green Mile. Rather than portray African Americans as human, they are given powers. A friend noted the sassy black friend cliche in other movies. Or maybe being sassy is another power, I'm not quite sure. It could be.

Back to the Christian movie. It had both of the cliches. One wasn't enough, I guess.

Why is this an issue? It disturbs me to see Christians chasing after trends, especially when there's something wrong with them. There was potential to show the difference in Christian and worldly perspectives, yet we got sucked in.

It doesn't help that women are shown in this movie as better seen than heard. Or hilariously sassy.

Shouldn't we identify and strive to correct cliches with a flawed basis? Why not give the supporting characters some depth, or even make the story about them instead of the leads? I think the latter would have worked better in this film as striving to keep a marriage together after one has already failed makes a better story than the one used.

This could show a deeper respect for the characters than we are used to in most movies, Christian or secular. It doesn't take tons of money but good writing, and people who enjoy what they do. I know there are screenplay writers out there who can do it, and if any of them read this post by some miracle or another I encourage them to do so. It can be made by people who know how and really want to.

Filmakers make films. Meanwhile, the local church is doing what it does best-- loving the Lord God with all its heart, soul and mind, and its neighbor as itself. We are one body, but when a hand tries to be a foot, things get messy.