For Christians Seeing Movies

[Apologiaphoenix]

How do you see a film?

The link can be found here.

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What should we consider when we see a film? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

My wife and I have some dinner and a movie gift cards, so today we're going to go see the new Star Wars movie and then go out for a dinner. Some of you might be surprised to learn I'm not really much of a Star Wars fan. I know the basic story, but that's about it. We went to see Episode VII because my wife wanted to and that's the same reason we're seeing VIII.

So I wanted to give some advice about seeing movies. I'm not going to talk about the usual things you might expect such as sex and violence and profanity and the like. That has been said over and over. What I am saying will apply to not just movies, but to books and most any other form of media as well.

When I was a student at a Seminary, we had a professor who really loved movies and wanted to start discussions based on movies. One night at the seminary all students who wanted were invited to watch*The Truman Show. I had never seen it and it was a free movie so I decided to go along.*

When the movie ended, the professor came out to ask us what we thought and also to talk about the messages that we saw in the movie. Naturally, this is a room full of Christians and I have no doubt many of them wanted to impress the professor and their peers with how insightful they were. I was off sitting more by my self, but I saw student after student speak up and talk about how X was a symbol of Christ.

It's understandable. In some ways, I think Christ figures are unavoidable in movies. Christ is the ultimate hero after all and the ultimate example of self-sacrifice. What we have to ask is if that was really what was in mind.

This gets down to how to approach any work of media in the world. When someone goes to see the new Star Wars movie, they could see images that remind them of Jesus. That doesn't mean that that was in the mind of the producer necessarily and even if it was, it doesn't mean that the producer of the film is trying to give a Christian message.*

When you see a work in the media, try to interpret it based on what you think the author is really trying to convey first. Be honest with the work. If the author is not a Christian, he's quite likely not trying to convey a Christian message. We would not want someone to watch The Chronicles of Narnia and try to find a Buddhist message in it. We know Lewis is talking about Jesus in it.*

Also, keep in mind you can enjoy the movie. Just because a movie or a book is by a non-Christian doesn't mean you can't enjoy it, and even still you can find some glimpses of the truest story of all in there, even if they are not really intended by the author. If the Gospel is what our hearts really long for, it will come out eventually.

If you're going to see the new film today, have fun and enjoy it, but don't try to turn a non-Christian film into a Christian masterpiece. Treat the work fairly.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

[Cow Poke]

Interesting, Nick.

What I hate is when I read a book (like Hunt for Red October) then go see the movie. I want to scream "that's not how that happened".

Awaiting your advice.

[Adrift]

I see where you're coming from on this, but here's my take. If Christianity is true, then essentially there is a spiritual dimension to all sorts of things that creative types are pulling from that they themselves are not aware of. They may be pulling from real events in their life. They may be pulling from the latest newspaper headlines. They may even be pulling from their own pure imagination, and/or the fantasy molds of previous creative types. But even that fantasy/imagination is bound by human understanding, and humans are body/spirit beings, who live in a material and spiritual universe. If Christianity is true, then there is no way not to tell a story that doesn't have some basis in the foundations of this God-ordained universe, even if the story is of entirely different universes altogether.

You're right, in that we must realize the intent of the author, but everything comes from something, and the discerning Christian ought to have an awareness of that. The discerning Christian should be able to pick up on the truth and the lies in even the most fantastical films, because great creators almost always create with some sort of agenda or real life message, and that agenda comes from someplace...often either reflecting God's kingdom, or satan's distortions.

Some of my favorite "Christian" films aren't intentionally Christian at all. I know the writer/director wasn't going for a Christian message, at least, not consciously, but the spirit of the piece has ideas in place that come from a place of truth that transcends the writer/director's imagination. Some of my least favorite films are films that are not intentionally satanic, but whose subtext seeks to subvert Christian values subconsciously.

To be clear, I'm not saying we ought to assume angels and demons in every film, but the discerning Christian ought to really think and be aware about what a piece is attempting to convey, and where the creator's motivations find their origin.

[Cow Poke]

Some of my favorite "Christian" films aren't intentionally Christian at all.

Examples, please.

[Adrift]

Interesting, Nick.

What I hate is when I read a book (like Hunt for Red October) then go see the movie. I want to scream "that's not how that happened".

Awaiting your advice.

Books are not movies, and movies are not books, and I think both need to be appreciated on their own as their own thing. An adaptation will never present a 1:1 parallel, and nor should it. I've seen so many people who found that the film adaptation of their favorite book didn't live up to their imagination, and I think that's simply placing too much on what creators can do, or what they might even want to do. Now, granted, some movies adaptations are, in fact, inferior to the book (and occasionally vice versa). In that case we just need to judge each work on their own merit, or on our aesthetic sense.

Just my two cents.

[Cow Poke]

Books are not movies, and movies are not books, and I think both need to be appreciated on their own as their own thing. An adaptation will never present a 1:1 parallel, and nor should it. I've seen so many people who found that the film adaptation of their favorite book didn't live up to their imagination, and I think that's simply placing too much on what creators can do, or what they might even want to do. Now, granted, some movies adaptations are, in fact, inferior to the book (and occasionally vice versa). In that case we just need to judge each work on their own merit, or on our aesthetic sense.

Just my two cents.

Yeah

[Adrift]

Examples, please.

Sure. My go-to are the R-rated films Bad Lieutenant, and Black Snake Moan. Now, both of those films actually do present some themes about the church or Christianity within them, but they're certainly not the type of films you'd want to show to a youth group, and they aren't, for all-intents-and-purposes, Christian films. Both films are incredibly violent, sexual, and bleak, but end with real spiritual redemption from sin for the protagonists. There is a real message of hope and freedom in them.

[Cow Poke]

Sure. My go-to are the R-rated films Bad Lieutenant, and Black Snake Moan. Now, both of those films actually do present some themes about the church or Christianity within them, but they're certainly not the type of films you'd want to show to a youth group, and they aren't, for all-intents-and-purposes, Christian films. Both films are incredibly violent, sexual, and bleak, but end with real spiritual redemption from sin for the protagonists. There is a real message of hope and freedom in them.

Interesting.

[Faber]

Examples, please.

I think Omega Man, with Charlton Heston in 1971, might qualify. It was rated PG, back when the ratings system first came out, despite some frontal female nudity. Heston was immune to the disease, and his blood was used as an antidote. In the end, as he lay dying, his arms were outstretched as if to resemble Jesus on a cross. Definitely not a Christian film, but I think it was intended to hint at a Christian-type message.

[Cow Poke]

I think Omega Man, with Charlton Heston in 1971, might qualify. It was rated PG, back when the ratings system first came out, despite some frontal female nudity. Heston was immune to the disease, and his blood was used as an antidote. In the end, as he lay dying, his arms were outstretched as if to resemble Jesus on a cross. Definitely not a Christian film, but I think it was intended to hint at a Christian-type message.

Wasn't there a TV series with pretty much that same theme?

[Adrift]

Wasn't there a TV series with pretty much that same theme?

It's actually the second adaptation of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend. The first being Vincent Price's The Last Man on Earth, and the third being Will Smith's I Am Legend. Omega Man is rough and dirty, but I like it. It's during Heston's late 60s-70s sci-fi era along with films like Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green. I think Price's Last Man on Earth was the closest to the book, but the book itself was a bit disappointing, in my opinion. Great novel right up until the end, when Matheson just...ran out of steam.