By creating our own film industry, we miss out on the opportunity to demonstrate our faith to the people in the real film industry.

Josh

That is not even getting into the issue of the fuzzy math they were using in their original article, or their shaky classification of the movies they listed.  (I think plenty of commenters have said plenty about that).

Bleh.  The world needs more film makers willing to make original, thought-provoking films about interesting topics, and there’s plenty of room in the mainstream industry for Christians to be influential.  Setting aside a niche industry ensures that lots and lots of people WON’T go see the film, who might otherwise if there was no Christian label attached to it.

A few things have jumped out at me on this, one was this quote from the NPR story:

“These Christian directors will make movies about subjects that evangelicals care about, Phillips says, the kind that were finalists at the San Antonio festival: dramas about abortion, documentaries about creationism and home schooling — and even a musical about taxation.”

Ouch.
While this is NPR’s filtering of what was happening,  from the descriptions of some of the films listed in the Final Category, this message seems to be “Evangelicals care more about high taxes, homeschooling, and being right about Science than showing the story of redemption.” The stereotype of “Evangelicals as culture warriors” seems to be firmly set, even in the Final Films.

The other major thing is the “send a Message to Hollywood” line. I remember hearing it when The Omega Code, Left Behind, Veggie Tales, and The Passion came out. I think the message is sent, but it’s not the one they wanted to send: Evangelicals have money – and its yours if you market the movie right. We’ve heard the phrase “Passion Dollars” for 5 years now. Yes, there’s been Narnia, but there’s been numerous movies and companies (remember FoxFaith?) far more interested in using the church to fit their agenda. Even Rocky Balboa came with a Bible Study and Pastoral recommendations.

Still, there’s something admirable than can come from this. I want Christian filmmakers to get better at their craft. I want them to have encouragement from other believers. I want them to have constructive criticism, criticism that will not make up excuses because it is “Christian” art (I cannot remember the number of times I’ve been told “Yes the story’s simplistic and the plot is stilted, but it’s reaching people!”), but also one that will not turn up its nose because of the subject matter. I don’t want to see Christians’ films languishing in cut out bins at the local Christian bookstore and airing at 2am on TBN. I want them out in the open where they have a chance to shine or fall.

Yes, please make independent films, away from the Hollywood sheen if needed. Please encourage Christian filmmakers to address their faith in their films. But, please, don’t feel like you have to start a niche industry to make it happen. Instead of a new Christian film industry, I’d rather hear about a group of filmmakers accountable to each other — where they encourage themselves to be better in their craft. Part of that is happening here and that is good, I just hope we don’t see another alternate universe senario like in CCM, where it primarily becomes entertainment for Christians, by Christians.