Keeping with the discussion of Christians in the world of film, you’ll notice that we here at F/G are just a little antsy about the world of “Christian Movies.” It’s not that we outright dislike them or think of them as below us, it’s just that we’ve been burned a few too many times. That being the case, it’s kind of nice to see a Christian filmmaker or two acknowledge this concern. Both our interviewed guests and Steve Taylor have mentioned this in regards to their own movies. The other day Dallas Jenkins, director of the movie “Hometown Legend,” also helped shed some light on the subject.
“The fact is, Christian movies have been pretty bad for a few decades. Yes, Hollywood had largely ignored the Christian market, but it’s not like there have been good examples for Hollywood to learn from. And now that Hollywood is actively seeking faith-based material, there’s still a lack of quality scripts and filmmakers available, with a few exceptions, and among the films that are being made in this genre, there are still more crappy ones than good ones.”
I’ve been known to watch Christian TV late at night when it runs Christian films and he’s right: there’s a lot of stuff out there MST3k would have passed on. When movies with the copyright of 2004 look like the late 70s, there’s probably a quality issue.
Where I guess I cringe the most is when he talks about a “Christian Market.” I don’t want to be yet another demographic that Hollywood can target. I’m perfectly happy being ignored by those who don’t really try to understand my faith except in terms of dollars. For years, movies have been made by Christians where the main selling point seems to have been “Send a Message to Hollywood.” Unfortunately that message has been sent: We have money and we’re willing to spend it. Personally, I think the last thing Christians should want is more movies marketed at them. If you want an example of it, The DaVinci Code and Rocky Balboa were both marketed to Christians to an extent following the runaway success of The Passion of the Christ. Rocky had a tenuous connection to the faith and DaVinci Code was outright opposed to it, yet it was marketed as a way to increase discussion about the role the film played. Rocky even had literature for your church to use.
Jenkins gets to some of the problems of “Christian Film:”
In “Christian film,” you’ve got a genre defined entirely by its message….The problem is that everyone knows good art should always put story and character above message. Message films are rarely exciting. So by their very nature, most Christian films aren’t going to be very good because they have to fall within certain message-based parameters. And because the Christian audience is so glad to get a “safe, redeeming, faith-based message,” even at the expense of great art, they don’t demand higher artistic standards.
One of the best bits of blogging I’ve read in the past 10 years is an essay by Michael Spencer, aka “The Internet Monk,” is a piece called “Wretched Urgency.” In summary — Christians, specifically evangelical Christians, are trained from early on that if they do not get their “message” out unambiguously they are wasting their time. It’s not a belief that has much Biblical support, but works rather well when shaming people. I believe this “Wretched Urgency” is what drives a lot of projects by Christians and also affects what they are willing to support and view.
I know that musicians have dealt with this one endlessly — Margaret Becker was shamed for speaking in metaphor when she could have been more direct. Phil Keaggy was questioned when he put out an instrumental album. REZ sang about divorce and racism and was thought to be too worldly. Even someone as “CCM-Friendly” as Steven Curtis Chapman had people asking him why he spent his time singing love songs he wrote for his wife. Much of Christian Pop Music until the 21st Century was under the guise of Evangelism, and it’s safe to say that Christian Filmmakers are given the same difficulties now. If the message isn’t clear, if it isn’t blindingly obvious, and if there isn’t some direct giving of the gospel by the end it’s safe to say that some people will have seen it as a waste of time — and its even worse if the metaphors and symbolism aren’t blatant.
The problem is that Christians seem to want message films — or at least those types of movies are the easiest to sell to other Christians. Jenkins seems to agree:
“Add in the fact that the average heartland Christian couldn’t care less what a critic thinks – if anything, they assume they’ll feel the opposite of a movie critic– and you’ve got even less incentive for Christian filmmakers to be obsessed with quality.”
Meanwhile, I find it interesting that, like in the world of Christian Music, some stereotypes are starting to crumble. Part of the justification of CCM was that “the world” wasn’t going to let Christians on the air. They’d have to water down their message or keep silent about their faith. Much of that myth came crashing down earlier this decade when Sixpence None the Richer and P.O.D. made the charts and both spoke openly about their faith in song and in interviews. Even Sufjan Stevens made a splash in indie circles while putting hymns and other songs to God on his CDs. At the same time a Christian Film director, Andrew Stanton, won an Oscar for best animated film (WALL-E) and another Christian film director has one of the most talked about films of this summer with Up. Tyler Perry puts Biblical principles in his movies and they race to the top of the charts. It seems to me that Christians are making good films — they’re just not the ones other Christians want to watch.
I’m a little concerned that all of this comes off as a bit selfish — as if we demand our wishes be catered to, and our wish-fulfillment stories be up on the screen with the rest of the world’s….and those stories where people go from angry atheists to born-again Christians in 90 minutes are just that.
Jenkins ends with a call for Christians to become better at their craft, and I agree wholly. The rest of his article is a good read, and I encourage you to check it out if you’ve ever wondered why Christian Film usually struggles to reach the levels of a made-for-TV movie.
(Also, in interest of disclosure — I went to school with Dallas and he made a short film using my freshman dormroom as a setting. It needed to be a terrible mess and he found exactly what he was looking for.)
This is a great article, very well articulated and with a lot of good things to say. I’ll be honest, though, that as much as I enjoy discussion about this issue, it always leaves me wondering if we’re asking the right questions.
I mean, I can think of so many people who were heros in the media of their day who still seemed to be able to let the message come through loud and clear without watering down the artistic excellence that has made their works endure to today.
I’m talking about Bethoven, Bach, and especially Handel, whose masterpiece is good enough to be performed all around the world at Christmas and Easter time and actually has led people to the Lord. Or John Bunyan, whose blatently obvious imagery is still presented well artistically and has also reached the lost all over the world.
The list could go on with Dickens, Flannery O’Connor, Dostoevsky, Lewis, and many more, but the point is the same that there are many who have figured out how to sacrifice neither the message nor the media. As a result, these have left a message, standard, and testimony for many generations. These are the people I wish I could interview, to hear what they have to say about the subject.
My guess is that they would say their excellence was done for God, who demands it both in the media and the message. I believe that the “Christian” industry will reach the standards we’re all longing for when the movies aren’t made for Hollywood or for the Christian market, but for the God we represent.
(Sorry for the long comment, I just wanted to give some thoughts and generate discussion.)
Thanks for the article, man. Well done. One thing I disagreed with: “It seems to me that Christians are making good films — they’re just not the ones other Christians want to watch.” Christians ARE watching the Pixar films. They do go out and see films with good values, which is one of the reasons those films do so well. We’re talking about films with explicit Christian content that are marketed directly to the church market.
Also, in my article there’s a link to another article I wrote that addresses another one of your points, which is the question of whether it’s a good thing for Hollywood to be pursuing the Christian market. I think you’d find it interesting.
Dallas and Nathanael,
Thank you for your responses. Sorry I’m taking so long to respond, I’m packing for a long vacation!
Dallas, I agree – it’s not like Christians aren’t going to Pixar films. There are a few other studios and directors who get a lot of attention from Christians thanks to their commitments. Still, the idea of Hollywood catering to a church market (however that is done) still gives me pause. I don’t want to be another demographic so predictable that consultants and marketers are setting their budgets based on catering to how they perceive me….and I don’t want followers of Jesus to be an that easy a target to hit.