http://www.faithandgeekery.com/2009/11/18/the-road-coming-soon-to-a-church-near-you/ Geekish News, Reviews, and Commentary Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:26:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.faithandgeekery.com/2009/11/18/the-road-coming-soon-to-a-church-near-you/comment-page-1/#comment-4294 Wyldeirishman Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:15:56 +0000 http://www.faithandgeekery.com/?p=2989#comment-4294 Who else besides me is tired of the moniker "Christian film?"   What does that even mean? What <strong>CAN</strong> it mean?   Seriously, if this isn't about niche marketing, then it's not about anything at all. There are any number of spiritual parallels, both positive and negative, to be found in films that I have enjoyed throughout my many long years, but this smacks of the same flavor of "gigantic outreach opportunity" that regrettably accompanied Mel's "PotC."   Why not simply let a film be a film? Revel in the filmcraft, and discuss the particulars during and after. I can think of several spiritual points in the Spider-Man films, but I'm not about to run out of the end-zone and into the parking lot ala Forrest Gump to grab someone by the collar and ham-handedly "evangelize" them with it.   Let's not reach so far that we dislocate our arms. Who else besides me is tired of the moniker “Christian film?”
 
What does that even mean? What CAN it mean?
 
Seriously, if this isn’t about niche marketing, then it’s not about anything at all. There are any number of spiritual parallels, both positive and negative, to be found in films that I have enjoyed throughout my many long years, but this smacks of the same flavor of “gigantic outreach opportunity” that regrettably accompanied Mel’s “PotC.”
 
Why not simply let a film be a film? Revel in the filmcraft, and discuss the particulars during and after. I can think of several spiritual points in the Spider-Man films, but I’m not about to run out of the end-zone and into the parking lot ala Forrest Gump to grab someone by the collar and ham-handedly “evangelize” them with it.
 
Let’s not reach so far that we dislocate our arms.

]]> http://www.faithandgeekery.com/2009/11/18/the-road-coming-soon-to-a-church-near-you/comment-page-1/#comment-4289 Kim L Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:35:55 +0000 http://www.faithandgeekery.com/?p=2989#comment-4289 Having read the book that the movie is based on, I really have a hard time understanding this one.  The book is beyond bleak, it was so darn depressing that the holocaust novel I read afterwards seemed  cheerful in comparison.  Besides being bleak, it had some extremely disturbing moments of violence (think of a scene from Saw).  I'm not quite sure how that translates into "Perfect for the Christian Market!"  Yeah the characters are noble and sacrificing, blah, blah blah, but basically they're just trying to survive in a world without food, shelter, or the slightest bit of hope. As far as how Christians should react to this whole thing, I've sat through a few sermons here and there based on movies (one totally based on The Matrix is coming to mind), and I think it can be one of many tools available to teach about deeper truths.  It doesn't mean every movie has to be turned into an allegory, of course, because that would be silly.  Maybe just enjoying them and occasionally pulling pieces from them to illustrate a point. No one should be fooled though - the movie studios are aiming for Christians as a market share, not because they want to spread the gospel.  Still, it isn't all bad.  It means Christians have spoken up enough that studios are aware of their existence. Having read the book that the movie is based on, I really have a hard time understanding this one.  The book is beyond bleak, it was so darn depressing that the holocaust novel I read afterwards seemed  cheerful in comparison.  Besides being bleak, it had some extremely disturbing moments of violence (think of a scene from Saw).  I’m not quite sure how that translates into “Perfect for the Christian Market!”  Yeah the characters are noble and sacrificing, blah, blah blah, but basically they’re just trying to survive in a world without food, shelter, or the slightest bit of hope.
As far as how Christians should react to this whole thing, I’ve sat through a few sermons here and there based on movies (one totally based on The Matrix is coming to mind), and I think it can be one of many tools available to teach about deeper truths.  It doesn’t mean every movie has to be turned into an allegory, of course, because that would be silly.  Maybe just enjoying them and occasionally pulling pieces from them to illustrate a point.
No one should be fooled though – the movie studios are aiming for Christians as a market share, not because they want to spread the gospel.  Still, it isn’t all bad.  It means Christians have spoken up enough that studios are aware of their existence.

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