Phil Cooke

You all need to see http://www.likedandeliondust.com, coming out on September 24. Though it’s based on a book by a Christian novelist, it’s unlike any other film you’ve seen from Christian producers.

It’s won 30 festival awards from all across the country, and critics have lauded it. Mira Sorvino and Barry Pepper, the leads, deliver phenomenal performances in a story that doesn’t shy away from tough topics: alcoholism, spouse abuse, and child endangerment.

It’s a modern-day parable. Check out the trailer and see if it doesn’t change your mind about films from Christians.

As a Christian who writes scripts, and is connected to many in Christian Media, the solution is obvious .  We need to make movies that quit “preaching to the choir ” and reach the lost.  A great little movie that will be marketed to, and seen by the church is what?  Just that!  We need to get out and get dirty.  We need to make movies that gang bangers in South Central, and kids searching for an answer in Dallas will want to go see.  We give them a quality movie with a powerful message that takes them day’s, perhaps weeks later to “find out” they have been witnessed to.  Then they would reflect on what they have seen, and could it change their lives?  Should a “Christian movie” even be marketed as such?  Many non-believers would avoid that label as a drunk would AA.  Jesus didn’t just hang out with “The choir”….neither should “Christian films”.

The article touches raises some great points. I recall hearing a theologian explaining why the “woman caught in adultery” passge was omitted from many 3 and 4th generation texts. It was just too controversial – yet its these stories that are most riveting.

Lets be honest with ourselves, many Old Testament stories would be MA or R rated if put to film.

I agree with Megan – so many Christian movies gloss over the grittiness of real life, to the point the important moments just do not ring true, and seem detached from the reality, the pain, the tragedy which so many

Taking shortcuts to presenting real stories, in a non-offensive (read: Stepford) way, to please Christian advertisers, is a real enemy to art, story, AND message.

As an artist and writer, I’m worn out from the litmus tests I hear Christian organizations putting out as far as content, language, etc. We need to GET OVER THE BUBBLE.

I remember doing a cartoon for a major Christian magazine, and the editors called me laughing and said they loved it, but they were afraid it would offend a major advertiser, so they couldn’t print it. And that scenario is repeated over and over, for much bigger projects than my little cartoon, every single day in The Bubble. Is the goal to entertain the Bubble? Then, hey, have at it.

If it’s to reach people in say, “the highways and the hedges,” the Christian community, and the money behind the “art” we put out, need to grow some cojones.

This is one reason I like Ted Dekker books. He doesn’t shy away from graphic depictions of evil and doesn’t necessarily tie everything up with a nice bow. There are very messy consequences to sin.

Apologies for the typo above, the first sentence should read:

I agree with Megan – so many Christian movies gloss over the grittiness of real life, to the point the important moments just do not ring true, and seem detached from the reality, the pain, the tragedy which so many experience every single day.

Great review – and she’s exactly right.

It’s really simple.  TELL THE STORY.  Don’t sanitize, proselytize, marginalize and minimize.  TELL IT AND KEEP IT REAL!

Quoting Teresa Roberts Logan

<cite>

…the tragedy which so many Taking shortcuts to presenting real stories, in a non-offensive (read: Stepford) way, to please Christian advertisers, is a real enemy to art, story, AND message. As an artist and writer, I’m worn out from the litmus tests I hear Christian organizations putting out as far as content, language, etc. We need to GET OVER THE BUBBLE. I remember doing a cartoon for a major Christian magazine, and the editors called me laughing and said they loved it, but they were afraid it would offend a major advertiser, so they couldn’t print it. And that scenario is repeated over and over,

</cite>

so so true. In fact, there is a mindset within the big-wigs of Christian media and Christianity that they have to define for us the “official” definition of “real Christians” from families, politics, and “whirledview” (worldview). It has gotten to the point where if Christian books, devotionals, etc. deviate from what is supposed to be our “official whirledview”  it is viewed by the Christian media as either “offensive”, “non-existent”, “unreal”, or “inferior in Christian walk” and never see the light of day unless you go out and get your own web page and speak it yourself.

Estus Pirkle & Ron Ormond already did it.

he is so true about how the so -called christian little oworld wunt to clean everythings up to their way not god’s way.i came from a long way around the block (not caring if there is or not a god to being used by god heal the sick )and the joke will be on the those who have thier blinders on .jesus did not run away from life yet chritiant is the biggest joke in the eyes of the world.with all this rules and ways to be saved.funny thing if juses came in the building most of the church would walk other way.the world would rather see us live it more than us telling them our piont view. so, game on and you are it.

Sorry for the belated response! Working in the Christian film distributorship industry, I see a lot of Christian films – made by lovely people trying to save the lost, but they are preachy. As soon as it gets preachy I know the secular market has just turned it off. So if we want to reach the secular world let the story give the message, with interesting characters, thoughtful script without preaching.

It’s not whether we put in some cussing or sex scenes etc – it’s good script and characters.

Look at End of the Spear – a lot of Christians boycotted it because of a homosexual activist actor playing the lead role, and there were complaints that Jesus wasn’t mentioned by name, and there were no scriptures – it wasn’t preachy enough! This is a perfect example – that film was brilliantly done, and the story was all about sacrifice and forgiveness – non-Christians came out of the cinemas full of questions – “why did they do that?”, which led directly to Jesus Christ, without a single scripture being read or preachiness.

About the homosexual actor – since when have our actors been squeaky clean? Since when have we been squeaky clean? We commit adultery, be mean to people, judge people .. Chad Allen did a great job as did the other actors.

Christian filmmaking is still in its early days, hopefully we’ll get better at it.

As unpleasantly graphic that many would feel “The Devil’s Advocate” starring Al Pacino was, I still think it is the best illustrated sermon on the nature of temptation that has been made. It has a very informed insight on how the spiritual world and the natural world interact.

Great article. I agree 100%. A question I’d like to put out there and would like to hear Phils thoughts on this as well is, how far do we go in regards to the content that we put in films? Something I’ve been wrestling with is is it ok to put swearing in a film when the bible tells us to keep filthy language from our lips? I have a couple of christian friends who have made films that include some course language. Does it mean because someone is acting it’s ok?
I’m not being the high and mighty spiritual person here (some of my all time favourite films have lots of bad language), I’m just asking what God would want us to do when it comes to writing our own stories?

I think one problem is how to display sin/sinfulness/the-harshness-of-reality in it’s true state i.e. cursing, immorality and so on, in a “true” sense without offending the Christian fan-base.

Is it time for adult (not in the sexual connotation) Christian films? Believers are quick to play the “gratuitous” card but I agree – without the weight of reality the pay off in faith based films is nowhere near as effective.

Good article.

A few years ago, I shared a script with a friend that depicted a teen in agony over her parents’ divorce. Like most people who grow up in church, I saw divorce as a BIG EVIL and assumed everyone would see it as the same, huge devastating event that I saw it to be. My friend trashed the script. As a child of divorce, my friend had no sympathy for the main character, whom he saw as a selfish drama queen rather than an individual in crisis. It was an eye opening critique that showed me how far off I was from connecting with the secular world in my writing.

Until we learn to view the BIG EVILS of life – alcohol, divorce, lying, cheating, etc. – the way the world views them, we will continue to write scripts that come off as naiive and superficial. That doesn’t mean we have to accept these things as “no big deal” and “just a part of life.” It means we need to get into their heads and understand WHY they view these things as such. We have to learn to speak their language if we want them to receive the gospel.

I wish we had more stories of redemption and substitutionary death like “To End All Wars” and even “Gran Torino.”  Sure the violence and language pushes the CHristian prude button.  But how many people emerged from that film and asked “Why would he do something like that?”  Seems like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea were asking the same thing about Jesus?

I wonder how many true unbelievers/pagans (prostitutes and drunks) that rank and file Christians know and spend time with.  With all due respect to Mr. Nixon, how many does he know? 

The rub always comes with including a few damn’s and hell’s (and cigarettes, Seagram’s 7 and a double entendre et al)… Suddenly churches won’t show it, support it, or promote it.  It is a cycle of “nothing new under the sun.”

Good on you, Megan, and on you, Phil.