On the Big Screen (Part 2)

Last week I dug into bodies of work that try to force God out of the works. And fail. So let’s talk about stories that have God put into them.

Compare, if you will, works like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. One has thinly veiled allegory (spoiler alert: Aslan is Jesus). The other is a thrilling adventure with action, romance, brotherhood, wit, and dragons. Both are beloved classics. Both are well written. Both came out of the inklings club. They are geared towards different ages as Lewis wrote for all ages, especially children and Tolkien wrote more for adults. One has had mass market appeal across the globe, across religions, across borders. One has done most of its business in western markets and with children. I like both, but I often find it is only those who already know about the goodness of God who like Narnia while LOTR appeals to even the firmest of non-believers because Strider is cool or they like Legolas or Tom Bombadil is their favorite. When adapted for film there have been some successes and some weird ones. But both set out to tell a story that happened to have God in it rather than forcing a story around God.

And… both are interwoven with theology. Classic Christian themes of good vs. evil is the big obvious one, but forgiveness, redemption, healing show up too. But, and this is a big but, both stand in sharp contrast to films like God’s Not Dead. Critics did not like it. 12% on rotten tomatoes is not a good score from critics. And what think is equally important is that critics didn’t hate it because of its religious themes and ideals… remember critics liked The Ten Commandments (84%), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (86%), and The Prince of Egypt (79%). Maybe the trick is to put Moses in your movie. Or maybe it’s just to tell a good story first.

Critics didn’t dislike God’s Not Dead because it was religious. They didn’t like it because it was bad. Plot holes, too much Deus Ex Machina, bad acting, and worse- clunky inhuman dialogue. There was a lot of “that’s not how that works” throughout the film. And that’s just one example of faith forced into film that only appeals to those who already believe. Even as a Christian, a pastor, a believer… I walk away from that movie going I gained nothing. My faith wasn’t challenged or affirmed- it was pandered to. God may not be dead, but this movie sure tried to kill God. And like most opinions, this one is mine. Maybe you liked this one, but I’m going to stand by the point that this would be what I would call ineffective ministry.

Stories that try to force God into them fail more often than not. They, in my experience, fall into a false dichotomy. People are either saints or sinners.

So often God centered media tends to divide the characters represented into two groups. The overtly sinning, ne’er do well, godless heathens and the saintly, good Christian people. But as that doesn’t reflect reality well, I don’t tend to enjoy media that displays Christians as perfect, all the time, without trying. Or, with one little vice that they were able to overcome once they come to know Jesus. I relate a lot more to a believer who doesn’t get it right immediately or all the time or… ever. That seems to be much more like life and much more approachable.

I like stories about people. Real people. People who fail. People who sin. People who are striving for perfection, but maybe ain’t there yet. People like me. Because God loves those people too.