School's Out

School’s Out and Jesus is “In”

The DaVinci Code kicks off this summer’s movie releases and is sure to be a hit. What is it all about? Christianity… again.

Hollywood has discovered that Christians spend just as much money in the box office as the rest of America, and they’re making the most of it.

This summer will be full of movies with Christian and religious themes. Among the upcoming new releases are movies like The Reaping, about a missionary who loses her faith, and The King, which is an “examination of how hard it is to be righteous,” according to the director. (Find a complete list from USA Today here.)

The DaVinci Code is a prime example of Hollywood exploring matters of faith. But the values it promotes has many believers worried. It attacks the very core of the Christian faith, the validity of the New Testament, and even suggests that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.

Should we be happy that Christianity is so popular? Or should it worry us? Not easily answered, these questions are the topic of many debates. Whether we like it or not, Hollywood’s obsession with Jesus is not likely to go away soon.

The Good
Christianity in popular culture has made great strides in the last few years. What used to only be seen in Christian bookstores is now featured in the isles of Wal-Mart and at the local theater.

Christian merchandise has been booming for years. Just take a look at best-selling novels and devotionals like Left Behind and The Purpose-Driven Life (which has now been on the New York Times best-seller list for 170 weeks). In addition, “Jesus is my homeboy” T-shirts started roaring off the shelves when celebrities were seen wearing them.

The trend is now moving to movies. Experts say that The Passion of the Christ finally opened the eyes of Hollywood’s elite to see the value of appealing to the religiously devout. Titles like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe came later to capitalize on this newly discovered market niche, and now, movies with religious themes are common.

Joe Bubar, a minister with the Scottsdale Bible Church in Arizona, is happy to see movies on Christian topics. He welcomes anything that helps spread the Biblical message. And movies, he says, are particularly appealing to young people.

They have also brought more awareness to the existence of the church in popular culture. Bob Waliszewski, a media specialist with Focus on the Family, says that “Mel Gibson did us a service… The Hollywood elites’ eyes widened big time.” Movies are now pre-screened at churches, and directors are cutting out certain four letter words to not offend this influential audience.

The Bad
All this emphasis on Christian movie-goers does not mean that Biblical values will be reflected in every release. After showing his film at several churches, one director still chose not to edit out profanity using the word “God,” in spite of the negative reactions he received.

Christianity is often thrown around quite flippantly, many times by non-believers. In Mr. & Mrs. Smith, director Doug Liman decided to make the next-door neighbors Christian. “It’s literally in there for no other reason than I thought: This is cool.”

Then there are feature films like Kingdom of Heaven. The title sounds promising, but while watching the movie, viewers discover what resembles the popular concept of relative truth instead of the absolute truth of Scripture.

This reflects a popular view in Hollywood. For instance, Dennis Quaid, who grew up Baptist, was quoted in an interview saying, “There’s really not that much difference between Christians and Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists. We all worship God.”

The upcoming release of The DaVinci Code epitomizes the possible negative ramifications of this trend. The uproar of Christian protest has raised the public’s awareness of this movie’s mistreatment of the truth. However, nobody seems to notice when less-popular movies mock the faith in more subtle ways.

The Ugly
Unfortunately, the worse is yet to be said, and it has nothing to do with movies in the theatres. Hollywood’s newfound passion for Christ has revealed the true nature of many American Christians.

“The truth is, followers of Christ are everywhere and every day folks,” according to Christian marketing consultant Jonathan Bock. A study by a leading Hollywood marketing firm found that “when it comes to popular movies and popular shows, tastes don’t differ at all” between religious and nonreligious people.

In other words, no matter what the amount of objectionable content, Christians are still watching it. In fact, conservative religious people are the group most likely to watch movies rated R for violence.

Hollywood sees us as normal. Shouldn’t we stand out a little bit more?

Make no mistake about it: Hollywood has noticed the popularity of Christian movies, and they are going to make as much money as they can off of it.

The role of individual Christians remains the same: Live a strong example of Christ, in and out of the movie theatre. Carefully research the movies you do see to make sure that you are not supporting anything that defies Christian values. But most importantly, remember that the greatest influence you have is in the life you live and your personal relationships with those around you.

Movie makers have set their sights on Christians, and they probably will not forget about us for some time. Let us pray that the movies that are made to portray Christ reflect Him in a reverent and accurate manner, and that people will not be confused by any untruth they see on the big screen.


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