Mel Gibson was giving the tutorial, but Hollywood was a quick study. After Churches bought out whole theaters for the community to view "The Passion of The Christ", Hollywood started courting the church.
They piggy-back on "para-church" media organizations. I receive a few fliers per week trying to get me to mention these films, use clips as illustrations, and use them for small group studies. Off the top of my head, these films include: "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", "The End of the Spear", "Amazing Grace", "Pursuit of Happiness", "The Nativity", and "The Da Vinci Code". There are more, that I can't recall as quickly.
They're persuasive too. They give out free movie passes, send you free merchandise, and give you free sermons and illustrations. I even heard about one company giving away a chance to win a cruise to anyone who could prove they mentioned "The Chronicles of Narnia" in a sermon.
Of course, I'm dubious about allowing Hollywood hi-jack the pulpit. They are simply trying to increase their bottom line. Christians are spending a lot of money on entertainment, and they want their slice of that pie. And there are plenty of things that Hollywood is pitching that is disdainful, even in some of the movies they want us to pitch.
Having said all that, let me introduce the dilemma. The latest marketing blitzkrieg on the church is for "Evan Almighty". It is a sequel of sorts of "Bruce Almighty", one of my favorite all-time movies.When "Bruce" came out, it was not marketed to or through the church. In fact, many of us were quite leery of what Jim Carrey (and the writers, directors, and producers behind him) were going to be saying about God. however, despite having some questionable scenes, it had some great lines about prayer, about God's love, and power. It was a really funny movie, one of Carrey's funniest.
So, I was definitely already excited about the new one. Then the marketing started. I received free movie passes to see it three weeks before it opened. (I was too busy to go, but I sent a friend who loved it). At the screening they handed out a tote bag of freebies including five books, a video about church impact, and a water bottle.
They have five movie clips, written illustrations, and a study guide all free at Sermon Spice. They are giving away resource kits that include posters, hats, shirts, and more.
But their most innovative idea is the invention of ARK Almighty. It is like Craig's List, but for a church community. People post their needs ( dryer, math tutor, etc...), and others in the church log on to see what they can do to help. It's a pretty neat idea, and they have it all set up to use for free (the only cost I see is viewing "Evan Almighty" banners).
The film itself intends (as I understand it) to promote the "Acts of Random Kindness" (ARK), which is a good thing. Purposeful Acts of Intentional Kindness would be better. But still it is good. On the "Evan Almighty" website they have a place to donate trees, and those who do will have their names listed on the DVD. I can think of better causes, but still planting trees is a good thing.
So, knowing that Hollywood is trying to maneuver my church to make money, knowing my flock will be spending dollars on movies anyway, knowing that there are some good things in and around the movie, knowing that Hollywood could be putting out something much worse in the place of "Evan Almighty", what do I do?
Am I spending credibility by following such fads, or am I gaining credibility by not getting too stuck in the mud to recognize a good thing when it comes along?
As Regan might say, I'm just trying to "watch out for the potholes".
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3 comments:
Great post that raises important questions for our time. I regularly use movie clips and songs in youth group lessons because it meets kids where they are in order to convey a spiritual message. Of course many of the things I use are viewed through a spiritual lens and were more than likely never meant to be understood or interpreted in that light. But I go by the theory of taking all thoughts captive to Christ.
However, as you pointed out, now movies are being marketed to Christians - so what to do? As you know, I despise Jesus junk and anything that smacks of commercializing the gospel. Thus, I would avoid it for a few years until the excitement has died down. But then again, you aren't me. If you think that it will impact your church and community in a positive way, then go for it as your Spirit-led conscience directs.
I've heard the "faith" message of the movie is "save the enviornment". I think this time we have the religious green trying to use a Christian Trojan horse to get us to buy their project.
You get Noah and the Ark with Green Peace hiding inside waiting to jump out.
You make caring for the planet sound fantastically terrifying.
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