Viewing Films with Christian Wisdom and Discernment

By Ross Chenault

Viewing Films with Christian Wisdom and Discernment


Christians and Film

Jesus said, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. . ." (Matthew 6:22-23).

Paul warns us, "Do not be deceived and misled! Evil companionships, (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character. (1 Corinthians 15:33, Amplified Bible).

Brian Godawa notes: "We embrace worldviews that infect our faith and wonder, after our heads clear, whether our faith can survive the infection." The section below and the following link to an interview with Brian Godawa will help you to equip yourself and your children to watch films with wisdom and discernment:

Hollywood and Christianity

Adapted from the book, "Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment", by award winning screenwriter, and producer, Brian Godawa.

Two Extremes

CULTURAL ANOREXIC- “Movies corrupt the values of society.” “Too much sex and violence.” “They’re worldly and a waste of time.”

CULTURAL GLUTTON- This is the person who consumes popular art too passively, without discrimination. “ I just want to be entertained...You shouldn’t take it so seriously...It’s only a movie”

Worldviews

   Every religion and philosophy ultimately encompasses a worldview, a comprehensive web of beliefs through which we interpret our experiences—it is our view of the world.

The simplest common denominator of all religious and philosophical worldviews is the belief that something is wrong with the world and there is some way to fix it.

   The redemption in a particular worldview or belief system is its proposal for how to fix what is wrong with us. This includes values about the way people ought, or ought not to live and behave in this world. Movies follow a main character who seeks a specific goal and in so doing learns something about himself or herself and the world in a way that inevitable results in this person’s redemption—or lack thereof.

Christ Mythology

   The Green Mile- 1999- Rewraps the Christ story into a racial context by incarnating the Christ figure in a huge, wrongly accused black man. The prison guards soon learn that the prisoner, John Coffey (whose initials are the same as Jesus Christ’s) is able to heal people’s infirmities by touching the affected parts of their bodies. Coffey resurrects a dead mouse, then he heals the head guard- (Tom Hanks) of a urinary tract infection, and finally he heals the warden’s wife of a death bed tumor. He ends up dying for crimes of the real killer—the innocent in place of the guilty. The electric chair is never used again, & the resurrected mouse lives on forever

The Matrix- a mixing of Greek Mythology and Christian themes, similar to the NeoPlatonism of earlier centuries.

Naturalistic Worldview- In this view primitive peoples create myths and religious symbols for natural phenomena they do not understand. Stargate- 1997, A. I. 2001, and Planet of the Apes (2001).

Structural Elements in Storytelling

   The reason to walk through these elements of storytelling is to illustrate how the essence of storytelling in movies is about redemption. Every good movie has a theme. “Moral of the Story”, or the “Message.”

Fatal Attraction- Infidelity turns against itself. Dead Poets Society- Conformity kills the spirit, but individuality frees it. Terminator and Jurassic Park- Unfettered technology turns against humanity.

The Hero- Many stories have heroes and villains.

The Heroes Goal- Truman’s goal (The Truman Show) is to leave the small town he was brought up in and go to a distant, exotic location like Fiji.

The Adversary- or villain- The adversary represents the contrasting belief system of the hero, resulting in a story that is ultimately a clash of worldviews.

Character Flaw- The adversary blocks the hero from achieving his goal, but an internal opponent also holds him back.

The Apparent Defeat- Everything the hero does is blocked by the adversary and his own internal flaw and has no hope for ever achieving his goal.

Final Confrontation- A final confrontation where the hero and adversary meet face to face and their worldviews come into conflict.

Self-Revelation- The hero has a moment in the film, when he learns where he was wrong in what he had desired all along. – What he wanted was not what he needed.

Resolution-A short epilogue to the story showing what results from the hero’s change or lack of change.

Different kinds of Redemption- In a humanistic framework—through self-righteousness. Man is the measure of his own potential.

Dead Poets Society- We must “Seize the Day” by casting off social and moral restraint to find one’s self or potential.

Redemption in existentialism- The view that humanity exists in an ultimately irrational universe without meaning that leads to despair (angst). The way of redemption is through the acceptance of responsibility for creating ourselves through personal choice or commitment.

Three Emphases of the Existential Worldview in Films:

1. Chance over Destiny 

2. Freedom over rules 

3. Experience over reason

1. Chance Over Destiny- The notion of an eternally existing universe with no underlying meaning or purpose. Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1989, City Slickers, 1991. Groundhog day- 1993. Legends of the Fall- 1994.

2. Freedom over rules- "Pleasantville"- does not merely attack morals but implies that all external norms are oppressive and that redemption is found in people making their own internal, individual choices.

Eastern Mysticism- Takes many forms, but the two strongest are monism and dualism.

Star Wars- Dualism- The good and bad side of the force.

Ghost- Salvation by good works. Phenomenon-1996- John Travolta- and Powder- 1995. – A Monistic view of redemption- Enlightenment comes through experiencing oneness with all things.

3. Experience Over Reason- Reasoning only leads to despair (angst). We cannot find meaning through reason; we must create meaning through our own choices and experience.

Postmodernism

   A worldview that rejects all absolutes, of any kind whatsoever. There is no underlying objective reality or meaning to existence. The language of culture shapes the thoughts and actions of that culture. The postmodern emphasis is on story as fiction. Gone is the idea that any story is actually true. If there is no objective reality outside of ourselves.

The Fusion of Reality with Fantasy- Cool World-1992, Hook-1991, Jumanji-1995. Horror films- Scream-1996 and its sequels, Scary Movie-2000. The Last Action Hero1993, Shakespeare in Love-1998. A Knight’s Tale- 2001.

The Confusion of Reality with Fantasy- The Sixth Sense, and The Matrix, 1999.

Conclusion: Watching Movies With Eyes Wide Open

1. Does the movie celebrate evil, or does it ultimately condemn it?

2. Is the sin displayed as an end in itself, or is it a part of the bigger picture that leads to redemption?

3. Does the movie go overboard in detail, or is some detail necessary to emphasize the seriousness of our behavior?

We do not need to be afraid of being challenged by worldviews that contradict our own. Sometimes elements of our own worldview may not be true and we need to reexamine them, even from a viewpoint with which we ultimately disagree. Brian Godawa notes that, "Our goal should be to interact with society with a view toward reform, not to retreat from society, for retreat leads to spiritual and social defeat".

For more perspective on Christians and film, read the interview with Brian Godawa linked below:

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/features/2872-qaa-with-screenwriter-briangodawa

Books on Christianity and Film:

Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment, by Brian Godawa

Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination by Brian Godawa

Faith, Film and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen by Douglas Geivett

Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith by Robert K. Johnston and Catherine M Barsotti

Reframing Theology and Film Edited by Robert K. Johnston

Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue by Robert K. Johnston

Catching Light: Looking for God in the Movies by Roy M. Anker

Meaning at the Movies: Becoming a Discerning Viewer by Grant Horner

The Message Behind the Movie: How to Engage with a Film Without Disengaging Your Faith by Douglas Beaumont

Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film and Culture Editors- Nicolosi and Spencer Lewerenz

Theology and Film: Challenging the Sacred/Secular Divide by Christopher Deacy and Gaye Williams Ortiz

Explorations in Theology and Film: An Introduction Editors- Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz

Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema by Bryan P. Stone