What is a Christian Film?
Using “Christian” as an adjective seems to offer license to mix up lifestyles and preferences, slap “Christian” in front of it, and call it good…
Last week I was in Los Angeles for a meeting of the JC Doc Group, a group of Christian non-fiction filmmakers. Early into the evening’s discussion, someone asked “What is a Christian film?” That is the burning question right now.
Is it a film with Christians as the main character? Is it a film with a very clear presentation of the Gospel? Is it a film with a Christian worldview? Is it a film whose cast and crew are all Christians, but without an overtly Christian storyline? Is there such thing as a Christian storyline? The answer to all of these questions: Yes - and more.
One blogger recently lamented the use of the word “Christian” as an adjective. He contends that its use as an adjective seems to offer license to mix up lifestyles and preferences, slap “Christian” in front of it, and call it good.
At the Biola Media Conference in April, Simon Swart, Vice President of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (United States), talked about the evolution of Fox Faith as a brand. The original objective of Fox executives (including himself) was to prove that there is a marketplace for faith entertainment. He envisioned a “masterful choreography of a whole lot of independent people” developing entertainment of a Christian nature. The ultimate dream was to have studios competing for films, which would drive up the quality of movies. This would also have the effect of generating support for bigger budgets.
The genesis of the Fox Faith brand for movies came about as pastors were directed to the Fox website for information on movies with faith content. Complaints arose about the other films on the site, and so the decision to segregate the films was made. Simon’s observations of the industry have led to some concern that now Fox Faith is “preaching to the choir.” The original vision was to be wolves in sheep’s clothing and to promote films that have a wide box office appeal.
Fox Faith is in the process of establishing itself, and it’s possible that the public, especially Christians who go to movies, may not yet trust it. At least not as much as we trust the makers of Spider Man.
What is a Christian Film?
Monday, May 14, 2007
