A screenwriter friend and I were talking about the story trends seen in the Christian and Secular marketplace last year. Major studios began focusing more on wholesome and moral fare including Up, Invictus, The Blind Side and Star Trek. The Christian marketplace was focused more on neutral or secular stories.
I recently judged a Christian film festival and saw a couple dozen “Christian” films. For the most part, I wasn’t able tell that they were Christian. There were a smattering of overtly religious films that hit the audience over the head with the Bible, but there were only a couple of films that I would categorize as Christian.
What surprised me, was the emails I received from Christian filmmakers wanting to understand what makes a Christian film Christian. Since I’m not an expert on the topic, I gave a generic response: A Christian film is generally described as a film that contains a strong Christian message or purpose.
Some groups will fine-tune the definition to say it's an evangelical film produced by evangelicals. However, films like The Blind Side and Narnia weren't produced by Christians, yet demonstrate a clear Christian message. I may have confused the issue further with my comment stating that the secular film The Blind Side was more Christian than the “Christian” films in the Christian film festival.
I can understand why the secular industry is gravitating toward producing more wholesome fare, as it is bringing millions into the box office. What I can’t understand is why the Christian filmmakers are making more secular films that aren’t as successful at the box office. Then again, Jesus talked about having the rocks cry out His praises if the people didn’t, so maybe He is having the secular studios producing what the Christians neglect.
A more balanced perspective would suggest that the Christian filmmakers are swinging like a pendulum away from the overt religious content and moving more secular in their process of finding a balanced worldview acceptable by a broader audience. And, during this process, many have slipped into the makings of secular films.
The Kendrick brothers have not participated in the swinging back and forth process, as they built an audience that enjoys the type of films they are known for making: Flywheel, Facing the Giants, Fireproof and their next film Courageous. By building their audience as they built up their skills, they can sustain their type and style of productions regardless of the shifting trends in society.
However, for those filmmakers wanting to reach the lost, being overt with religious content keeps the very audience they desire to reach away from their films. And, when they secularize their message in order to reach the right people, their message is watered down to the point of having little impact, if any.
The only elements that seem to be in place to influence filmmakers into the right balance of story for a focused message in a broadly released environment are the Christian film festivals and box office receipts. Each judge has the power to sway how next year’s films will be produced by their judgments and comments of this year’s films. If they choose to be political, they will sway many young filmmakers in the wrong direction for next year. If they choose to be objective, they will be faced with many hurt feelings – But, the filmmakers who rebound from the emotional trauma will be headed in the right direction and audiences will be thrilled.
It’s my hope that a balance will be quickly reached and Judeo-Christian worldviews will be prevalent in most of our films.
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