COMMENTARY
Should Films Be Faith-Explicit?
That's the question we posed to two Christian filmmakers on both sides of the issue. We initiated an e-mail debate between them, and while there were no easy answers, the lively exchange is instructive. Part 1 of 4.
posted 7/11/2005
 1 of 4
Part 1: Force-Fed Sermons?
At Christianity Today Movies, we like to wrestle with the Big Questions. You know, like: "Can George Lucas redeem himself in the last installment of his Star Wars saga?" And: "Will Disney be faithful to the Narnia books in its film adaptations?" And: "Will Tom Cruise's hair still be absolutely perfect after all those cool explosions in War of the Worlds?"
And, of course, this: "What's a Christian film?" We explored that topic in an insightful 4-part series last year, but lately we've been wrestling with a more pointed question: "Just how explicit, in the things of faith, should a Christian film be? Should it be in your face with Jesus and the gospel, or should it be more subtle?" There's no easy answer, and the answer likely begins with the words, "Well, it depends …"
We asked two sharp-thinking filmmakers to help us wrestle with the question. Rik Swartzwelder is an L.A. filmmaker whose short, The Least of These, won numerous awards on the film festival circuit. Atlanta's Angela Harvey is a filmmaker, writer, graphic designer, and founder of Crimson, which produces independent films, gospel tracts and greeting cards.
In an oversimplified nutshell, Swartzwelder believes Christian filmmakers should feel free to be direct with spiritual content—including the gospel—in the context of cinematic storytelling, while Harvey believes such things should be communicated in a more subtle way, if at all. With those assumptions as the starting point, we asked Rik and Angela to debate their positions in an e-mail exchange—which we're now sharing with you in a special four-part series, starting today and running through Thursday.
Rik requested that Angela start the conversation. And that's where we begin …
Angela Harvey writes:
The primary reason people make movies is to tell stories. When someone finishes telling a story, the first question asked is, "What's the moral of the story?" The level of thought given to that question and the length of conversation it invites help determine how long the story and its message remain in the mind of the viewer.
Everyone involved in the process of filmmaking—from the screenwriter to the casual viewer—wants to explore the true message behind what's happening on screen. If that message is spoon-fed to the audience, its impact is greatly minimized, if not completely lost. The voice-over epilogue in Seabiscuit practically ruined that film for me. There was nothing left to say, nothing to explore. I felt underestimated—cheated out of the chance to create my own analysis.
In weekly sermons, Christians have grown accustomed to hearing a story told and then having the message translated for us. We shouldn't expect the same from filmgoing audiences. As Christian filmmakers, we should provide our audiences the opportunity to explore the themes of our films and allow the Holy Spirit to draw them to himself through those themes. For most non-believing audiences, this would be better received than a force-fed sermon on celluloid. As we make powerful, entertaining films with gospel-oriented themes, the Holy Spirit can use them to plant seeds of truth into the minds of those who would otherwise never seek it.
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