In trendy Hollywood, the family may be making a comeback. Just look at some of this year’s new movies, where old-fashioned commitment has become a new-found fascination.
Not that Hollywood is embarking on a full-tilt crusade for high moral standards and lifelong monogamous marriage, but films such as Field of Dreams and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids contain strong messages about the importance of family relationships. The November release Steel Magnolias reportedly will give viewers yet another dose of fidelity and Christian values.
Christians should feel encouraged, especially those who have consistently protested the glittery city’s dim view of marriage and family. Says Ted Baehr of Good News Communications, producers of Movieguide, “We’ve had more films we could recommend [to families] this past summer than ever before.” Sixty percent of the top ten moneymakers of last year were rated PG, despite the fact that 80 percent of the year’s movies were rated PG-13 or R, he said. Observers are now suggesting that the dwindling number of sex-and-violence-saturated movies may be a portent of lasting change. Nancy Cosmiskey, editorial writer for the Indianpolis Star, even sees us on the threshold of a new trend in movies, where family themes could become the cinematic topic of preference in the nineties. The Me decade, she suggests, is about to give way to the We decade.
In the midst of these hopeful glimmers, we think efforts of activist family organizations such as Focus on the Family, in partnership with local churches, deserve special notice. James Dobson’s organization uses its radio pulpit, films, and publications not only to teach about child rearing, but also to mobilize citizens to fight pornography and pressure TV advertisers who sponsor questionable programming. It is easy to conjecture that their crusade to elevate home and family has had at least some effect on the tastes of box-office consumers, and, in turn, the executives who shape movie-theater offerings.
Hollywood cinema may only be riding a cultural wave when it shows more sensitivity to family values, but we dare not overlook the contributions made—and opportunities waiting—as Christians continue to voice their convictions about the centrality of the family.
By Timothy K. Jones.
