Christians in Cinema

I recorded “24: Redemption” Sunday evening and watched the movie in its entirety last night. That show introduced some new techniques in television production, and in the movie, they were all used with great flair. (However, there was one spot when star Kiefer Sutherland glanced directly into the camera, and it felt very unsettling and out of the norm.)

Since it’s a new day, there’s a new President (a woman), a new villain (Jon Voight), and a new international situation that must be settled (in Sangala, Africa). As the film opens, we see Sutherland helping a friend run a boys’ school in Sangala. What ties these things together is a warlord who is kidnapping boys and forcing them to serve in his army (sounds a lot like Liberia and Pray the Devil Back to Hell). He is receiving weapons and finances from someone in the U.S.

Since the title was “Redemption,” I paid close attention to see if other faith references were made, and sure enough, there were a handful. Most striking was toward the end of the film, where Sutherland tells a small boy that his teacher died so the boys could live.

Are there Christians writing for this show, or are the writers experiencing and trying to fill that “God-shaped” hole? I might have to start watching even more television if that’s the case. So far this fall, I’ve seen evidence on ER, and Bones. What other shows do you know of that have thinly-veiled, or in the case of “Bones,” out in the open discussions of faith?

A Footnote:  I was discussing this with Karen this morning, and she remarked that the title of “Redemption” is fitting for Kiefer Sutherland’s first big project after his stint in jail. Where else but in Hollywood can you go to jail, get multiple divorces, have multiple children out of wedlock, and still be considered a “star?”