Christian Movie Gatekeepers & Guardians – Part 1
The Christian film industry and marketplace are in a state of rapid growth. Major studios realize the potential of the Christian market, and are trying to reach that audience. Films released in the last few months under their faith banners have shown they’re trying, but haven’t quite identified what fits into this market. They need people with experience to help navigate this channel.
As a retailer, I receive multiple publications every week offering the latest in video entertainment. Today I received “The Christian Entertainment Review.” It says it’s a “Product Guide and Focus on the Christian Retail Channel.” Conceptually, it’s a great idea. Put together recommendations for retailers so they know what to put on their shelves. Give them solid choices they can trust so they don’t second-guess their purchasing decisions and investment dollars. At the same time, show the studios what types of films are appropriate for the Christian retail market. Great!
But when I opened the magazine, I was shocked by the choices offered Christian retailers. It seems that, based on the recommendations of this magazine and its advertisers, Christian retailers should put the following in their stores: “Ugly Betty,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” Brothers & Sisters,” “Return to Halloweentown,” “Wild Hogs,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “High School Musical 2,” and “Happy Feet.”
No one has a complete definition of what a Christian film IS. But I can tell you it IS NOT “Desperate Housewives” or “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Then I looked at the reviews. The number of fish indicates the “Christian rating,” with 5 fish meaning “Couldn’t be closer to biblical Christian family values/message than the Bible,” and 1 fish meaning “Christian values, if any, are hidden and hard to find.” Imagine my surprise to find The Christmas Blessing as the highest-rated film for Christian content (4 fish). It is a good film, and I’ve met the author of the book, Donna Vanliere. I’d encourage everyone to add it to their library. But why does it have a higher “Christian rating” than The Case for Christ?
How can a nice Christmas film (which has some mention of God) have more Christian content than a video that documents a 2-year investigation into the claims of Christ, the trustworthiness of the Bible, the Resurrection, and the testimony of someone who was an atheist that converted to Christianity? Adding insult to injury, other videos have a higher rating than Case for Christ: Evan Almighty, Gracie (a nice story about a girl soccer player), Meet the Robinsons, Laugh ’til it Hurtz (a comedy showcase), and the Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection. One film did receive the same “Christian rating” as The Case for Christ. “Surf’s Up,” which is a cartoon about competitive penguin surfing.
Granted, each of these films are reviewed by different individuals, but they’re all men who are either pastors or work for Christian organizations. This makes the low rating for Case for Christ even harder to understand, especially considering the final statement in the review: “Every church in America that values equipping their people should have this easily accessible for anyone to view.”
The nail in the coffin was reading the “from the editor” column. She states that page 20 of the issue has a listing of “appropriate upcoming DVD releases.” Flip to page 20 and read first a purple box that ends with the statement, “…there is always the possibility something inappropriate for the Christian market may be listed.”
When you position yourself as a gatekeeper or guardian for Christian retail, you’re saying, “If you want to sell something to Christians, I will tell you what they want to buy.” In other words, trust my recommendations. I won’t steer you wrong.
We know the people behind Christian Entertainment Review and believe they are well-intentioned. Hopefully this is a problem of execution and future issues will have more consistent ratings and reviews, and advertising that does not recommend inappropriate content.
I have to say that if my Christian retailer carried Ugly Betty and Pirates of the Caribbean I might be inclined to shop there more often. Someone obvisouly has good taste.
However, any store that chooses to carry Wild Hogs will certainly have a good chance of losing my business forever.
September 26th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
One man’s “Wild Hog” is another man’s “Ugly Betty.” Or, as my dad used to say, “Each to his own, said the old lady as she kissed the cow.” Even after defining basic criterion, it’s still so subjective.!
September 26th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
It’s because the Christian entertainment review charges tons of money to be put in their publication. It’s whoever can pay and major studios can pay, so he’ll publish what people pay him to publish. It’s outlandish how much it can cost-in my opinion..I think retailers should quit relying on magazines to tell them what to put in stores and do the research themselves. All they have to do is get on the internet and see what’s hot in the Christian market. It takes about 2 minutes…I think if retailers are letting publications dictate what you put in your stores that is crazy…
September 27th, 2007 at 7:20 am
Okay, here is the deal. (1) There is making films for the Christians and selling them to the Christians then there is (2) Making Christian films.
In the first statement all people will do is make a movie with there own “value systems” and try to sell them to the Christian audience through advertising, good offers etc. To me this is just like making a good bicycle and trying to sell it to car enthusiasts, they really won’t and shouldn’t care how good it is.
Then there is making Christian movies which are movies made with a Christian world view, values and based on the truth of the Bible (including the fictional films). Like i said earlier this will be like making a good car and then trying to sell it to car enthusiasts which will make more sense to the car lovers.
Now if this analogy can work for the basics in life such as cars and material things how much more should it work for spiritual and heavenly things.
It’s sad that those in the leadership positions in the Church are rating these films well. Something tells me the major studios have Christian Entertainment Review and those Church leaders in there back pocket.
I think it’s time for individual Christians to start to align everything we are told directly with the Bible and if it doesn’t match we throw it out no matter what. JUST A THOUGHT
October 1st, 2007 at 3:11 am