Hypocrites in the Theater
“Hypocrite” was first used in the English language sometime around 1350. Interestingly enough, it had its origins in theater. Its Latin and Greek origins referred to persons who assumed a part on the stage. In current usage, it’s used to describe someone whose professed beliefs don’t match up to their actions.
Who sets the standards for Christian films?
Christianity Today recently posted an article discussing the seeming hypocrisy of Christians who will attend PG-13 and R-rated Hollywood movies, yet object to violence, “bad language” and sexual situations in movies produced by Christians. One argument is that a movie produced by a Christian should meet different standards, some even say Biblical standards.
So let’s look in the Bible. Paul was a murderer. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Hosea married a prostitute. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho, yet her contribution to Israel’s history was so significant that she was named in the line of Christ. All of these individuals are considered pillars of Christian history, yet their lives are full of the same ugliness that we see in the world around us. The difference is that these stories were all part of God’s redemptive purposes.
Maybe we’d be better off if we stopped identifying movies as “Christian,” and instead looked at the filmmakers. What’s their intent, and what story are they trying to tell? Are our lives so sterile and separate of the world that we don’t hear any bad language or experience any violence? Jesus said to be “in the world, but not of it.” What does that mean when you’re making a movie?
My question is - where do you draw the line? And who decides where the line is? And how is the person who makes those decisions chosen? I’m sure we all have opinions about this issue - let’s hear them. Let us know what you think - the filmmakers are listening!
The person supporting the movie (paying the money to see the movie, talking about it and etc)has to draw the line. That line is chosen by their spiritual beliefs.
June 11th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Your right! The viewers are the ones that draw the line…so a filmmaker has to gauge where his audience stands. Christian’s can make R rated films (The Passion) that tell stories very effectively, but I think it’s truly up to the audience-there is no one “person” that gets to draw that line…it’s an average of all the slightly different lines within the niche Christian community..
June 11th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Very good points. As a Christian filmmaker I try to make films with different standards then Hollywood might use. It can be challenging at times but I believe I can get the point across without all the bad language and sexual situations. I think it just takes a little more creativity on our part to accomplish this.
“Jesus said to be “in the world, but not of it.” What does that mean when you’re making a movie?”
I think it means we need to make the movies the world can’t make. The films God is placing on our hearts to make.
“Maybe we’d be better off if we stopped identifying movies as “Christian,” and instead looked at the filmmakers.”
We could probably get our films seen by more people if we did this?
June 12th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Who draws the line? I believe that if the Bible provides the standards, then it also should draw the line. The Bible tells us what to behold and why and what to think. It involves the pure and lovely, but it also involves what is true. Perhaps our standards should not be the point the producer is trying to make, but rather to encourage the producer to select true stories that make the point they are trying share. Then no one can argue about the standard, because the story is reality. Our problem is not the standards christian movies are made by or who sets the standards. It seems to me the problem is that we are sharing more fantasy/fiction than what is true. Somehow we are deceived by the ‘true to life’.
June 16th, 2007 at 2:15 pm