Christian Critics

What exactly is a Christian film critic? I know a lot of people who greet that term with disdain. And to a point, I would agree with them. Too often, the term "Christian critic" has become synonymous with self-righteous watchdogs of Hollywood. People spouting off against the immorality of film - longing for the good ol' days of wholesome family entertainment. Or others banging down the doors of cinemas in protest of the latest blasphemy of the week. The Golden Compass, Harry Potter - you name it. These people have made their voices heard. And loudly. But while I'm often annoyed by these individuals, I do see some value in what they do. I strongly believe that not everyone is called by God to open up their minds and hearts to whatever Hollywood churns out. So, I guess it's a good thing that there are people out there analyzing films on a content level - counting up language, violence, and sex, and offering an opinion on whether a film is worth the journey. Sites like pluggedinonline.com and screenit.com provide great tools for people who are sensitive to offensive content, and aren't called to navigate through the more murky areas film has to offer. And I would never look down on anyone for utilizing them.

But there's another part of me that also sees a huge detriment to this particular brand of Christian critics. Because in the process of judging films solely for their content, something huge gets lost in the shuffle. Rather than film being treated as the beautiful art form it is, all of the sudden movies become something to watch with one hand over your eyes. And by doing that, we become in danger of missing the potentially life-changing biblical truth bubbling under the surface of these so-called "immoral" films. The fact of the matter is, God hasn't called us to live in a self-contained bubble - cut off from the unappealing aspects of the world or things that ruffle our feathers. No, He has called us to be salt and light. And where there's light, there must be darkness. Movies shouldn't all be G-rated, sanitized depictions of the world around us, because that isn't true. And if you're a Christian, you're called to focus your attention on things that are "true" (Philippians 4:8), not false. As appealing as our bubble is, it doesn't do the world any good. And stories against a backdrop of fallenness don't come without precedence. Like it or not, the Bible is full of them. As cliche as the saying has become, if the Bible was filmed it truly would be rated R. Or worse. Take the simple, seemingly G-rated story of the Israelites fleeing the Egyptians across the Red Sea. Just as the Egyptians enter the center of the split, God causes the waters to be whole again - drowning every man in sight. Men and horses gasping their last breath as the water rushes over their heads. Dead bodies floating to the surface as Israelite families look on. Grim to say the least. Then there's the classic tale of David. A story about a man who lusted after a married woman taking a shower, had sex with her, and then murdered her husband to cover up the affair. The fact is that the Bible, just like modern day films, is chock full of fallen people doing fallen things in a fallen world. But thankfully the stories don't end there; they all point toward the hope we have of redemption. Of a world set right again.

And I argue that that's exactly what great films do too. Great films depict broken, deficient human beings put to the test by extraordinary circumstances, and arriving on the other end in their essence - changed forever, and better people for it. Take the movie Schindler's List as an example. In the beginning we meet seflish entrepaneur Oskar Schindler. Oskar doesn't care about anyone or anything. The only thing he really does care about is making money. Lots of money. But through the extraordinary events of the Holocaust, Oskar undergoes a profound transformation. All of the sudden, this man who only cared about amassing wealth, actually creates a factory designed to lose money so he can save as many Jews as possible from extermination. In one of the last scenes, Oskar Schindler - the proud, arrogant, selfish character we first met - is reduced to a sobbing wreck because he realizes that his whole life prior to the Holocaust was a waste, and that even with the good he did for the Jews since then, he still could have saved more. That's redemption, folks. And that's coming from a film which is about as extreme as it gets in terms of language, violence, sex, and nudity. A film that most "Christian film critics" - judging the film on content alone - would be appalled at and demand you don't see. But I would implore just the opposite. Schindler's List is an essential film. A classic. And it deserves the same reaction a classic painting would receive - attention, respect, and awe.

So what is a Christian film critic? The definition obviously varies. As I said before, I do respect the critics out there judging films based on content alone. But, I also think there's more than enough of them to go around. Personally, I've always felt a different calling on my life. Instead of pointing people to the darkness of Hollywood, I feel called to point people to the light. Because more often than not, when I see a movie, I see truth. I see the very words of God calling out from just beneath the surface of the narrative. Broken characters made whole - redemption emerging from destruction.

I don't know about you, but I think that's something worth fighting for.