Dave and Barry Guest On The Jesus Geeks Episode 20
The new episode will be up this evening, but in the meantime, Chris from over at The Jesus Geeks has just put up the episode that Barry and I guested on along with Billy Flynn from Geek Radio Daily. We recorded the show just after our episode on Saturday night and the topic of discussion was a critical look at Christian films. Another way to put it is why Christian movies suck. I don’t think that Barry or I have ever made our faith a secret, but we’ve made a conscious decision not to make a big issue of it. I know that both of us have wanted to discuss this topic for awhile, but haven’t put it on SG just because it really doesn’t fit with the format of the show.
Our thanks to out to Chris and Clifford for letting us come on their show and have what I thought was a very interesting discussion. No worries if this topic doesn’t appeal to you, but it’s a good listen if you are interested.
on July 21st, 2008 at 7:50 am
I’ll have to check it out.
The way I feel about Christian cinema is that we shouldn’t have to be guilted into watching it. I think the filmmakers should be judged on the quality of their work and not given a “pass” just because they’re Christian artists.
I think of movies like Saving the Giants and The List, both of which I looked forward to seeing. The List was based on a great book that I loved reading, but didn’t translate to the big-screen well. Part of it was poor acting, but part of it was the internal struggle our hero undergoes is hard to translate to the big-screen. As for Saving the Giants, I really lost interest when it became one-dimensional and made God like Santa Claus in that our hero wishes for something and no obstacles come up again. There is no conflict and it ceases to be interesting to me at that point.
Now, for a real solid Christian film, I’d point you to The Second Chance. It stars Michael W. Smith and is even rated PG-13 I believe. The thing that I love about this film is that it presents rounded characters who have a story arc and who have to make choices. The movie also ends in a way that not everything is neatly tied up and there is some genuine, authentic conflict that comes from the story and characters. Is it perfect? No. But I still really like it and recommend it.
on July 21st, 2008 at 9:24 am
Oh, I’m a BIG fan of The Second Chance. It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been a Steve Taylor for a good 15 years. He’s never had a problem with being honest and looking at a situation with eyes open and calling it like he sees it. It’s an honesty that is missing from most films in the genre.
Thanks for posting, sir!