I'm not sure when the feud between Christians and the entertainment industry began, but it has been around for my entire life. I'm not sure if Hollywood banned Christians from making movies of if Christians chose to ban Hollywood. Maybe it was mutual. Either way, most of the movies that have come from the mainstream movie industry have been devoid of two key ingredients: salt and light. When you set out to make anything without these two, you get a result that is dark and tasteless.
There is a revolution taking place on the big screen. Several movies have made a significant impact on the industry. The first to make Christians sit up and take notice was "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The connection for Christians was the author and the allegory. The allegory is the struggle between good and evil. Tolkein, the author, was a Christian who impacted the life of his contemporary C. S. Lewis. Lewis is the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, recently released on the big screen by Disney. The allegory in Lewis' work is more obvious, with "The Lion" representing Jesus Christ. And who could forget Mel Gibson's production, "The Passion of the Christ." Like Jesus Himself, the movie initiated great controversy. Christians sent a message through their patronage. To date, it is the tenth highest grossing movie.
Another important movie is being released January 20th. "End of the Spear" won the Crystal Heart award at the Heartland Film Festival in October. It's ironic that its producer, Mart Green, is not a movie-goer. Mart grew up in a conservative Christian home that tried to avoid the negative influences of the movie industry. He felt God was moving him to use his abundant resources (His father owns Hobby Lobby and is listed among Forbes' 400 Richest Americans.) to make a positive impact. This led him to a connection with Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint.
The story, told from the perspective of the Waodoni people, gives insight to a fifty-year-old mystery. Five men, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Pete Fleming, Roger Youderian and Ed McCully were bonded in a mission to reach the most violent people group in history. The Waodoni were completely cut off from contact with the outside world. They were killing each other and everyone who came into contact with them. But God had a plan that would focus the attention of the world on this remote tribe in Ecuador. The story lives on even as January 2006 marks the fiftieth anniversary of its climax. Don't miss this significant movie. After you see it, you'll want to see Beyond the Gates of Splendor, the documentary that preceded the movie. For more information, go to www.endofthespear.com.
In contrast, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are pairing up to film The DaVinci Code, an adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novel. The only problem is - the novel is an assault on many Christian beliefs, including the divinity of Jesus Christ. I don't think it will benefit to carry protest signs in front of theaters because controversy is sometimes just free advertisement. The best thing to do is know what you believe and be ready to defend it. On the bright side, even a negative movie can generate spiritual conversation - something too often missing from our culture.
