Yesterday I wrote about the movie "Courageous". Now I'd like to add some more thoughts.
As Christian movies go, "Courageous" is not bad. It certainly is far better and more truthful than "Seven Days in Utopia." However, it could have been better. I realize it is not possible to cram everything into a 2 hour movie but there were a few things that the film-makers could have done to make it stronger and better.
"Courageous" is set in Albany, Georgia. Now, I've never been to Albany, but I've been to other parts of the South and there is a reason they call it the "Bible Belt". Religious-wise the population is pretty homogeneous.
Most of the main characters in "Courageous" are white (no surprise). There's one African-American cop who comes from a single-parent household and laments the fact he didn't have a father growing up (can you say stereotype, anyone?). Another main character is Hispanic. There is a female cop who is seen in the background and slightly out of focus during the meeting scenes. She has nothing to say and is not visible anywhere else in the movie.
So what we have here is a white boys' club with a token African-American and a Hispanic. Now, maybe that reflects the ethnic/racial/religious makeup of Albany, Georgia, but it certainly does not reflect the ethnic/racial/religious makeup of my little town. Not even close. Either living or working within its limits are Sikhs (gas station owner), Vietnamese (nail parlor), Chinese (restaurant), Muslims (restaurant), and of course the veritable United Nations that is my workplace. China, Japan, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Somalia, India, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Brazil are just a few of the many nations represented there. My fellow employees may either believe in no god, one god, or many gods. This is the population the local police force is sworn to protect and serve.
So why isn't this diversity reflected in Christian movies like "Courageous?" There is a scene where the African-American officer is witnessing to one of his fellow officers, leads him through the Gospel step by step. It ends, of course, with the officer now accepting Christ. The assumption is that anyone who is not a Christian is a blank slate and once they hear the "truth" of the Gospel they will accept without reservations. But what if the non-Christian partner is Jewish? Or Muslim? Or Sikh? Or Buddhist? Or Hindu? Or just doesn't believe that there is anything "supernatural" to begin with? And what if these folks were extremely knowledgeable not only about their religion but also about Christianity and may have very good reasons why they don't believe? People are not blank slates. And for anyone, not just Christians, who go into these types of conversations hoping to convert the other are at a severe disadvantage if they don't realize this. They are making assumptions about the other person that may or may not be true.
And what about the female police officer who is shown only in the background? Why isn't she part of this group? Why isn't her voice part of these discussions on fatherhood and family?
There is an Iranian movie called "Secret Ballot" which as you can guess is about an election. Now democracy and women's rights are not the first things that come to mind when thinking of Iran. But the main characters of this movie are a male soldier and a female election official. It's set on an island. The election official comes to the soldier and says that he needs to drive her around the island to collect votes. He balks because she is female. She reminds him that she was sent by the government and if he wants to keep his job he'd better do what she says. So they go around the island in search of voters. At each stop he is forced to listen to her speech to the voters about why elections are valuable and why they should vote. At the end of the day, when it is his turn to vote, it is her name that he writes on the ballot! Because in their time together he has come to respect her. This chador-wearing Iranian election official has far more spunk than any of her American counterparts in "Courageous"!
So far, the makers of "Courageous" have focused on movies primarily involving males: "Fireproof", "Facing Your Giants", and "Flywheel". I don't know whether I should be grateful that they have not made any movies featuring women because I have a feeling that what they would come up with is yet another rehash of "Stepford Wives" and not nearly as good as the version with Bette Midler. But that's a subject for another blog.
As Christian movies go, "Courageous" is not bad. It certainly is far better and more truthful than "Seven Days in Utopia." However, it could have been better. I realize it is not possible to cram everything into a 2 hour movie but there were a few things that the film-makers could have done to make it stronger and better.
"Courageous" is set in Albany, Georgia. Now, I've never been to Albany, but I've been to other parts of the South and there is a reason they call it the "Bible Belt". Religious-wise the population is pretty homogeneous.
Most of the main characters in "Courageous" are white (no surprise). There's one African-American cop who comes from a single-parent household and laments the fact he didn't have a father growing up (can you say stereotype, anyone?). Another main character is Hispanic. There is a female cop who is seen in the background and slightly out of focus during the meeting scenes. She has nothing to say and is not visible anywhere else in the movie.
So what we have here is a white boys' club with a token African-American and a Hispanic. Now, maybe that reflects the ethnic/racial/religious makeup of Albany, Georgia, but it certainly does not reflect the ethnic/racial/religious makeup of my little town. Not even close. Either living or working within its limits are Sikhs (gas station owner), Vietnamese (nail parlor), Chinese (restaurant), Muslims (restaurant), and of course the veritable United Nations that is my workplace. China, Japan, the Philippines, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Somalia, India, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Brazil are just a few of the many nations represented there. My fellow employees may either believe in no god, one god, or many gods. This is the population the local police force is sworn to protect and serve.
So why isn't this diversity reflected in Christian movies like "Courageous?" There is a scene where the African-American officer is witnessing to one of his fellow officers, leads him through the Gospel step by step. It ends, of course, with the officer now accepting Christ. The assumption is that anyone who is not a Christian is a blank slate and once they hear the "truth" of the Gospel they will accept without reservations. But what if the non-Christian partner is Jewish? Or Muslim? Or Sikh? Or Buddhist? Or Hindu? Or just doesn't believe that there is anything "supernatural" to begin with? And what if these folks were extremely knowledgeable not only about their religion but also about Christianity and may have very good reasons why they don't believe? People are not blank slates. And for anyone, not just Christians, who go into these types of conversations hoping to convert the other are at a severe disadvantage if they don't realize this. They are making assumptions about the other person that may or may not be true.
And what about the female police officer who is shown only in the background? Why isn't she part of this group? Why isn't her voice part of these discussions on fatherhood and family?
There is an Iranian movie called "Secret Ballot" which as you can guess is about an election. Now democracy and women's rights are not the first things that come to mind when thinking of Iran. But the main characters of this movie are a male soldier and a female election official. It's set on an island. The election official comes to the soldier and says that he needs to drive her around the island to collect votes. He balks because she is female. She reminds him that she was sent by the government and if he wants to keep his job he'd better do what she says. So they go around the island in search of voters. At each stop he is forced to listen to her speech to the voters about why elections are valuable and why they should vote. At the end of the day, when it is his turn to vote, it is her name that he writes on the ballot! Because in their time together he has come to respect her. This chador-wearing Iranian election official has far more spunk than any of her American counterparts in "Courageous"!
So far, the makers of "Courageous" have focused on movies primarily involving males: "Fireproof", "Facing Your Giants", and "Flywheel". I don't know whether I should be grateful that they have not made any movies featuring women because I have a feeling that what they would come up with is yet another rehash of "Stepford Wives" and not nearly as good as the version with Bette Midler. But that's a subject for another blog.
