Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about what it would be like if the stories in the Bible were really on the big screen. One of the main stories I thought of was the life and times of King David. Literally, this is an HBO miniseries that can be staged at any time, covering everything from wars, duels, conspiracies, kings, betrayals, lust to a touch of magic.
As far as my life is concerned, I can’t figure out why someone didn’t contact Sal Vellenuve over the phone to let him direct the series. I mean, have you seen the new dune trailer? Imagine taking this level of photography and applying it to the Bible.
Although I like this kind of thing the most, the way I don’t want it to happen is if a Christian film company really did it.
Let us be very honest with ourselves. We Christians sat down and watched many movies created by Christians, but very few really good movies. Many times, I use “endure” instead of the word “watch”.
Why is it so bad?
Christian media usually aims to provide safe, family-friendly entertainment to enrich, educate, and entertain the Christian community, as well as provide entertainment for those who like this kind of thing. I still remember from “McGee and me“As a kid, despite the apparent 90s dating, it actually remains the same today as a children’s show.
But even Christian media designed for Christians has become too boring to watch. Performances are usually dull, the storyline is unpredictable, and discussions around God and/or faith are forced. There is hardly any skill in storytelling.
Too lazy, I want to know if the people who make these films know it’s bad, but they know that anyway, they are getting a payday from it because of the built-in audience of Christianity.
It gets worse when Christians make movies for non-Christians in an attempt to win them over. The acting is still brutal, and the storytelling is out of touch with reality. They try to communicate with non-believers, and at the same time refuse to give up the same Christian-Christian communication you see in the Christian-based media.
More importantly, it still has the same predictability issues. The character is an unbeliever or has lost faith. They went through difficult but related situations. Things came to the darkest hour, at that moment they turned to God. Their lives began to transform by adopting Christian principles and accepting Christ at some tearful moment. In the end, the character’s life is more complete and complete, unless you are (spoiler alert) Kevin Sobo, who is driven away by Sean Bean.
Speaking of Sean Bean, Christian media is best not a Christian-based media. Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (those non-extended versions I miss) affects people with Christian principles more than any PureFlix film. As a young Brandon, The Chronicles of Narnia has consolidated my faith more than any other type of Christian show.
For non-believers, the best way to introduce them to Christianity and Christian concepts is to give them the opportunity to dabble in stories and scenes they understand, while focusing on characters and plots that will not force them into their religious beliefs. all of these.
There was a man who was a master in this area, and his name was Jesus of Nazareth. Maybe you have heard of him.
When Christ told stories, he often used scene-driven stories that did not directly involve God.The famous fable of the Good Samaritan was found in Luke 12:25-37 Is a good example. To sum up, Jesus told a person that to inherit eternal life, he must love his neighbor as himself. This person wanted to test Christ and asked Jesus to define a “neighbor”. At this time, Christ shifted gears and entered the story mode, telling the story of a kind Samaritan. When others passed by, he stopped to help a victim. Strangers assaulted and robbed.
Although the story is simple, it has many layers. For example, the Judahs hate the Samaritans and think they are impure, but the Samaritans are the good people in the story, even better than the pastor. There is more historical background here, but Christ’s point of view is clear; your neighbor is everyone. You may hate the person in front of you, but be kind and generous to him anyway.
In the story, Jesus does not mention his father or directly mention heaven. His story shows his point.
I am often shocked that Christian movies and television do not take clues from the people they really work with. I have found more Christian-related moments in TV shows where Christians are abusive, such as Game of Thrones. For example, the following scene has a much greater impact on me as a Christian than any scene from a Christian film company.
These characters will continue to fight a group of zombies on the ice lake, and are almost submerged before a lady riding a dragon saves them. None of these characters will try to convert others to Christianity, because lively, uniform Christian music is played in the background. It is just a pure, uncut action-adventure fantasy, allowing the audience to enjoy a moment of spiritual contemplation before using this idea as the basic inspiration for the character struggle. Many Christian parables can be incorporated into that scene, and each parable will be inspired like the next one.
A good Christian storytelling map started with Christ, and then Tolkien and Lewis modernized it. We know how to do it, but we just don’t do it. I think the reason is that Christians are too afraid that they will be judged by other Christians.
do you know? They are right.
As Kanye West said in his first Christian album, Christians will be the first to judge him, because he released a Christian album in his own way that made him feel lonely instead of following The digital color method makes it safe and sterile.
Any filmmaker who wants to make a Christian movie will be destroyed by Christians. If it cannot be shown to the church congregation on Sunday, then it will be considered a misinterpretation of the word, and it will be considered unsafe for public consumption.
This is the cruel truth. The Bible is not suitable for work.
This good book is full of blood, brutality and sexuality, and makes “Game of Thrones” look very docile. There are wars, disturbing stories, bizarre events, monsters, demons and human-faced scorpions torment people. There is an entire book about a man describing the body of his newlyweds before taking her to the important town.
Now we are back to the starting point. If we are to produce stories that are directly taken from the Bible, we need to accept the fact that the Bible is not a safe and boring book. We need to be able to make movies that accurately connect the stories in it.
David’s story is an amazing story, it is hardly suitable for family audiences. He slammed a man on the head and killed a man. Because of being asked, he brought back 200 foreskins to his king. His first serious sin was that he sent his best friend to war, hoping that he could die, so that he would never find that after he saw her bathing on the roof, he forced his wife to sleep with him and let him She is pregnant.
Do we need to let David’s hands go under the foreskin of the non-Rich people? No, but maybe we shouldn’t be ashamed to show the part of the story that they calculated literally…because the Bible does it. Do we need to fully show Bethsheba’s charm in the shower, or make explicit sex scenes between her and David? No, but we should make it clear that David satisfied his desires by using his power and became pregnant…because the Bible did it.
These stories can be told through excellent photography, solid performance, and excellent writing, and they can be told in a way that reflects realism and vitality, without resorting to stripping away the background, instructions, or even the film’s background. Frankly speaking, the scenes that will be rated for the movie. Movie drift enters the “R” category. This will be a more honest story, and this honesty will attract the audience and make them interested in more content. Will it increase the impact value? Of course, but the Bible is very shocking. It will not be shocked by shock, it will be there to help bring home the bet and the sense of story.
If we only make safe movies and never take risks, these stories will never be heard by the mainstream. We must abandon the idea that we will attract the public through healthy and family-friendly entertainment. no.
I am a Christian and I don’t even like to watch it. When I listen to the top 40 songs on the radio, I feel the same when I see it. This is uninspired rubbish, I think I have seen it a million times. There is actually nothing profound. I have no reason to invest in it emotionally. This is just boring, and often annoying.
Let us not be afraid to make something worth seeing and get rid of the “church” method of film making. Let’s Martin Luther Christian Media.
