The Message in the Movie

Many movies, it seems, carry messages. It's hard to get away from. In the earlier days of movie making, the popular theme was "The good guys always win." No, the message wasn't overt, but it was unavoidable. The movies from World War II had their own message. "We're the good guys; they're the bad guys." That may sound simplistic or even too obvious, but movies made today about that era aren't carrying the same message. Letters from Iwo Jima, for instance, portrays the Americans as invaders and the Japanese as courageous, righteous defenders suffering untold horrors at the hands of their enemy. That's not the same message.

There are a plethora of messages in movies. Bambi taught us that animals are good and the enemy is Man. Pocohontas assured us that the Native American was one with nature and the Europeans were bad. Tom Cruise's character in The Last Samurai started out as a man wounded in spirit by all the evil he had done in the name of his country, but found redemption by becoming one with the universe as a samurai. The Da Vinci Code argued that Christianity was a myth and the Church a part of a major conspiracy. In The Cider House Rules, Homer (played by Tobey Maguire) is the narrow-minded one who objects to aborting babies, but the "kinder and wiser" Dr. Larch (Michael Caine) shows him that it's sometimes better to break the law and kill the baby. Million Dollar Baby offers a noble view of suicide.

It's a funny thing. You can present just about any perspective you want in movies. You can tell us that our country is the worst thing to have ever happened. You can assure us that capitalism is evil, white people are bad, and materialism is the only right way to go. You can tell us that greed is good or greed is bad. You can tell us that bad people are really good down deep. You can tell us anything you want ... except that Christ is the only way. You see, there is a line that can't be crossed. Christians can be portrayed, but it's unlikely that they'll be portrayed in a positive light. Religious people can be included, but they're likely fanatics or marginal at best. Indeed, these days it's highly unlikely that you'll find most any Christian virtue held up as virtuous.

When was the last time you saw a movie where parents were portrayed as wise, sane, and ought to be listened to? How often do children face consequences? When is it right in movie form to be true to your spouse, even to your own detriment? Is it ever a good idea to be good? Marriage, abstinence, honesty, respect for authority, integrity, humility, the list of moral virtues goes on and on. These things are not to be valued in just about any movie you find coming out of Hollywood. And if you try to offer one of these virtues in your message, it's a bad thing. Knocked Up, for instance, was bad enough because of its message of casual sex and pregnancy out of wedlock, but the critics panned it because she didn't even consider an abortion. That evil trollop! Sure, get drunk, party, have sex with whomever you please or don't please, and even get pregnant, but don't even begin to suggest that a woman should keep such a child or that a man should be responsible for his actions. What's wrong with you people??!!!

It's another example in my view of the double standard held by so many voices out there. Preach anything you want ... except Christ. It's not as if I'm surprised. The Bible promises that they won't want to hear it. But when it makes itself this obvious, sometimes it is a good thing to point it out.