Advice for Watching Movies

by Joe Thorn on December 30, 2005

Ok, the “gay cowboy movie” came out, and many are positioning to use the movie as a tool in the culture war. Since I am a conscientious objector to the culture war, I don’t use pop-culture art as weapons, but opportunities to understand the world from another’s perspective and to discuss the truth about God and the blessings of his Gospel as they connect to the story told.

I thought I would give some advice to our people, and to those who read this blog, to help them watch films in a way that will allow us to be fair to the films and faithful to God.

1. Don’t be reactionary.
It is very easy for us to react to a movie on a superficial level, often without having even seen or understood it. The “reaction faction” of our vocal Christian leaders often attempts to boil art down to its moral content/message. If it doesn’t measure up, the art is bad. If it does, the art is good. A reactionary spirit is quick to speak and slow to listen, and therefore more easily misses the point of a film and doesn’t have the time or ability to speak redemptively concerning it (more on that in a sec’). The world has little interest in listening to this response, not because it is a dissenting voice, but because it often is incapeable of a understanding the movie.

2. Be Thoughtful.
Try to understand what the writer/director is actually saying. Is he or she trying to say something? Or are they simply raising questions? What are the universal themes that come out in the film? Is there a moral message? Is that message wrong or right? Thoughtful analysis does not presume to know the heart of the creator, or judge his motives. Let the creators tell us what their motive was in making the film. Avoid conspiracy theories about the Hollywood Illuminati trying to subvert the family values of traditional America. And work at engaging the story, not just the “issue.” If Million Dollar Baby deals with assisted suicide, or if Brokeback Mountain is a story that centers around a homosexual relationship, let’s be careful to engage the story itself and deal with the issue in that context. The film may have something to say on the issue, or it may not. Sometimes a writer will use a particular context/issue to drive a story with a separate message. Bottom line, try to understand the creator’s perspective.

3. Be redemptive.
To do this we must move beyond the simpler task of evaluating whether or not a film’s message is right or wrong. It requires us to first understand the film as a whole; only then can we speak to it. Redemptive engagement moves us to see what the Gospel says to the crisis, suffering or message in the story. Is the Gospel mirrored in the story in some way, or is it inherantly antithetical to it? What does the theology we love so much have to say to the various parts of the story – to the relationships, the values, the burdens, the fears? If brokeness, suffering or sin is a major part of the story, what does Jesus say to it? Is there hope? Change? An answer to the questions raised by the film?

Look, some movies are head candy that say nothing. Some say the wrong thing, and some give us amazing glimpses of truth, beauty, love, even the imago dei in fallen man. I am not saying all movies are good, or that any movie is okay to watch. What I am saying is that we, as Christians, can do better when engaging the the arts. We can be fair to the films and faithful to God, and in doing so we can engage our culture and community where they are with the Gospel we celebrate.

About Joe Thorn

I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in Saint Charles, IL, and author of Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Jen is my wife, and Katherine, Elias, Madeline and Kilian are my kids.

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  • http://www.stevekmccoy.com/ Steve McCoy

    The only thing I would add is that movies, books, CD’s, etc are riddled with reflections of the image of God, often much of it is unintentional. It’s a common grace thing, and as Christians we can see how artists reflect truth in ways that they don’t even see. I think that’s an important part of redemptive movie watching.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    I think that’s a good point man. A lot can be said here, and I would love to hear from others.

  • JGray

    Well said, Joe.

    I think that the reason so many people are reactionary is because so many people in our churches approach all arts (movies, music, tv, etc.) uncritically and drink so deeply from that well that they accept the values of the artists, sometimes unknowingly.

    Many of the people who critique these things come off as being more reactionary, but their intent is to warn.

    I think we need to approach these things with more grace than many commentators show. But we also need to make sure that we don’t respond to those commentators with disrespect and condescension (like mocking them or assuming their argument before they make it or telling them they lack the skill to use certain rhetorical skills).
    I think a pitfall of many Christians of our generation is that in the attempt to be “cool”, or even “missional”, we start thinking we need to partake of things in the same way everyone else does. We feel we need to like the same things and hate the same things, because we think it’s only then that we are on the same level or same place as “the world”. This carries over to our music and movies. So we automatically react negatively to any critique of culture from Christians. But sometimes that critiques makes someone think about an issue or at least raise awareness of an issue…..even if we don’t like the approach.

    Or maybe I’m rambling….I don’t know. :)

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    The problem is that some of our leaders are teaching (by example) Christians to interact with art/culture in ways that are hyper-critical, and yet weak on fair evaluation. We have to do better than putting movies in the “bad” box or the “good” box.

    Warning our people of danger and sin is critical. I do this as a pastor, but often times the alarm being sounded from the some Christian commentators is false. Besides, most of the time it really reads like a scolding of bad culture, and less of a warning to the churches.

    You said, “So we automatically react negatively to any critique of culture from Christians.” I don’t see this happening. But I do see some, like myself, who are weary of the sloppy interaction with art/culture by people who should know better.

    My point here though is less about those who are doing a bad job, and more about how we as Christians should be approaching film. I’m trying to be positive. :)

  • JGray

    Fair enough….I like your thoughts in the original post.

  • Joel Cortes

    Pastor Thorn,
    Thank you for that good advise about watching movies. I think believers must be fair to the movie and faithful to God. Christians are to be an example to the world. I believe that everything we do must bring Glory to God (Soli Deo Gloria). Our job is not to be too critical to just do “everything Christian.” Just because we are in the Chrisian bubble does not mean that we can’t enjoy somehting that is not Christian (movies, books etc). We just have to be careful what we watch and hear.

  • http://jmoorhead.blogspot.com Jonathan Moorhead

    Boy, there are a lot of good thoughts here. I would like to see a more extensive list of do’s and don’ts for Christians as we watch movies. If we are to view film “Christianly,” then it is wrong to simply zone out and be entertained. Thanks Joe.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Thanks man. This is really just the first few things on my mind. It’d be great to hear some more ideas from others, but I do plan on coming back to this again in the future.

  • http://nehring.blogspot.com Nehring

    Great article.

    Many in the entertainment industry are lost and the fruits of their labor will reflect this condition. However, it is vital that Christians approach the arts with an open mind.

    The impulsive scorning of our culture by Christians is something that has always bothered me. Growing up in the 80′s as a non-Christian and seeing the reaction surrounding The Last Temptation of Christ simply confirmed the bigotry against Christians I held at the time.

    I now teach a class in film discernment at my church. I show my brothers and sisters how stories are constructed and how they are made. I urge them, and even non-Christians, to approach film with a critical but open mind. You are absolutely right, we need to be willing to interact with the world around us and we need to look at what is being presented with intelligence and calm. If we turn our backs on the culture, then we turn our backs on our brothers and sisters. If we don’t mind the culture, who will?

  • http://sbcoutpost.blogspot.com Marty Duren

    “A conscientious objector to the culture war.”

    Great line; I’m joining you.

    One of the things that I regret about being in the tail end of modernity myself is not being able to easily spot the less obvious redemptive traits in movies and song. Some (The Village, LOTR, U2) are ridiculously obvious, but the subtle ones often get by me and it can be frustrating to hear someone say, “Oh, that reminded me of so and so,” and I never saw it.

  • Jennifer

    Joe… want a great flick? You have to see Revolver. It will make you think like Primer. Still not getting that movie after I watched it yesterday.

  • http://www.stevekmccoy.com/ Steve McCoy

    Joe, just watched The Island with my wife. I liked it. Too many easy turns, but enjoyable.

  • Jennifer

    Yeah, the island is good too. Way more enjoyable if you don’t read the back cover first and don’t know that they are clones, like I did. I was totally clueless for like the first 40 minutes.

  • http://www.doneydepot.blogspot.com Marcguyver

    So, has anyone seen this yet??? What’s it rated? Any “sinful” scenes, words, actions, etc??? Would I feel alright about showing this in an “open forum” at my local house of worship?

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Hey Marc, feel free to use question marks hahaha. I have not seen it. If you want to know all the details (how many F-bombs, how much nudity, etc.) go to Screen It. The info on this movie is here: link. Though I have not seen this movie, or read any detailed reviews, my guess is that you would not choose to watch this movie at your “house of worship.” Then again, there aren’t too many churches who show any movies in their gathering places.

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  • http://www.jasonallen77.blogspot.com Jason Allen

    I appreciate your comments about watching movies and relating to the arts in general. I think you are right on many counts, the Christian ghetto is too often hyper-reactionary, simplistic in analysis, and fails to understand the film on its own terms (we typical watch film while filtering it through our own hermeneutical grids).

    The crazy thing is that if we could learn to watch movies well it would help us learn to read the scriptures better as well. If we can allow the filmmaker to take us somewhere, understand it on its own terms we would learn a lot about reading scripture.

    Thanks again for your thoughts.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    That’s a great point Jason, one that people often make about literature in general but not too often about film. I agree with you. Authorial intent is what we should be after – in film and the Bible. Thanks for bringing it up.

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  • http://rev-ed.blogspot.com rev-ed

    Nice post, Joe. I go back to the days where the local Christian college would send “spies” to the cinema parking lot to spot students leaving the theatre and begin disciplinary action! That mindset is still apparent in many of the people I talk to. I find it foolish to toss out an entire medium based upon selected issues. Besides, like you I avoid fighting the culture war but use it to understand the culture better. There are many bridges between culture and Christ illustrated on the silver screen.

  • http://www.doneydepot.blogspot.com Marcguyver

    ha ha ha ha ha……thanks for the punctuation license Joe!! :O)

    Thanks for the link too. I think it is safe to say that I will never be watching this movie, so I’m pretty interested in seeing what others who have actually seen have to say about it.

  • http://www.shadowsofdivinethings.blogspot.com T.B. Vick

    I am new to your site . . . just wanted to say I really enjoyed this article. I think you have really demonstrated how we, as Christians, should objectively watch movies and not jump to hasty conclusions about their content.

    Even in the arena of film and art, we should not turn our minds off and merely move into entertainment mode, so to speak, or jump into protest mode as so many are so prone to do. Thanks a bunch for this post.

  • http://www.myspace.com/vickichapman Vicki

    So have you seen this “gay cowboy” movie?

    It has Jake Gyllenhaal in it, so of course I’ll go see it.

    Just wondering if you had or not.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    No, I have not seen it. It is rated R, so minors are out unless accompanied by an adult. And my guess is your parents would put the “kaibosh” on seeing that one. Check with ‘em for sure.

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  • http://www.myspace.com/vickichapman Vicki

    Ummm….You can be 17 to see a “R” rated movie, Jowee.

    I wasn’t serious, by the way.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Vick,

    I know you are old enough, but I did not know you were joking. Then again, your dry sense of humor is sometimes hard to detect when in person. ;)

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