Ryan Lynch - Christian representations in movies

         Hollywood seems to have quite the love hate relationship with Christianity.  While it played a larger part in early films as the twenty first century rolled around Hollywood steered clear and sometimes villainized its followers.  However, recently this has changed very swiftly as Hollywood has realized that there is a very strong Christian movie-going section that can be reached through inexpensive grass-roots marketing campaigns leading to large profits for the studio.  The movies created because of this have received very poor critical reviews.  The films are made with low budgets and a very specific crowd in mind, even ostracizing some of the Christian community in the process.  Films like "God's Not Dead" and "Heaven is for Real".  I don't believe these films are doing the Christian community a great service.  They pander to a specific type of devotee, and leave no other room for different views.  If a secular person was interested in learning more about Christianity or even considering converting these would not be the films to show them.  An aggressive and exclusive form of faith does not reflect the Christian community properly. Not to mention that they're poorly made films in their own right.  

          Films with Christian themes, while not being overtly defined as a "Christian" movie has a greater influence upon outsiders than the more in-your-face movies.  They are able to show the true impact and meaning of faith, and all the different aspects of what it means to be a part of a religion.  Films like Martin Scorsese's "Silence" that have accurate Christian characters within a believable and gripping narrative are much more effective in accomplishing their goals.  They do not force their ideals down the audience's throat, instead they present them in the film and let the audience decide what to make of it, which creates a much more interactive experience for the audience.  This is in contrast to the black and white, take it or leave it attitude of the other "Christian" movies.

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