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Christian Network

Many words have been written about the spirit of the Western world and its negative effects on the Church. Some of the worldly things we have bought into are obvious: low standards of sexual purity, "sanctified" materialism, a life characterized by busyness, etc. But others are more subtle, traveling under our radar. One of these subtle influences originates in some of the films we Americans hold dear.

The usual Christian attacks on movies center on the sex and/or violence so many contain today. But even good motion pictures hold dangers not related to either issue. Films like Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings trilogy have been generally lauded by Evangelicals for their unvarnished emphasis on the battle between good and evil and the sacrifices required by those who fight dark forces, both human and supernatural. Indeed these and other movies appear to have been inspirational to believers who know all about such battles; having fought their own on a daily basis.

The problem with looking to even the best efforts of Hollywood for such inspiration lies in the nature of the medium itself. The average theatrical release is about 2 hours long. During that time, if the film falls into the "heroic" genre, we are introduced to the forces of evil that threaten whatever is held up as good, the men and/or women who are going to "fight the good fight" against that evil, and the ensuing struggle for the soul of a person, place or ideal. Once this is established we are then taken on a dramatic rollercoaster ride as the battle is joined and, hopefully, won by the archetypal hero/ heroes on the big screen. Throughout the 2 hours we see both soaring mountaintop and terrible valley experiences in the lives of the characters, often accompanied by a rousing soundtrack and great special effects. At the end we walk out of the theater deeply moved, often feeling like we, too, can be like the heroes in the film and achieve great and profound victories in our own personal quests in life.

This is true to a point. The problem is that our everyday reality is far different from the pseudo-reality presented in films. Movies are often fictional or partially fictional, using actors in a medium that is, first and foremost, about escaping the drudgery of the average life for a few hours through fantasy. In actuality even the most heroic lives lived out in the real world bear little resemblance to that of a medieval Scottish warrior or a noble hobbit. The real triumph that real people of faith gain over evil takes a lifetime and is most often in the form of little victories gained each day over years of struggle and in the context of an often mundane daily existence. We do not walk through life with soaring music in the backround, performing amazing feats that save the world in a day.

It may be important for Christians to embrace the principles held up in some of the better films coming out of Hollywood; particularly as far as the emphasis on the very real struggle between light and darkness in the world. But we also have to remember that there is a danger of unrealistic expectations regarding every believer’s calling to take part in that struggle. We can become discouraged if we compare our own daily lives to those of the characters portrayed in the films we love.

The Christian walk is not about larger than life personalities and their artful triumphs; neatly wrapped up in a 120 minutes time. It is about setting our eyes on the prize every day and laboring for the One who lived out 33 years in the reality of daily human life. It will sometimes seem like we are not accomplishing anything great as the weeks and months and years go by. In God’s economy the greatest and most glorious victories come in a process that works itself out in real time. We will have our transcendent moments, our times on the mountaintop, but they will likely be a lot more few and far between than those that happen on the silver screen. Thanks be to God that our ultimate victory will be real and eternal and therefore beyond the imagination of even the greatest screenwriter.