BlogThree23

Below is my short Amazon review of Phil Cooke’s book, The Last TV Evangelist: Why the Next Generation Couldn’t Care Less About Religious Media. If you are involved in faith-based film and television or just interested in seeing “Christian” television & film improve and truly inspire then this book is a must read. I found it to be an honest modern-day assessment of faith-based content creation that shows respect but does not hold back. It may not be what you want to hear … but is what you need to hear.

The only downside (and this is probably just me) is there are a couple of spots in which the narrative feels a bit like a text book, making the read for a postmodern gen’Xer slightly tedious. That approach is perhaps needed though, given the broad overview of faith-based television presented in the work and the author’s desire to reach the next generation of content creators. That being said, the author makes up for it by incorporating interesting stories from his own work in faith-based media creation, insightful applications of scripture to modern media-esk situations, and solid thoughts on media trends occurring in the now. In particular, I enjoyed the last three chapters in which the author wrestles with the future of faith-based media creation. Here he finds a way to uniquely verbalize what many faith-based content creators (self included) struggle with … how to, as he says, “embrace the ambiguity” of life while not compromising the Message.

A solid book full of insightful nuggets any faith-based content creator is sure to take away … and a book that challenges to create better in order to effectively engage the culture for Christ.

What Christians Watch

One of the better articles I’ve seen in a while on the “Faith in Film” movement .. written by Dale Buss who is also the author of “Family Man”, a biography on Dr. James Dobson. So perhaps Dale does at least give a fair-shake to those followers of JC who are endeavoring to make a difference in the creation of feature film. (saw this article originally on Phil Cooke’s blog )

I think I agree for the most part with the author. He says: “Fireproof” succeeded because it is “an on-screen equivalent of an altar call” which I have no problem with at all. More than just being an “altar call” though, I can as a Christian go to a Sherwood Pictures film and know my faith will be taken seriously. That is perhaps a rare treat these days when consuming media. Perhaps this is the FIRST step in tapping into “The Passion… ” money.

This brings up a good question, are the entertainment choices of the average Christian generally that much different than the average non-Christian? If I am truly honest with myself and others I know, I would say generally speaking no. Certainly there are exceptions, but would you agree or not … that in the case of most entertainment released for the masses of the G, PG, PG-13, and R variety, most “Christians” 40 and under, are just as likely to watch what is popular EVEN if the film or show is offensive to one’s faith, morality, sexual orientation, political perspective , etc. … perhaps the subject of another post but let me know if you think I am wrong.

Aside from whether you think this is right or wrong, if I and other honest “believers” are consuming what is popular high dollar entertainment, our expectation for story-based content is also high, and accordingly, when we encounter a show or film that has a good “message” but is low in quality, we may choose to pass it by.

Here is a interesting article in the magazine “Fast Company” related to the independent financing of films that I have not seen before.

IndieVest Attracts Indie-Film Investors With Reduced-Risk Model. Investing in independent cinema is usally just for those with money to burn. IndieVest promises both Hollywood-worthy perks and a relatively safe haven.

I found the model to be very interesting and wonder if it will be successful. Perhaps there is potential in a similar investment model for films that deal with matters of faith. To be able to invest in an independent “Christian” film you felt strongly about and then when the smoke clears, to get your money back …. now that WOULD be interesting.

I have to admit the difficulty the mainline studios have experienced over the last four years trying to figure out the very fickle Christian film-going audience has been interesting to watch with the “Passion of the Christ” in 2004 establishing in most people’s minds the “Faith in Film” movement and leading to successes like “Fireproof” today in 2008/2009.