Page 13 - MyFaith June 2016 - WEB

I get asked (usually from Christian media) if I believe Hollywood is anti-
Christian. I understand the question, because it’s pretty easy to see that
Judeo-Christian values aren’t exactly the hot button these days in the
movie and television industries. And yet, to make a blanket statement
that Hollywood is the enemy is a big mistake. Recently, I discussed the
issue with a major Christian media site, and here’s what I told them. I’d
love to hear your comments about my answers:
1. What’s your response when you hear Christians complain that Hol-
lywood is anti-Christian?
It certainly hasn’t been true in my experience. Obviously there are people
in Hollywood who don’t like religion, just like there are attorneys, school
teachers, plumbers, and store clerks across the country who don’t like re-
ligion. But in my experience the vast majority of producers, actors, film-
makers, and studio executives in Hollywood are very open. In most cases
(again, like the general culture) these men and women weren’t raised in
a Christian home, so they’re largely ignorant of any knowledge about the
Christian faith. But that doesn’t make them “anti-faith.” In fact, I’ve had
some remarkable conversations with industry leaders about Christianity,
and you’d be amazed at the number of highly placed entertainment and
media professionals who are believers.
2. But what about specific examples of Hollywood being anti-faith?
I think in most cases, the idea that Hollywood is “anti-faith” is a gimmick
used by some Christian organizations to raise money. It’s a well-used
technique in fundraising to create an enemy so your followers will re-
spond. I also believe that some Christians can be too quick to use terms
like “mockery” when movies don’t portray Bible stories accurately. Most
filmmakers don’t believe the Bible, but that doesn’t mean they don’t
see the value in its great stories. However, since they’re not believers,
they don’t feel the loyalty to the story that we do, so as creative artists, tians to pray for the most influential industry on the planet? What if we
they don’t see a problem deviating from the storyline. But it’s not about
“mockery” or being “anti-faith.”
3. Until 2013, Hollywood rarely touched faith. TV still keeps an arm’s
distance from religious topics. Why is this, especially in light of the
success of shows like “7th Heaven?”
To be honest, that program was popular an entire generation ago, so it’s
not really relevant to the conversation. Tastes change, culture changes,
trends change, people change – so you can’t really compare what was
popular 20+ years ago with what’s popular today. Keep in mind that
Hollywood is a business – not a religious organization, so their goal (like
any other business) is to make a profit for their investors and sharehold-
ers. Creative people create based on what they know, and frankly, as I
mentioned before, most Hollywood professionals simply didn’t grow
up in Christian families, so to produce faith-based programming simply
isn’t on their radar. One important inroad I’ve made is to point out to
studios that Hollywood bends over backwards to reach special interest
groups of all kinds – like feminists, environmentalists, the gay commu-
nity, the military, gamers, etc. – but by the numbers, Christians are the
largest “special interest” group there is. And yet many in Hollywood don’t
understand what makes us tick. There are a handful of us in town trying
to turn that around, and after years working in the industry, I can say that Never be afraid to be a Christian in Hollywood. Trust me – there are folks
for the vast majority of cases, it’s simply a world they’ve never grown up
in or encountered.
4. Is there anything Christians do to improve the lack of faith-related
programming in Hollywood (rather than simply complain)?
• It’s my position that boycotts, petition drives, etc. are very damaging to
our cause. If that worked, then why don’t missionaries do it? Why don’t
CL myfaithmag.com
missionaries surround a Third World village, hold up signs, call them
names, and threaten to never do business with them? Boy, THAT would
win them to Christ. Not!
What do missionaries do? They work from the inside, building relation-
ships, earning trust, and becoming one of them. Once they’ve earned the
right to speak, that’s when change happens.
• Let’s preview movies and tell Christians (especially families with kids)
what’s in them. I’m all for reviews and recommendations that let people
know what’s there so they can decide for themselves. Everyone has the
right not to see a movie, but when it comes to major, orchestrated criti-
cism, let’s actually see the movie before we launch a national campaign.
I’m a firm believer that to criticize a movie, book, TV program or other
endeavour in the media without actually seeing it is intellectually dishon-
est. When Christian leaders mount massive campaigns against movies
they haven’t even seen it really hurts our credibility outside the Christian
bubble.
• I’d like to see the Christian community criticize less and begin raising
up our own filmmakers, writers, and producers to go into the industry.
Let’s focus less on making explicitly “Christian” films and more on getting
Christian thinking into mainstream movies. Even with the success of a
few movies like “God’s Not Dead,” they’re largely seen by the choir. That’s
not influencing the culture. I’m talking about the same strategy the gay
community used and it was brilliant. They helped find talented gay film-
makers, developed relationships with studios and TV networks, men-
tored them, and helped fund their projects. And just look at the results.
We’re actually in the early stages of that strategy with an organization
we’ve launched called “The Influence Lab.”
• Finally (and here’s a novel idea) let’s pray for Hollywood. If we really
believe that God answers prayer, what if we started encouraging Chris-
started praying for the thousands of dedicated believers working inside
the industry every day? I think that would have far greater results than
boycotts, petition drives, and criticism. For help starting, check out The
Hollywood Prayer Network.
5. What trends, if any, when it comes to film and TV content are trou-
bling to you (sex, violence, etc.)?
A very big issue for me is how technology has made pornography so
readily available to children. It’s not just movies or TV, its video games,
the Internet, and now mobile devices. I’m stunned at how few parents
monitor their children’s computer use or use anti-porn filters on com-
puters. I also encourage parents to never allow young people to have
computers in their bedroom. When our daughters were young, we kept
all the computers out in the open where everyone could see what they
were doing. The question is – what will a culture look like when boys
have been raised with pornography so readily available? It will dramati-
cally change their views and expectations of women, and we’re already
seeing that evidence.
6. What has been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about faith in
Hollywood?
out here who hug trees and worship rocks, so being a Christian isn’t as
weird as some think. And if you want to make an impact, don’t lead with
your faith. Lead with your talent – your acting, writing, directing, or pro-
ducing abilities. Once they notice and respect your talent, they’re much
more willing to listen to anything else you have to say.
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