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Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good." This isn't the first time I've heard those words. What makes Christian storytelling chall...
#4: Question closed
by
qohelet
·
2025-03-13T15:52:22Z (18 days ago)
#3: Post edited
by
qohelet
·
2025-03-12T19:11:38Z (19 days ago)
Making on topic and more focused
Why Do Audiences Not Enjoy Christian Storytelling?
- Why Do Christians Not Enjoy Christian Movies?
Hoping to start a discussion with this question:- Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good."
- This isn't the first time I've heard those words.
I'd like to start a conversation about what might make explicitly Christian storytelling challenging, and think about how it might be overcome.Here are some ideas of challenges### A desire to be doctrinally trueThis could foreclose a lot of story options (World Ending Bad Guys, witches, vampires, ghosts, ... )I think this is a false dilemma : Tolkien, Lewis, and Baum were able to tell their tales of Middle Earth, Narnia, and Oz.### A desire to encourage Christian behavior.A desire not to have the hero be anti-virtuous, or to send any messages that "evil triumphs" or "good is dumb".The Anti-Hero is a popular main character template now. Someone profoundly broken who maybe isn't even doing the right thing for the right reason, but does it anyways. The Clint Eastwood gunslinger here doesn't have to be a womanizer: he could be a widower### What Else?
- Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good."
- This isn't the first time I've heard those words.
- What makes Christian storytelling challenging in modern cinematography, and how might those challenges be overcome?
- Here are some examples of potential challenges:
- * **Desire to be doctrinally true:** This could foreclose a lot of story options (World Ending Bad Guys, witches, vampires, ghosts, ... ). However, I think this is a false dilemma : Tolkien, Lewis, and Baum were able to tell their tales of Middle Earth, Narnia, and Oz.
- * **Desire to encourage Christian behavior:** A desire not to have the hero be anti-virtuous, or to send any messages that "evil triumphs" or "good is dumb". The Anti-Hero is a popular main character template now. Someone profoundly broken who maybe isn't even doing the right thing for the right reason, but does it anyways. For example, the Clint Eastwood gunslinger here doesn't have to be a womanizer: he could be a widower.
- What are the main reasons that some Christians do not enjoy Christian movies, and how might these objections be overcome in modern cinematography?
#2: Post edited
by
James McLellan
·
2025-03-11T10:39:37Z (20 days ago)
- Hoping to start a discussion with this question:
- Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good."
- This isn't the first time I've heard those words.
- I'd like to start a conversation about what might make explicitly Christian storytelling challenging, and think about how it might be overcome.
- Here are some ideas of challenges
- ### A desire to be doctrinally true
- This could foreclose a lot of story options (World Ending Bad Guys, witches, vampires, ghosts, ... )
- ### A desire to encourage Christian behavior.
- A desire not to have the hero be anti-virtuous, or to send any messages that "evil triumphs" or "good is dumb".
- The Anti-Hero is a popular main character template now. Someone profoundly broken who maybe isn't even doing the right thing for the right reason, but does it anyways. The Clint Eastwood gunslinger here doesn't have to be a womanizer: he could be a widower
- ### What Else?
- Hoping to start a discussion with this question:
- Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good."
- This isn't the first time I've heard those words.
- I'd like to start a conversation about what might make explicitly Christian storytelling challenging, and think about how it might be overcome.
- Here are some ideas of challenges
- ### A desire to be doctrinally true
- This could foreclose a lot of story options (World Ending Bad Guys, witches, vampires, ghosts, ... )
- I think this is a false dilemma : Tolkien, Lewis, and Baum were able to tell their tales of Middle Earth, Narnia, and Oz.
- ### A desire to encourage Christian behavior.
- A desire not to have the hero be anti-virtuous, or to send any messages that "evil triumphs" or "good is dumb".
- The Anti-Hero is a popular main character template now. Someone profoundly broken who maybe isn't even doing the right thing for the right reason, but does it anyways. The Clint Eastwood gunslinger here doesn't have to be a womanizer: he could be a widower
- ### What Else?
#1: Initial revision
by
James McLellan
·
2025-03-10T17:30:19Z (21 days ago)
Why Do Audiences Not Enjoy Christian Storytelling?
Hoping to start a discussion with this question: Yesterday, I overheard a church goer tell me, "I don't like Christian movies. They're just not any good." This isn't the first time I've heard those words. I'd like to start a conversation about what might make explicitly Christian storytelling challenging, and think about how it might be overcome. Here are some ideas of challenges ### A desire to be doctrinally true This could foreclose a lot of story options (World Ending Bad Guys, witches, vampires, ghosts, ... ) ### A desire to encourage Christian behavior. A desire not to have the hero be anti-virtuous, or to send any messages that "evil triumphs" or "good is dumb". The Anti-Hero is a popular main character template now. Someone profoundly broken who maybe isn't even doing the right thing for the right reason, but does it anyways. The Clint Eastwood gunslinger here doesn't have to be a womanizer: he could be a widower ### What Else?