SSS: Christian Media, or Why Subtlety Might be More Successful

So I may have misled you slightly last month. I am going to talk today about how Christian truth and values can be portrayed through media, but I’m not going to focus on movies all that much. Mainly because I’ve had trouble finding examples that fit what I’m trying to get at. I’m sure they exist out there (at least, I sure hope they do), but I’m going to be looking at different kinds of media for now to get at my point.

You’ll recall that last month I complained about Christian movies that perpetuate stereotypes and depend too much on emotion. These kinds of movies give a rather one sided presentation of Christians and what we believe. These movies are unafraid to make their Christian worldview clear, often to the detriment of the movie’s quality. And yeah, most of the examples I’m going to point out today have a similar Christian bias. But there’s a key difference, I think, between today’s examples and the movie examples before:

Their approach. If I had to describe the approach most Christian movies adopt towards the non-Christians in their audiences, it’s kind of like trying to force feed a baby. The parents (the movie) are all smiley and calling the spoon an airplane and trying to do everything in their power to get their baby (the non-Christian) to eat her carrots. But she’s just not having it. When that happens, carrots end up everywhere but in the kid’s mouth. And by the end of it, both parents and kid are frustrated because they had to sit through that whole ordeal.

Not trying to say non-Christians are babies… It was just the best example I could come up with.

But then there are the examples we’re looking at today. These media forms put entertainment value above forceful preaching. Notice, however, that I said “preaching” and not “entertainment before truth.” These media makers are not out to sacrifice truth for the purposes of their art, but they also realize that a forced Gospel presentation just isn’t that effective.

Instead, these forms of media infuse truth and moral values into their art. They want their messages about God and life to be a natural part of the story. They want to be honest with their audience while still making it the kind of media that anyone can enjoy.

So let’s look at a few examples.

Any discussion on the use of Christian themes in semi-recent media should include C. S. Lewis. This man is famous in Christian circles for his ability to portray complex truth in simple ways through literature. Read virtually any of his fictions and you’ll see that, but his most well-known example is The Chronicles of Narnia.

I could talk about how Aslan and his death on the stone table (and return to life the next morning) to save Edmund is an allegory of Jesus’ own death and resurrection, but I want to look at a different example. At the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Aslan explains to Lucy and Edmund that he exists in their world too, saying, “But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

Story-wise, Aslan is referring to how Lucy and Edmund got to come to Narnia to get to know God through Aslan. But, in some ways, Lewis is also speaking to us as readers. We have also been allowed to journey with the Pevensies into Narnia and to see what Aslan is like. And Lewis’ hope, I imagine, was that anyone who had gone to Narnia through reading would also be introduced to who God is through Aslan.

However, as even J. R. R. Tolkien complained, Lewis was never very subtle about including Christian themes in his works. Some might even say he falls into the “forceful Christian movie” category I described above. So let’s get a little more subtle.

Ted Dekker has built a career writing psychological thrillers, mysteries, and fantasy novels. He’s a New York Times best-selling author who, granted, has written some overtly “Christian novels” too. For instance, one of his most popular series, The Circle Series, recreates the entire salvation narrative over the lifespan of a few generations in an alternate world at the same time that our world struggles with a biological weapons crisis.

But some of his other works aren’t as obviously Christian or allegorical. For instance, his book Thr3e opens with a discussion between the main character and a seminary professor over whether people can escape the influence of evil and the importance of struggling with evil before launching into the story of a man who has three minutes to answer a riddle or have his car blown up.

Now you might be thinking, Seminary professor? That seems pretty Christian. And yeah, it is. But the seminary prof has relatively little “screen time” in the novel. And while Dekker does bring back Christian themes throughout the book, it never gets so heavy-handed that he starts quoting Scripture verse after Scripture verse. The book reads as a thriller, one I couldn’t put down the first time I read it because of how intense it was. And even when I thought I had everything figured out, he still blew my mind with the novel’s final plot twist.

I think that’s the key here. Dekker includes Christian truth in his text, and I believe he does so because he wants his readers to recognize the reality of evil in our world (and, by association, the God who overcomes that evil). But these ideas never become so overt or forceful that they take away from what is an extremely well-written and engaging narrative that anyone can enjoy.

Next, let’s talk about Relient K. A lot of Christians my age will remember listening to Relient K in their Jr. High years. They spoke to my generation, peppering their early albums with pop culture references that make me cringe a little bit now at their cheesiness. But most importantly, they got us ready for that Sadie Hawkins dance, in our khaki pants, there’s nothing better! Oh-oh-oh.

They’re like Switchfoot, meaning that they wouldn’t classify themselves as a “Christian” band. And I think they might be on to something by resisting that label. About five years ago now, the YouTube channel Blimey Cow put out a video called “Messy Mondays: The Problem with Christian Bands.” In it, they poke fun at just how inappropriate that label actually is: “I mean, Christian bands? Bands don’t have souls! dc Talk didn’t go to heaven when it died!”

Bands don’t have souls; people do. Bands can’t ask Jesus into their hearts to be their Lord and Saviour; people can.

But more than that, bands like Switchfoot and Relient K didn’t want to be forced under that weird umbrella that includes hymns, worship songs, and the fluffy stuff that fills the music of Christian books stores today. (Look out for that Second Sunday Switch-Up in the months ahead). So they chose not to market themselves as a Christian band (still don’t), even though there music obviously has Christian themes throughout.

 

For instance, look up the lyrics (or just listen) to Relient K’s song “Maybe it’s Maybelline” (Cue the cringe). Sure, it’s not their most subtle song – they reference condemning the son of God and sing that “we’re all sinners” – but it’s also this super catchy song about how nobody ever wants to take the blame for anything. They’re trying to get us to think about a real human problem that’s been around since the Garden of Eden!

In short, these bands deliberately avoid the Christian label to avoid being lumped into a group of music that’s only going to appeal to a small part of the population. Instead, they mix their Christian themes and ideas into music that appeals to a wider audience. No, they don’t necessarily sing the Gospel message, but they still get at Gospel themes and truths.  

Finally, I want to look at an episode of everybody’s favourite 90’s ABC sitcom Boy Meets World. Granted, this one is not presenting a Christian worldview per se, but show runner Michael Jacobs has gone on record saying that references to God will be part of any project he does, including BMW.

I vividly remember the first time I watched the BMW episode “Cult Fiction.” BMW had covered difficult topics before, including abuse in the home, but I certainly did not expect it to ever tackle something like cults.

After meeting a girl who was part of a cult, Shawn Hunter becomes interested and all but joins it. Now if you know anything about Shawn in BMW, it’s that his life never goes well, and he looked to the welcoming atmosphere and positive appearance the cult provided to give his life meaning.

His friends and teachers are naturally concerned, with one even asking Shawn whether he believes in God. Before Shawn can answer, however, they find out that Shawn’s teacher and once caregiver, John Turner, has been hospitalized after a motorcycle incident.

In the hospital, there’s a confrontation with the cult leader and Shawn freaks out that he can’t deal with all of this. But that’s when Cory and Topanga (two other main characters, if you don’t know) force Shawn to face the reality before him. They leave Shawn alone with Mr. Turner, and Shawn starts talking to the unconscious teacher about how much he needs him still. But then Shawn’s speech makes the following turn:

“So don’t blow me off John! Don’t blow me off God. I’ve never asked you for anything, and I never wanted to come to you like this. But don’t take Turner away from me. He’s not done yelling at me yet. God, you’re not talking, but I know you’re here. So I’m gonna talk, and you can listen. God, I don’t wanna be empty inside anymore.” And in the next scene, Shawn knows that something has changed; he’s not empty anymore!

I mentioned last week that I didn’t appreciate the overly emotional tone that Christian movies tend to take when dealing with conversion narratives. But at the risk of sounding contradictory, it’s actually Shawn’s emotional outburst here that makes this scene so powerful.

There is a difference, though, I think. The reason I love the BMW scene above is because it feels genuine. We’ve had almost four seasons to see the pain and heartache of Shawn basically being abandoned by his parents. We’ve had the entire episode to watch Shawn’s scared and desperate attempt to find meaning in something. And it’s when Shawn’s at his lowest point that he goes to God.

The situation doesn’t feel contrived; it feels like what Shawn would do. I know God can work miracles and make pastors show up at the exact right time to save a soul, as occurred in God’s Not Dead, but BMW chooses to show how someone can come to believe in God without all of that. It shows how someone can reflect on the state of their soul, see the problem, and cry out to God for help!

Again, this scene is not promoting Christianity per se. There is no mention of Jesus as being the only way to salvation, so I may need to take points off for that. But throughout the next three seasons, Shawn is typically the first character to bring up references to God after this episode. His life is changed by coming to know God, and I’ve always been impressed that Michael Jacobs and his team were willing to show the dramatic transformation that trusting in God can bring about on an incredibly popular “secular” TV show.

Which brings me to my last point. Labeling something as “Christian” media, as I’ve already begun to suggest, is going to get us nowhere. Why do we have to assign the label to it? Why not just call it media and infuse your convictions as a Christian media maker into whatever you make?

In his book, Popcultured: Thinking Christianly About Style, Media and Entertainment, Steve Turner (a real person, not the fictional John Turner’s brother) writes the following:

“The best art seems to be a work that forces its way into existence; a story that has to be told. The meaning is something that makes itself known during the writing or maybe even afterwards. It’s an organic process. You neither start with a meaning and then build a story to illustrate it, nor start with a story and then graft a meaning onto it. Much bad Christian art is made by Christians who see themselves as dispensers of answers to life’s great problems. They begin with conclusions rather than questions.”

The last part of that quotation is my problem with Christian movies and the reason why I think Lewis, Dekker, Relient K, and Boy Meets World succeed in presenting media that includes Christian themes and yet still appeals to a wider audiences. I’m sure they would all have varying opinions on how great a focus should be given to the Gospel message in their respective projects, but they all seem to find the balance of not having to sacrifice either artistic quality or truth. Rather, they infuse the Gospel message, or at the very least Christian themes, into a piece of media in subtle ways. They want to tell stories that point people back to God, not alienate anyone who disagrees with the media maker’s convictions.

Are they as obvious as contemporary Christian movies at preaching the Gospel? Not always. But are they better at communicating their message to a wider audience? I think so. It helps no one if you preach the Gospel in a way that most non-Christians are going to write off, mock, or just outright ignore. And while a person might not necessarily come to know Christ after reading Narnia or listening to a Relient K song, those books and songs might just get people to ask questions and read the Bible to find their answers in Jesus!

If we want our media to be evangelistic, we’re going to have to be real. Preaching to the choir through overly “perfect” Christian movies isn’t going to cut it! But telling good stories, writing entertaining songs, and producing interesting art – stories, songs, and art that present the truth while still being something that anyone can enjoy – that’ll get us somewhere!

~Brentagious