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Editorial

The Seven (Most) Spiritual Films Of The Summer

May 11, 2015 by Jacob Sahms 2 Comments

For the last half-dozen years, I’ve written my ‘most anticipated summer movies’ post. This year, I’ve narrowed my list down to seven films. You won’t see Ant Man, The Fantastic Four, or The Man From U.N.C.L.E. on the list, even though I do want to see them all. And you won’t see films from the “obvious” department, like War Room or Faith of Our Fathers. Instead, this time, I’m focusing on the seven films that have the most to say spiritually (based on what I’ve seen so far). You might be surprised – and you can leave your reactions below!

Mad Max: Fury Road – In Theaters 5/14

afuryroadWhile I’m not a huge fan of any of the previous ‘Mad Max’ movies, I’m intrigued by the pairing of Tom Hardy’s Max and Charlize Theron’s Furiosa as two outcasts in a barren wasteland who find themselves up against the monstrous, controlling culture. After reading the EW article on the film, especially about how Furiosa is considered “worthless” because she can’t bear children or provide milk, I was struck by the way our society elevates (or lowers) a person’s integral value based on a sliding scale of ‘worth.’ Whether or not George Miller’s film capitalizes on the way Furiosa and the other ‘liberated women’ are valuable or not remains to be seen. I’m sure it will look phenomenal and promote conversation.

Buy your tickets

Tomorrowland – In Theaters 5/22

atomorrowlandWhile I’m a little disappointed that this won’t connect with Miles From Tomorrowland, the Disney Junior show my kids are raving about, I’m struck by the way that Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof (Lost) have set up the pre-story (available now as a hardcover book). With George Clooney headlining the film, it could go either way (campy or provocative), but ultimately, one of humanity’s great questions is “where do we go from here?” That’s a question for tomorrow and for eternity, but it flashes us forward into a situation full of problems, possibilities, and alternatives. Wrestling with tomorrow (worrying or not) is part of living today.

Buy your tickets

Jurassic World – In Theaters 6/12 

Jurassic WorldWhen will we learn? That’s the first question that crossed my mind when I saw the trailer. And no, I don’t mean about going to see the Michael Crichton-created film series. When will we stop trying to play at being god? When will we recognize that there are things we should and should not try to control? Starlord, er, Chris Pratt, will make the film entertaining for sure, but it will be interesting to see if we go back to the initial ethical questions of the first installment with Peter Hammond.

Buy your tickets

Inside Out – In Theaters 6/19

Inside-Out-Meet-your-emotions-2Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, and Sadness all work inside of all of us. But in Riley Cooper, all of them are personified. Thanks to Disney’s PIXAR, we’ll see those emotions play out in living color with Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, and Lewis Black voicing a few of the emotions. While I’m sure this will be wildly funny, it will also be interesting to examine how our thoughts and feelings are displayed – cartoon-style.

Buy your tickets

Terminator: Genisys – In Theaters 7/1

terminatorIronically, this is the second reboot of the Terminator series in the last few years. Sure, Emilia Clarke (Daenerys on Game of Thrones) will play Sarah Connor and Jason Clarke will play John Connor, but Arnold Schwarzenegger … is back. Ultimately, it might be all fluff and no substance, but isn’t there a chance that it will have something to say about what it means to be human instead of machine? Add to that the idea that we’re getting closer to technological singularity, and you have some serious faith/ethical questions about the purpose and future of humanity.

Buy your tickets

Self/Less – In Theaters 7/31

selflessLike Tomorrowland and Genisys, this has ethics painted all over it. Ben Kingsley’s tycoon realizes that he’s about to die, so he signs up for a body shift with a shadowy company. His mind ends up in Ryan Reynolds’ body, but the two personalities (or is it souls?) don’t seem to work “hand in hand.” What would you do to live forever? Should you? It seems there are reasons (divine ones) that we don’t but most of us would like to extend life as long as we can. In Self/Less, the costs of “immortality” seem high. [And, of course, there’s a great play on the word “selfless.”]

Buy your tickets

Straight Outta Compton – In Theaters 8/14

straightNWA, notably Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Easy-E were prophets of a sort, narrating the troubles of their world and the country as a whole. While you might not like their methods or their vocabulary, there’s something to be said for examining how corners of our society feel, especially when it comes to oppression and freedom. While the prophets spoke singularly for God in the Old Testament, one of their messages (the main one?) was that oppression would end one day when people repented and turned to God. Maybe this film will get some positive conversation started about the state of the world – and how people of faith should respond.

What should be on the list that’s not? What choices made you think? Respond below! Buy your tickets to any of these movies at Fandango.com.

Filed Under: Current Events, Editorial, Featured, Film, Reviews

Five Reasons We Should Integrate Faith & Entertainment

May 6, 2015 by J. Alan Sharrer 5 Comments

Integration of fiber optics
The Civil Rights Movement was the harbinger of notable changes to the landscape of America. In addition to the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the March on Selma, and the numerous photos depicting a dual-class society, the struggle for integration in schools was brought to the national forefront. One famous video featured an African-American student walking into a high school while being assailed on every side by jeers and sneers of both kids and adults of a different skin color. We haven’t quite gotten to the place in society where these things are ancient history (the recent incident at the University of Oklahoma is one example), but we’ve come a long way in fifty years.

There’s another area of our society that needs to be better integrated—one that we at ScreenFish are well-equipped to deal with.  When it comes to media such as television, books, movies, music, and comics, the faith element is in play in a limited capacity.  Often, it’s only made relevant to a limited crowd or simply not discussed at all. There has to be a middle ground where faith is integrated into the fabric of media in relevant, life-altering ways.

The question is this: Why should faith and entertainment be integrated at all? Can’t they just remain separate?  There are a number of reasons why the integration of faith and media will go a long way to bridging the gap between those who are Christians and those who want nothing to do with anything Jesus-related.  Let’s look at five of them:

A person popping a bubble with a needle

  • Integration eliminates a disconnect between those of faith and those not of faith already.

The phrase ‘Christian bubble’ is often employed to refer to the community of faith as a collective whole. It’s like a version of heaven on earth, so to speak, where the popular culture of the time is parodied (and in some cases out-and-out copied) via trinkets, t-shirts, and tracts. Within the bubble, books and other media speak directly to a built-in audience with little to no intention on reaching anyone other than Christians. After all, are we one hundred percent certain that Jesus always wore a flowing white robe, had shoulder-length brown hair, and used an electric grooming kit to keep His beard looking perfect?  When you’re completely in a bubble, you tend to think only in terms of what you see and hear that is acceptable within that bubble. The outside world becomes something akin to Elsewhere in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

With integration, however, the bubble becomes thinner and thinner and allows for a whole myriad of possibilities, including making quality shows, books, and films that people of all walks can appreciate, enjoy, and not be scared of due to the messages contained therein. Besides, it provides people of faith no excuse in hiding from a world they’re biblically mandated to be in (see Matthew 28:18-20).  To that end . . .

  • Integration increases the quality of faith-based films that are often predicated on the reach of a faith-based audience.

Let’s just get this out in the open: from either a story-telling or artistic viewpoint, most Christian-made productions are sorely lacking in one or both. You know what I’m talking about—even though you might not care to admit it—they’re full of cookie-cutter stories, trite characters, and stilted dialogue that would never be used in an actual conversation, plots with serious issues in continuity, poor pacing, and points that are driven home with a sledgehammer when a feather is more useful.

And why is this? For the most part, it’s what Christians have asked for. Sadly, those of faith will be quick to find a reason to complain about a film—but are just as quick to forgive glaring artistic issues if the message is true. This should never be the case.  All this does is tell faith-based media producers that their already flawed works are just fine and that they should make new items in the same fashion in order to maximize their reach to an audience that is already limited because of their faith in Jesus. In other words, if Christians are fine with inferior forms of media and register that with their hard-earned dollars, that’s all they’re going to get in the future.

This limits the potential audience to those of faith, completely ignoring a wider swath of the public who could be made to see the film with the right promotional strategy. And you know good and well it works in the opposite fashion (raise your hand if you saw Avengers: Age of Ultron and are a Christian). The point is that art and the message should always go hand-in hand. Good stuff begets more good stuff down the road.

  • Integration extinguishes the inability of faith-based producers to be creative.

The poet Emily Dickinson once penned the line “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” Oftentimes, writers, producers, and actors feel so stifled by the words of Scripture that they completely lose any creativity to tell a story in a way that both captivates and entices people to want more. As Jesus noted, salt is good, but when it’s not used for the right things, it becomes useless (see Matthew 5:13). Of course, I’m not saying to go so far off the beaten path that the finished product becomes sacrilegious, but maintaining the kerygma (kernel) of truth is something that can—and should—be held to. The great thing is that it can be done creatively without sacrificing one’s beliefs at the altar of pop culture. Yes, really.

  • Integration destroys the protection mentality of a bubble from improper influence from the world, forcing people to react to the lessons and not let them wash over them.

The real world happens. People live, make decisions, watch a little Netflix (or binge; take your pick), and, eventually, die. Life is also gritty at times, as you can tell when you check out the news or log into your Facebook account. For faith-based media producers to shield Christians who live in the world from struggles found in the world is unfortunate. By depicting real life (not a caricature of it), people of faith have to seriously look at their lives and experiences.  This forces them to deal with tough issues such as loneliness, suffering, acceptance, love, grace, and mercy in ways that aren’t rote and memorized.  It also provides the opportunity for learning experiences that carry far outside the book, living room, or theater.

You see, each of us have a unique ‘grid’ comprised of our beliefs and life events that everything is filtered through. Thus, a film (faith-based or otherwise) that doesn’t provide easy answers to the struggles in real life has the ability to challenge people on completely different levels. The rubber has to meet the road. As a result . . .

Friends enjoying a film

  • Integration provides for a richer viewing experience and allows for dialogue with others.

It’s one thing to watch Daredevil and be challenged by Matt Murdock’s faith struggles about what he should do while fighting crime at night, but it’s something completely different to stand around the water cooler at work and talk about parts of the show that meant something to you.

This is where the fun really begins. And if you think about it, we unconsciously do this all the time. To dialogue is simply to go a step further and talk about themes, issues, and situations in a production using the grid of our lives as guidance. It can be challenging. It can be enthralling. It can be entertaining. It can be all of these at once.

Dialogue allows for the grittiness of life, the uncertainty of how to handle situations, and our creative minds to join together and take a film to a completely different realm than simply two hours of mind-numbing ‘entertainment.’ Answers cannot always be reduced to pithy sayings or a single verse of the Bible. And in the end, we get the chance to apply our discoveries to our lives, adding a new component to our grid that we can use for future shows we watch, books we read, or other entertainment.

This, in essence, is what we at ScreenFish hope to accomplish with your help. We can share our thoughts gleaned from our previous dialogue with others, but the dialogue doesn’t stop when an article is posted. This is where you come in. Your comments, questions, and ideas can help to shape and challenge others just as iron sharpens iron. We’re also hoping to learn from you. Who knows, you might find something useful to take and use in your own life! That, for us, is the part that keeps us looking at entertainment, keeps us thinking, keeps us questioning, keeps us talking, keeps us learning.

So let the integration of faith and entertainment be received in your life with open arms and hearts.  We’re looking forward to taking the journey with you!

Filed Under: Editorial, Film

Letter From The ScreenFish Team

May 4, 2015 by Jacob Sahms Leave a Comment

SF StaffThere’s a new website coming. Shhh! No one has heard of it yet.

And yet, here you are.

The Internet is populated with blog posts and editorials about film. There are plenty of sites that promote faith and values and religion, too. But now, we are launching a new site that intends to blend the two together.

Do we really need another website? (We know, we know, it’s what you’re really thinking.)

The truth is, that with buzz about pop culture and the plethora of people who want to grab your attention to support their faith angle, there are plenty of sites. Everyone thinks their site will revolutionize the idea they want to promote. But none of them really bring a hot take about a movie aimed at getting us to think and to change from a faith perspective. Sure, occasionally, someone will write a review like that, but who consistently goes after the intersection of faith and film?

For all of the sites we have written for and explored, there is no website out there right now that examines a film (in the theater, on DVD, on TV, or via streaming) in a way that treats the film on its own merits while examining it from a faith perspective. Seriously. We’ve looked.

Some sites are all about certain kinds of films. Some are all about picking apart popular films for their negatives and their positives, and weighing them on a scale to see if they are found wanting. Some sites review a film or two, but dabble in everything else.

At ScreenFish, we are not into all that. We just want to watch movies, use our faith to examine the film, and start a conversation. It might be good, it might be bad, or it might be really, really ugly. Heck, half the time, we probably will not agree with each other!

But we know that we are passionate about movies, about people, and about Jesus. In Matthew 4:19, Jesus told a bunch of uneducated, blue collar roughnecks, “”Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” So, we’re fish caught up in Jesus’ net already, and films are watched on a screen…

We hope you will join us in the conversation, and make your voice heard. Because a website without community does not really make an impact. Then it is just words on a page.

Hope to see you soon.

Someone will win a Blu-ray copy of Selma out May 5. But you have to sign up today!

You can also find us on Facebook and on Twitter (@ScreenFishNews).

–Aaron, Alan, Arnaldo, Jacob, Jason N., Jason S., and Steve

Filed Under: Editorial, Featured

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