FoxFaith is a new movie distribution company that was recently launched by Fox for those whose who want movies that reflect their worldview: “Whatever is trite, whatever paints a false picture of life, whatever ignores evil, etc., think only on these things”. They offer “movies you can believe in”, like Strawberry Shortcake: Adventures On Ice Cream and Garfield: The Movie.
I plan on writing more about it later, but for now I’ll point you to Jeffrey Overstreet’s blog post here.
He starts his post by saying this:
Why my faith is not “FoxFaith,” and great art is not necessarily “Christian art”
When I saw a promotional video for the arrival of FoxFaith, a special library of movies that “Christians and families can enjoy,” I had a flashback.
As I perused the titles of films being included in that label, I felt the walls closing in, trapping me in a familiar world of art that consisted of:
A) Nice, gentle, comfortable entertainment
B) American nostalgia
C) Bible stories.About ten years ago, I decided that I couldn’t take living in such a small world anymore.
and further on is this paragraph:
I could no longer buy the idea that, when it comes to art, Christians should only pay attention to:
whatever is clean;
whatever is free of anything that could possibly offend;
whatever is cute;
whatever portrays America as blameless;
whatever assures us that the good guys always win;
whatever is safe for six-year-olds and simplistic enough for them to understand;
and whatever openly proclaims the name of Jesus.For me, these qualifications confined me to a sort of wish-fulfillment art. It limited me to a particular corner of Christian culture in which we dreamed about what we wanted the world to look like… a sort of Thomas Kincaid vision of the world… not art that challenged me to grapple with the dark, complicated world I live in, where answers don’t come easy. It was art designed to make me comfortable, not art designed to challenge my mind and test me.
Saw this first on FilmChat Peter Chattaway’s blog where he reprised his excellent post of three years ago about the subject:
Just came across this blog last week. I think you’ve got some great insights, Stephen. Keep up the good work.
This stuff gets so old. It’s people like this that make me wish there was another word for this type of “Christians” so I wouldn’t have to associate myself with them. As much as I love movies, I’d rather watch a documentary than half of this stuff. At least then there’s a decent chance of it portraying the world accurately.
That list in the second quote reminded me of a discussion I once had with a friend. I can still hear him bringing up Philippians 4:8 when I started walking towards what I’d describe as “non-sucky art.” (not even necessarily good art, just not pathetic, bottom of the barrel art) “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” He seemed to really enjoy the “pure” and “lovely” parts. Due to a lack of knowledge at the time it took a while to reconcile that verse with what I saw to be true in life. I now understand that the first thing that verse points out is “whatsoever things are true“. A “nice, comfortable, gentle” world without sin is anything but true. Without sin there’s no need for any of the things Christians claim to hold so dear. Without all of the undeniable devastation that sin brings, there’s no way for God’s redemptive ability to be witnessed in all of it’s indescribable glory.
Striker_21, I really like that “Christian ghetto” in your quote. Definitely a great mental picture for something I’ve had difficulty describing.