Agreed, 100%. I really should take time to write more often instead of finding stuff like this and saying, “Yeah, me too.”

freyahearn:

Read the article I posted first. Okay, done? Good. Then let’s begin.

Put shortly, this article makes me angry. Put the long way, there are several reasons why it makes me angry. No, I haven’t seen this movie. I really don’t want to. I have seen my fair share of cheesy, Christian films in my short time, so I get a clear enough idea based on the description of the plot. So here are the top four reasons this article warranted an immediate blog post.

First irksome detail: The pettiness. The article’s author (also an actor in the referred to film), Steven Crowder, uses the words “elitists”, “arrogant”, and “snobs” to describe the critics. The childish nature of this turns me off immediately. 

Second annoyance was this quote: “…if the folks at The New York Times had their way, there would be many more depressed, unreached teenagers out there dying today.” Why would their “way” be to enhance the already growing epidemic of teenage depression? The ignorance and ridiculousness of this statement makes me literally cringe.

Third thing- (Now this one got me hot) The phrase, “You see, Jesus to liberals is….” I shouldn’t even need to go on! That alone is enough to make my blood boil…to lump liberals in a pile and assume you know what all of them think about Jesus?! But, I will go on. The rest of the quote goes like this:
“You see, See, Jesus to liberals is like the squat-rack to metrosexual gymrats; they avoid it like the plague. They hate it, because it’s a lot of work.”
Okay besides that being an immature analogy, WHAT?!?! So…only conservatives know Jesus now? Liberals hate Jesus? All of them, everywhere? Really? The tone of self-righteousness here makes me want to hurl. Even the, “You see” implies that he’s got it figured out and would just like to give you the 411.

Now, last, but certainly not least (this one’s a doozy). Has he considered that maaaaybe the critics didn’t like his film…because it’s a bad film? Let’s dig into that one.

Exhibit one: And I quote, “Surprisingly in most of the nasty reviews, the arrogant critics praised the film for its high-production quality and more than capable cast.”
Okay, so he wants you to know the evil critics thought highly of the quality and therefore only hated the message. But then he quotes a critic saying, “But forget the lame performances and arch, preachy sentiment; the movie’s sham hip-hop and spurious alternative music  alone should keep teenagers away.” (emphasis added by me). Even Crowder himself later says, “I’ll be the first to admit that “To Save a Life” can border on corny at times, and there are some elements that could definitely use a little tweaking….” Soo..he knows the film isn’t that great? And he’s still mad at the critics?

Critics’ jobs are to analyze movies, not based on message alone (if at all), but on quality of product. I think Crowder pretty much agreed that this film needs help.  Does he actually believe that a “wholesome message” is enough to make up for crappy quality? Sadly, he seems to-as do a large quantity of Believers. Time after time I run across movies, music, art, etc that range from second class to downright awful, all done in the name of Christ-THE Creator. And I find that sad. If we, created in the very image of Creator God and we as Christians, who know Him personally want to create something for His glory…don’t you want it to be done to the absolute best of your ability?

Crowder sarcastically exclaims, “Quick! Hide the children, this kind of smut will rot their brains.” But I would propose that shoddy representations of my God IS smut.

Winston and I love films. We plan on watching many of them with our future children someday. And no, not all of them (beyond a certain age) will be rated G. *gasp* Nope. We want our children to learn to think critically about everything. We want them to learn to filter this world through the Bible and be able to discern Truth from lies. I don’t want them to just veg in front of something that has been stamped as “safe” and not have to think about what they’re seeing and hearing. That is what will truly rot your brains. And finally, I do not want them to believe that if you talk about Jesus, that’s a fine excuse to let poor art slide. And this goes for all art forms, not just films.

No, I want them to know just the opposite! That if you’re going to sign Christ’s name to something (which as His representatives on earth, as Christians-“Little Christs”, that means ALL that we do) you should strive towards excellence!

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we’ll never fail or mess up or make something that needs to be done again. It simply means we are to use the gifts and the arts that our generous Creator Father has allowed us and keep learning and trying to get better! It means we are to think critically, ALWAYS and that there is no excuse for a lazy mind! And it means that we are never to use the name of Jesus as an excuse for poor craftsmanship.

That being said, Yes. I’m sure this film has touched the lives of some kids. Praise be to our gracious God who can use anything for good and to His glory; even terrible movies.