Word: baehr
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Dates: during 2004-2004
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Some conservative clergy prefer using the Bible, not Bruce Almighty, as the text for a sermon. "It's not my cup of tea," says Jerry Falwell of movie-inspired sermons. But progressive Christians love plumbing the subtexts of comedies, satires and action movies. Now, says Ted Baehr of movieguide.org "a church group can highlight biblical teachings by using anything from Dodgeball to Saved! to Kill Bill...
...Baehr, who grew up in Hollywood (his father was ranger Bob Allen in cowboy serials of the '30s), has put his Columbia University Film School education to use by giving a Christian take on current movies. "We try to teach people media wisdom. If Christians didn't believe in communications, they wouldn't believe that in the beginning was the word and the word was God and the word has a salutary effect within society...
...broadest sense, movies are getting more religious. According to Baehr, only one film in 1985 (The Trip to Bountiful) had "positive Christian content," compared with 69 in 2003 (including Finding Nemo, Spy Kids 3D and Master and Commander). Of course, it all depends on what counts as Christian and who's doing the counting. What's irrefutable is the growing number of theocentric movie websites, most recently a sophisticated one launched in February by the magazine Christianity Today...
...living with his two codgerly, kindly uncles--whose themes might resonate. Says Russell Schwartz, New Line's president of domestic marketing: "The thing about all special-interest groups--Christian, Jewish, whatever--is that they have to discover something relevant to their experience." Some studio bosses go further. Baehr says he talked with a mogul who told him, "We want to be seen as Christian friendly. We realize there's a big church audience out there, and we need to reach them...