Hi all,Last week, we watched the film, Saved in class. It's a bit of a bitter-sweet film to watch as it caricaturizes evangelicals, and casts them in a negative light, but it also serves to awaken us to how we are being perceived by some.
I am interested in hearing Christian and non-Christian reactions alike. So please feel free to leave your comments. Dialogue is really important on this issue.
Did you see the movie? Do you think this is a fair representation or not? Regardless of your answer, why?
I don't want to say too much about my opinion at this time. I don't want my opinion to steer the conversation yet. I'll add my two cents a little later.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Steve
13 comments:
This is one of the most painful films I’ve ever seen because there’s WAY too much truth to it. The writer CLEARLY had a background in evangelical youth groups/Christian schools. This WAS my youth group/Christian school. I grimaced through the entire film.
Like a lot of pop culture commentaries on the church, I think it’s important to be quiet and listen. Take it in. Is there any truth to it? If so, how can we do better in that area? If not, why are we being perceived that way? And if the guy is just crazy (unlikely), then move on and do your best.
In most cases, I think there’s always AT LEAST a shade of truth to what’s being said and think that it’s important for us to hear. I just wish we could handle hearing it.
In the case of the film Saved, I think it’s pretty darn accurate. Ouch!
Here! Here! Tim,
I had a similar reaction! This movie comes a little too close to the truth for me...
What really made me cringe is the fact that I have found myself caught speaking 'evangelicalese' and getting caught up in the Christian commodity-spectacle in the past.
Although I want to have my ear to the ground, part of me was ticked off that the only representations in the film seemed to be negative representations, though. I know of many who would fall under the category 'evangelical' who don't fit into this stereotype. Is it fair to paint all evangelicals with the same brushstroke?
Steve
Haven't seen the film yet. I'll be honest, I had never even heard of it until now. Although I am considering it now. I can tell you more generally that the depiction of evangelicals in the media is terrible, although unfortunatly usually true.
But the only way to change people's perceptions of us, is to actually start changing. You're right Steve, not all Christians are like this. Unfortuantly, its the loud ones who are...
Peter
www.lublink.ca
Hi Peter,
It's worth the viewing - even simply as a wake-up call. Rent it and let us know what you think.
You're exactly right - it's the loud ones who are heard the most. From reality TV to shows like 'The Office,' it seems that the Christian is always the bigot, the hypocrite, uncritical and naive...
I call this "the essentializing of the evangelical." I'll post a little more about this tomorrow. I am thinking about writing a paper on the presentation and representation of evangelicals in the media - but more on that later.
Steve
At first I thought this film was an obvious exaggeration about evangelical christians. Upon further review, I've noted many characteristics in the players on the silver screen that I have seen in friends and classmates back in high school and college.
Obviously, while this is not entirely exaggerated, it is a much more condensed version of reality. Otherwise, it just would not be funny, and thus no one would pay to see it. The makers were definitely in it for the money!
I am thinking of one friend in particular who came on a little too strong. I have always believed in God, but didn't truly become a Christian until the end of tenth grade. In the time before that, this friend kind of put me off from Christianity, as a religion. She scared me when she started talking about things like speaking in tongues, holy fits, and how aggressively the church was trying to bring others to the building.
How does this relate to the movie? I am reminded of Cassandra, the only Jewish girl at a Christian School. She had a unique view into the Christian world, and she what she saw kept her far away from wanting to become a member of the club, so to speak. Hilary Faye came across as someone who was more interested in "doing the Christian thing" than she was in living as Christ would. Whatever she did "in Christ's name" she did begrudgingly.
How many times have I felt that I "have" to do something, because it's the Christian thing to do? I'm not saying that we shouldn't do the right things in all situations, but how true are being to Christ if our hearts are not truly in it? I am thinking of the phrase "I have to love you because Jesus told me to" as well as the phrase "I love you, but I just don't like you right now." How can that statement possibly be true? It can't. As Christians, it almost seems as though we are doing things "in Christ's name" because we have to, not because we want to. Please, my intention is not to offend anyone. I know that there are plenty of people out there who are honestly living as Christ wants us to. So if that is you, please accept my apology for generalizing.
Personally, I can see times in my life when I wasn't honest with myself about how I treated my Christianity. I was either ashamed of it, and hid it in front of people who weren't receptive to my beliefs, or I was only "doing the Christian thing."
One redeeming factor in the movie is that it makes the viewer start to question some of the theology in the movie. A lot of times we Christians suffer from "embedded theology." (Thanks Larry, for the term!) What we need to do is discover our "practical theology." In other words, live what we teach, and understand what it is that we believe.
Okay, my two cents ended up being a little longer than I had planned. However, this movie really did make me think.
Mel
Hi Melissa,
Great comments. It's interesting to hear about your experiences in high school on 'both sides of the fence.'
I think often we confuse aggressive Christianity with OBNOXIOUS Christianity!!! Aggression has to do with your passionate commitment to do something. Jesus was aggressive, but not obnoxious. He aggressively defended the marginalized against the powerful. He fought for the child who was ignored. He insisted on making sure the 5000 + had something to eat... However, his aggression also meant he was silent on issues: He didn't make a case for himself when Barabas was being released, He didn't go to Rome, but to Israel, He chose to ride a mule rather than a stallion... He was the messiah - not a megalomaniac!
Unfortunately, we can often become blind to this. We think that 'aggressive Christianity' is about building our empires, that we are being spiritual by being in-your-face, that our jargon is justified (and 'hip' - whatever that means!), that we can commodify Christ, and that we live life UNapologetically... I'm sorry, but that is NOT how Jesus lived (and is not what Jesus would do! NWJWD). This type of Christianity is more about building a cult of personality than being an obscure-radical, a humble-aggressor, a concilatory-diplomat...
I apologize for getting a little preachy - this is pretty close to my heart, because it is part of the evangelical condition which fuels the perceptions we see in Saved. We've got a lot of work to do - I personally feel convicted to get off my 'high horse' and get on my 'mule!'
Steve
I have seen the movie a couple of times. I have even showed the "assembly scene" a few times in teaching and preaching.
Although, it has been received with laughter from some and scorn from others. All have said, "It makes me think."
Obviously, there were some people who had traveled in the evangelical circles who were instrumental in making the film. They must have been hurt by people in the Church. I think because of that a skeptical view of the church is taken.
I think the film tends to generalize and stereotype, but then again there are many who fit the type. While many have said, "This is just one person's take on the church," perception can be reality for someone. Perception is many times based in reality.
So I must keep questioning what I am doing to bring a different Christ-like perception of the Church to those who would see all Christians in that light. As my grandmother would have said, "You draw more flies with honey, than vinegar." So I have recently made it my mission to be sweet and strong in my Christian walk.
Larry,
I love your Grandma! She is the notable quotable granny!
Noted point: The tension between perception and reality is the noted challenge. If we can we become conscious of how we are perceived in the world, this - I hope - will change the reality of our presentation.
Steve
Ok, as long as we’re quoting people, my wife (the social worker) says that “stereotypes usually exist for a reason”.
Hi Tim,
Yeah, they have to be rooted in some form of truth... It's more a question of what happens when a person moves away from the stereotype that they (or others) have crystallized. Do we have the ability to construct new definitions of who we understand that person/culture to be?
Steve
No doubt it must take decades to recreate a stereotype. In fact, I’m sitting here trying to think of a case where a group of people are seen differently now than they were a few decades ago…and I can’t think of one. Maybe the Irish, but I think their stereotype had more to do with immigration than culture, and now that they’re not immigrants, the stereotype has kind of been lost.
I think it would take a pretty serious effort on the part of “the” evangelical church to change the stereotype that the world has of us. Geez. I can’t even imagine what it would take. I think, in some ways, that’s why I’ve given up on that and have gone back to the local thing. I feel like I have a chance of at least changing the stereotype that this community has of the Army.
True,
I like your idea of 'going back to the local thing...' If I'm hearing you correctly, what you are saying is: Be responsible with what YOU do as an individual, where you are. If this is what you're saying, I compeletely agree with you. It is the authenticity of our presentation in everyday life that will eventually shatter this representational stereotype.
Like Ghandi says, "We must become the change we seek in our world."
Changing this stereotype will also require years of healing. It's quick and easy to wound, and long and difficult to heal. "The" evangelical church has a lot of healing to do... I guess we'd better get started!
Steve
The leaders in this film are DEFINITELY an interesting study! They connect to a more recent posting about men who act like boys (see three/four postings ahead).
The father seems to be desperately in need of looking cool and relevant - This need to be 'hip' seems to be more about him than the kids he is interacting with at his school. He wants to be in the center of attention and perceived of as someone who is an 'attractive' Christian... which is somehow supposed to attract people to Christ... ???
I think this begins to fall under a category known as syncretism. Syncretism is Christianity plus additional cultural baggage that detracts from the most important aspects of Christian faith and theology. So - can self-centeredness cohabit a selfless Christian life?
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