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Topic: Constantine
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KnowHim
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Below is a news article I saw on this movie:
Hollywood Addresses Morality in New Films
By MARSHALL ALLEN
Printer Friendly Version (RNS) The horror movie "Constantine" features demons, exorcisms, readings from a Satanic bible, suicide, graphic depictions of hell and a gory scene involving an electric chair.
Many evangelical Christians are eager to see the movie, which opens Friday, Feb. 18.
Pastors, seminary students and youth leaders say "Constantine" will provoke valuable discussions about subjects like heaven and hell; angels and demons; and God and salvation. They cite the film as an example of God using unusual channels to communicate with people.
Also opening Friday is "Because of Winn Dixie," a family- and faith-friendly movie about a young girl who adopts an orphaned dog. The movie's official Web site features a Bible study to connect moral themes in the story with passages in Scripture. Perhaps it's more obvious than "Constantine," but Christians who want their entertainment to reflect their morals are excited about "Winn Dixie."
Neither movie is overtly religious, but they are both cross-overs -- mainstream movies that also appeal to people of faith. After religious filmgoers helped "The Passion of the Christ" reap more than $611 million worldwide, some say the two films may also be harbingers of films to come.
Jonathan Bock, a publicist who markets mainstream movies, including both "Constantine" and "Because of Winn Dixie," to religious audiences, said the number of films that take faith seriously is increasing.
Many are now in production or being considered for development, he said. "To me, it's quite apparent a new trend in mainstream films are stories that resonate with people on a deeper spiritual level than we've seen in the past, films that strive to be divinely transcendent," Bock said.
"Because of Winn Dixie" is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Kate DiCamillo. In the film, a lonely girl named Opal befriends a dog, and the two breathe new life into a small town.
Wayne Cordeiro, 52, pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship, a church of 11,000 in Oahu, Hawaii, said he's been heavily promoting "Winn Dixie" in his church services. The congregation will purchase advance tickets for screenings of the movie, he said.
It's the first movie the church has promoted since "The Passion of the Christ," he said.
"This one has morals to it, character building, and it's done creatively," Cordeiro said. "And when you go away from it you feel awfully good."
Viewers will likely not leave "Constantine" with the same warm feeling. The movie is the latest and perhaps most extreme example of the evangelical embrace of popular culture. Those who recommend the movie acknowledge the R-rated film's graphic nature and muddled theology.
In the film, Keanu Reeves plays a man who has the ability to see angels and demons, the latter which he hunts and destroys in an attempt to earn his way into heaven. It's violent, fast-paced and utterly appealing to the same type of evangelicals who enjoyed discussing the philosophical and religious beliefs that undergirded "The Matrix."
Bible study guides based on "Constantine" have been prepared at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. and elsewhere to facilitate discussions about the film.
"What I love about the movie is that it takes evil seriously," said Craig Detweiler, a screenwriter and film professor at Fuller and Biola University in La Mirada. "It treats the devil as a definable quantity, and yet suggests that God is much more powerful, creative and enduring."
Not every evangelical who's thinking about theology and film is openly embracing "Constantine." John Hamilton, director of the Cinema and Broadcast Arts Dept. at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., said just because a movie deals with the supernatural does not mean it's instructive.
Azusa Pacific was asked to publicize "Constantine" like it did "The Passion of the Christ," Hamilton said.
The school declined.
"Hollywood is trying to jump on the bandwagon to get Christians to come see anything that deals with the supernatural," he said. "There's a lot of interest in the spiritual now and the occult and it's not all good. We have to be careful not to be too star struck with things like this."
http://www.religionjournal.com/showarticle.asp?id=1905
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Posts: 3276 | From: Charlestown, IN | Registered: Jun 2002
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mohawk
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I went to the opening of "Constantine" last night. I am unsure what my opinion is of this film... it's based on a DC Comics graphic novel but flirts with Judeo-Christian beliefs, from where it derives its plot and characters. I have not read the comic, but the movie itself seems to sway back and forth between hardcore (mainly Catholic) religion and cartoon adventure. In one scene, the angel Gabriel says something somewhat profound about God's forgiveness, and in another scene Keenu Reeves uses what I can only describe as a golden Pope Bazooka.
It think it's one of those films where the message (if there is supposed to be one) is one of a million things, depending on the viewer. I'd, therefore, like to hear what other people think. My own "review" is still formulating. All I can say is that this film (as "profound" or "cheesey" as if may have been) did provoke a discussion of religion in the car between my companions on the way home.
Other thoughts??
Posts: 223 | From: california | Registered: Feb 2004
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