Fireproof and Other Phenomena

[AzA]

(I wasn't sure which of the suggested threads people wanted to expand on... so carry on... If you've already commented, feel free to cut/paste/develop your answer.)

Anybody seen _Fireproof_? Or _Not Easily Broken_?
Reviews and comments?

What do you think of contemporary Christian or Christian-funded entertainment?

 

[JonMiller]

I haven't seen them.

My general view of Christian entertainment is that it is cheaper and not done as well. This is most important for movies and video games.

Books can obviously be done as well. So can music, but ala South Park, a lot of contemporary Christian music is just changing a couple of words...

JM

 

[AzA]

I haven't seen them.

My general view of Christian entertainment is that it is cheaper and not done as well. This is most important for movies and video games.

Books can obviously be done as well. So can music, but ala South Park, a lot of contemporary Christian music is just changing a couple of words...

JM

Yeah, graphics quality is really important in gaming. I had seen a promo for an Adventist graphic novel and movie on the great controversy theme, maybe a year or so ago. Am not sure it's still in development but there were very high hopes for it because the graphics were good.

 

[Byfaithalone1]

What do you think of contemporary Christian or Christian-funded entertainment?

I suppose my ultimate answer is "to each his own."

I can see a place for Christianity in the arts, but I am concerned that such things tend to be isolated into their own subculture. Sometimes, this results in "us versus them" thinking. Too often, this results in small budgets and disappointing results.

With that said, I must admit that contemporary Christian music (though admittedly cheezy) had a positive impact on my life during my teen years (i.e. in the 1980s). For that reason, I understand that good things can come from low budget projects.

BFA

 

[AzA]

The point about isolation is an interesting one because much contemporary Christian practice revolves around insularity rather than diffusion. Christian artists and musicians still get such stick for going out and trying to be "artists" and "musicians" without necessarily branding themselves as part of a subcategory. An artist cannot hide his or her influences. Philosophy always shapes a product. So I find the fears that these artists are met with to be quite restrictive. And I can understand why some end up just shaking off the subgroup, even though a better approach would be to stay connected -- even if they begin to "connect" in a different way.

 

[Sophia7]

With that said, I must admit that contemporary Christian music (though admittedly cheezy) had a positive impact on my life during my teen years (i.e. in the 1980s). For that reason, I understand that good things can come from low budget projects.

Contemporary Christian music also impacted my life positively during the 1980s. Cheesy though it was, I still enjoy listening to music from that era. I'm not that into current contemporary Christian music although I do like some of it.

 

[Sophia7]

(I wasn't sure which of the suggested threads people wanted to expand on... so carry on... If you've already commented, feel free to cut/paste/develop your answer.)

Anybody seen _Fireproof_? Or _Not Easily Broken_?
Reviews and comments?

What do you think of contemporary Christian or Christian-funded entertainment?

I have seen Fireproof but not Not Easily Broken. I enjoyed Fireproof although there definitely were some cheesy elements. The acting was amateurish in a lot of places, but I think that's to be expected since most of the actors were amateurs. Overall, I think it was a good story and had some good points. One thing that really bothered me, though, was that I thought the movie pretty much blamed everything on the husband (played by Kirk Cameron), and the wife didn't have to take responsibility for her own role in contributing to the marital problems. I think it presented a one-sided view. I also don't think that it would appeal much to a non-Christian audience.

 

[AzA]

I also don't think that it would appeal much to a non-Christian audience.

Y'know, I don't think it was designed to... at least not a mass audience.
Not Easily Broken was, however, and it shows.

 

[Sophia7]

I have seen Fireproof but not Not Easily Broken. I enjoyed Fireproof although there definitely were some cheesy elements. The acting was amateurish in a lot of places, but I think that's to be expected since most of the actors were amateurs. Overall, I think it was a good story and had some good points. One thing that really bothered me, though, was that I thought the movie pretty much blamed everything on the husband (played by Kirk Cameron), and the wife didn't have to take responsibility for her own role in contributing to the marital problems. I think it presented a one-sided view. I also don't think that it would appeal much to a non-Christian audience.

Y'know, I don't think it was designed to... at least not a mass audience.
Not Easily Broken was, however, and it shows.

AzA, I finally saw Not Easily Broken a couple of days ago, and I agree with your assessment of it. I liked it much better than Fireproof, actually, especially in that it didn't have the same flaw that bothered me so much about Fireproof--a one-sided view of the marital breakdown and an assignment of all the responsibility to the husband to fix things. I thought that it was more realistic in many ways and that it would appeal to a wider audience. There were still a few cheesy lines, but overall I thought it was very well done.

 

[AzA]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, sis.
Thanks for coming back to comment, too.