Christian Themes In Secular Film: Vacuous or Valuable?

Once, I attended a church service in which The Matrix was used to deliver a message; these days, it is not uncommon to see scenes from secular films incorporated into a pastor’s sermon on Sunday morning. According to Terry Lindvall and Andrew Quicke, authors of an article entitled “Moving from Film to Digital Movies”, this practice would never have occurred in the mid-1900’s. Since then, however, Christians have become much more accepting of secular media; secular media have also become much more accepting of Christianity. In their article, Lindvall and Quicke discuss how Christians can make an impact in the film industry, yet they gloss over the reality that more and more religious themes are cropping up in popular secular movies every year. Do the religious themes in films such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Matrix have any real value for the Christian community, or are they shallow and empty? While some would argue that the majority of the themes contained in these films lack the depth necessary for them to be truly meaningful, I believe that value can be taken from them because a worthwhile message is a worthwhile message, regardless of where it is found.

Lindvall and Quicke’s article is taken from a book of compilations entitled Understanding Evangelical Media. Throughout the chapter, the two communications professors discuss the merits of Christian values in films. While the secular movie industry is still going strong, Christian-made films themselves have struggled to become hits in the box office (Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ being a notable exception). Jonathan Bock, a film promoter for Grace Hill Media, targets the main problem with Christian films when he “argues that many Christian-themed movies are ‘horribly acted, shot on a shoe-string budget, and you always know how they’re going to end’” (UEM 64). Many Christians, myself included, are not interested in low-quality films, regardless of the value of the messages contained within. This was not always the case though, as up until the past few decades, most churches condemned secular films, going as far as to say “that a real Christian would not want to be caught in a theater when Jesus returned” (UEM 62).

While believers used to preach of the evils of Hollywood, more and more Christians are entering the film industry. Lindvall and Quicke’s article lists Ralph Winter, a producer involved in the X-Men and Fantastic Four film franchises, along with directors Scott Derrickson and Tom Shadyac, “who have integrated Christian themes and issues into their films” which include The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Bruce Almighty, respectively (UEM 67). In responding to the Christian prejudice against films, Herbert A. Jump, a minister of the South Congregational Church, states that films of value to Christian audiences are ones that portray truth in this way:

[With] a dramatic story, of contemporary experience, exciting in character and thus interesting even to the morally sluggish, picturing negative elements such as crime, accident, ignorance, sin, and thus commending itself as true to life, but in the end showing the defeat and expulsion of these negative elements by positive qualities, virtuous souls, God-like traits.” (218)

Jump supports the idea that Christians can learn from exciting, well-made films, that integrate qualities that are important to Christians, and I would agree. I would also say, however, that while there is a place for Christian-based entertainment, it does little to help anyone other than those who already belong to the Christian tribe; by infusing Christian qualities into secular media like movies, filmmakers can help truly expand the kingdom of God. Many examples of this type of filmmaking, both new and old, can already be found in film series like The Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia. The difference between these films and others is that they are based on popular series of books written by Christian authors. In the next section, I will take a look at Christian themes that have appeared in completely secular productions: namely, the Star Wars saga, the Harry Potter series, and The Matrix trilogy.

1977 was a year that changed the face of Hollywood forever. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, the first of what would end up being a six film series, was released in May of that year and since then the series has found its way into the hearts and minds of millions of people of all ages. The story, like many others, plays off the basic theme of good vs. evil; a theme that many see as integral to the Christian faith. Other religious ideas beyond that, however, can be found, the most prominent being the concept of the Force: “a supernatural entity [...] which rules the universe and motivates the actors” (Henning 203). When asked his reasoning for including the Force in the popular film saga, George Lucas, the series’ creator, responded by saying that he “put the Force into the movie in order to try to awaken a certain kind of spirituality in young people--[...] a belief in God” (TIME). Lucas’ purpose when introducing The Force, however, was not simply to imply that God exists, but to get viewers to ask questions: “It’s to say, ‘Think about this for a second. Is there a God? What does God look like? What does God sound like? What does God feel like? How do we relate to God?’ Just getting young people to think at that level is what I’ve been trying to do in the films.” (TIME). I think that inspiring people to ask those questions, Christian or not, can only be a good thing. From here, I’ll take a look at a phenomenon that inspired a different generation.

J.K. Rowling released Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK in 1997. Soon after, her children’s series featuring a fully-realized magical world, along with a school full of young witches and wizards, took the world by storm, spawning a highly successful film series. The Harry Potter series has often been chastised by the Christian community for promoting witchcraft, but that close-minded view completely ignores the many valuable elements that can be found in the story. Emily Griesinger of Azusa Pacific University argues that the magic in Harry Potter is often “used to ‘lift the heart,’ as Tolkien says” (475). One example of this can be found in the mercy Harry shows Peter Pettigrew at the end of the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Pettigrew, the man who killed Harry’s parents, will eventually be responsible for the second rise of Lord Voldemort. Knowing this eventual outcome, Harry still makes the choice to save Peter’s life because “[i]n Christian terms, Harry has chosen mercy over judgement, the impenetrable magic of grace” (Griesinger 473). Harry exhibits other Christ-like qualities when he befriends the broken and the downtrodden—the outcasts of society. He cares more for what lies inside a person than what can be seen on the outside (Johnston 7). Kristin Kay Johnston, of the Journal of Religion and Society, also discusses the idea of self-sacrifice that flows throughout the entire series. From the first scene of the first film, to what will end up being the last scene of the final film, Harry and his loved ones can be seen sacrificing themselves for what is just and righteous. Johnston argues that “Harry Potter [...] [offers] an easily understandable image of love that risks itself for the salvation of another, [...] perhaps from there, [people] can more deeply grasp the Christian understanding of God’s love” (8). There are many more examples of Christian value that can be found in the series, but it is time to take a look at a film series with more obvious relations to Christianity.

The Wachowski Brothers film, The Matrix, gained an almost immediate cult following upon its release in 1999. The film follows the trend of “a large number of films rleased in the last few years in its dealing with overtly religious themes in a secular ‘wrapper’” (Ellis 304). Out of all the examples I’ve listed, The Matrix is the most complex, as it is littered with references and allusions to many different religions, Christianity included. That being said, out of all of my examples, The Matrix probably has the most clear and the most profound example of religion in film: that of the Christ figure. Jeremy Punt, the writer of an article for the Journal of Theology for South Africa, expresses his view that “[o]f all the biblical themes emerging in the movie, the messianic role of the lead actor, Neo, is the strongest.” (92) The film even goes as far as to use the line, “Hallelujah, you’re my saviour man, my own personal Jesus Christ” (qtd. In Punt 96). Throughout the films, Neo is seen as a saviour of the human race—the one who was prophesied to arrive and help end the tyranny of the machines. This allusion is further solidified when Neo “dies” at the end of the movie, only to be resurrected—this scene is then followed by another in which Neo “ascends” after learning how to bend the rules of reality, allowing him to fly. Dr. Robert Ellis, a Reverend from Bristol Baptist College, explains that “[t]he Matrix offers a striking Christ-figure, and reminds us again that science fiction is a particularly useful genre for exploring such issues” (Ellis 307).

Regardless of intent, I believe that value can be found from any positive messages embedded in secular film. As demonstrated by the examples found in films like Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Matrix, popular secular films can be powerful tools in communicating Christian values and themes, and anything capable of that is a good thing.