Finding out the place of Christians in the secular world of Hollywood
- Cheyenne Lent
“My strength is from Jesus Christ ... Our faith will see us through,” said Quentin Field’s mom, while holding back tears at her son’s wake. I could not believe what we had just heard. Did one of the CW network’s (and PBA’s) most popular shows, “One Tree Hill,” just say Jesus’ name and use it in a good way?
Jesus in Hollywood
It might cause us to ask: In a world full of entertainment culture and sin-immersed media, is there any room for Jesus in Hollywood? What about those who serve Him? Should we be immersed and involved in a land nicknamed “Satan’s Playground”? I have quite often asked the latter question to myself … should I follow my passionate heart to the city of sin?
I wanted to get a feel for my peers and also what a few respectable communication professors had to say on this topic. After all, they are “experts” on the topic!
One of the first things that perplexed me about getting involved in Hollywood is the fearful question of who the distinguishable role models are. When I asked around campus who was considered to be a “Christian” in the realm of Hollywood, I received such answers as Chuck Norris, Pat Robertson, Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Kirk Cameron, Patricia Heaton, Tyler Perry, the Jonas Brothers, Hilary Duff and, even, Ted Turner.
With this seemingly weighty list, my heart started to feel a bit more satisfied. However, junior ILT intern Bruce Burk was not as easily content.
“I’ve been a Christian my whole life and watch the news everyday, and I go to see movies all the time, and the fact that I can’t name even 20 people really disturbs me,” he said.
With Bruce bringing up that fact, I couldn’t help but wonder why there are not more Christians involved in secular media.
“I think that there are a lot of celebrity Christians, but they don’t profess it,” said Burk. “They have very few ways to do that, especially if they work for TV and media- it’s so liberal. You can’t really work for TV and media and profess to be Christian and not be criticized.”
Another factor in why Christians may be fearful of entering the entertainment industry is the inaccurate portrayal of Christ and His people.
“Christians are often looking for cultural validation, but we don’t realize that we aren’t as marginalized as we think,” said Dr. Alex Wainer, communications and television/film professor. “Christians so often think, ‘Well, they’re so many of us, how can we be so misrepresented in the media.’”
Inaccurate Representations
Communications Professor Dr. Stephanie Bennett believes media, as a whole, depict true followers of Christ horribly.
“True Christianity is not accurately represented on television,” said Bennett. “ That’s because the preaching of the Word and the functioning of the church is best suited to face-to-face community. Television requires drama.”
Even sophomore Jessica Varnum comments on why we’re getting a bad rap.
“I cannot stand watching award shows because eight times out of 10 the person accepting the award will say, ‘I want to thank God and Jesus; and without Him I wouldn't have any of this.’ They’re obviously not living the Christian walk.”
I can’t help but get frustrated at Hollywood and wonder why it is not more focused on being unbiased and searching
“I don’t think Hollywood’s objective is to glorify Christ,” said Burtk, “I think that Hollywood’s goal is, in general, glamour and money.”
Many times I have felt that because of this often bad portrayal of Christians on TV and in movies, it is leading to a negative impact on our generation and how they see Christ. But why are we so impacted and influenced by an image and people on a screen? “We’re very much a media-influenced, image-driven culture.” said Varnum, a resident assistant of Lakeview Apartments. “If you’re not growing up with people in your life who can be positive influences, the media is going to take over.”
Making a Difference
With all of this negative portrayal in the media of Christians in Hollywood living up a false standard, should we try and make a difference? Senior Rachel Sharpe thinks so.
“I'm passionate about Christians stepping up in Hollywood, in TV and movies,” said Shapre. “There’s been such a stigma in Hollywood with Christians; whatever they do in those fields are poor quality, nobody wants to watch it and; doesn’t bring in the money. Some people feel like we should boycott Hollywood, that we should have no part of it for it’s a sin. But how is that going to make an impact if we’re not in there making better quality work that people will want to see.”
I’ve realized that if homosexuals, adulterers, Wiccans and thieves can have a part of Hollywood, Christians should be able too, as well.
Varnum couldn’t have put my heart’s cry into a better sentence than this, “Christ should be in every aspect of life. No matter what you’re doing you should be an influence. We need that light in the darkness.”