Christian Comment on Films, Part 1

To even begin to really understand a subject requires years of study and application. This holds true whether the subject is hitting a curveball with a wooden bat, understanding the difference between hairy cell leukemia and multiple myeloma, putting in a bathroom exhaust fan, playing a clarinet, repairing an aortic aneurism, preaching a sermon, or illustrating a comic book, the key to mastery of a subject is repetition and attention to detail.

When one approaches mastery of a subject, recurrent patterns begin to seem obvious, even predictable. Wayne Gretzky appeared to know, without looking, where all the other players were on the ice, because he did know. To quote The Great One, "Don't go where the puck was. Go where the puck is going to be." That is mastery of a subject.

I make no claim of having achieved film mastery; one viewing of The Independent Film Channel's sarcastic game show program, The Ultimate Film Fanatic, disabused me of that notion, but, by my own personal count, as of today, I have seen 6117 films.

Most of the films I've seen only once, and, for most of them, once was plenty. A few were good enough to view repeatedly and a very few can only be described as artistic masterpieces.

I make no apology for loving movies and I make no apology for having seen some films of which you probably would not approve. As I once told my son when we went to see the Rolling Stones, you can appreciate someone's artistry with approving of their lifestyle, or, for that matter, their message.

Growing up in a conservative Southern Baptist environment, I knew people who never saw any films, even religious ones, because they considered them to be evil, or, at best, a distracting "bad influence." I didn't believe then, and don't believe now, that films, in and of themselves, are outside God's will for Christians. They are like all other forms of art, neutral. The content of the films and the intent of the filmmakers are what give them their worth, or lack of it.

While I agree that many modern films are pure trash, some take the art of filmmaking to great heights and are as brilliant as a sculpture by Michelangelo, a Wayne Gretzky goal, a Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko superhero bursting out of the confines of a comic book panel, or one of Mozart's symphonies. Those films, admittedly, are rare.