Violence in Christian Film
Hollywood (and Independent filmmakers) would have us believe that violence is entertainment. Some films are so convincing in this regard, that some of their scenes are so graphically convincing that the images are burned in your mind for days. Ok, I am the first to admit that these action scenes are enthralling. I would not say realistic – that is beside the point. The point or the question I want to ask is: Does Violence have a place in Christian Film?
The argument for
There are enough examples of intense violence in the Bible, so there is no argument that Christians are generally pacifists. Especially in the Old Testament; Read about Moses and the Midianites (Num 31:1-54).
Depending of the story you want to tell and how events are motivated or how they transition, you can’t always avoid using it. Lets face it we are quick to anger, we get frustrated. It may be righteous or not, either way it is part of our nature.
The argument against
Overuse can not only sickening, it can distract people from the story and the message/theme.
It is not a good idea to encourage people to be violent by advocating it through your film.
If it is not done properly, it can lower the quality if the film. For example when it looks too obvious that punches are being pulled or that the motivation is not evident in the action.
Enough of my opinion. What do you think? For? Against?
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Hi Phillip,
I think you can guess where I come down on this issue. I believe that showing scenes of violence is appropriate in a film made by Christians. I generally believe that pretty much any human activity is fair game to use in telling a story. Your citations of vivid descriptions of violence in the Bible make the argument for me.
I will say that I feel Christian filmmakers should be very careful about how human nature is depicted. I think there are ways to convey violence that helps to tell the story without showing everything. That is the key to me. The point of including violence, sex, or any other potentially offensive (or enticing) activities must be to tell a story. A filmmaker needs to walk a fine line between glorifying violence and showing things that needlessly offend or entice a viewer to act in a way that may be destructive, and showing so little that the audience doesn’t understand the story or character in a deep enough way.
If you study masterful filmmakers you can see this principle in action. Psycho’s shower scene is a classic example of using artful filmmaking techniques to convey everything that an audience needs to know without resorting to gore and explicit shots of violence. As I watch films today, I can often see what I would consider a lack of discipline or maybe trust in a audience. There are many films that could easily be edited to avoid explicit violent images without losing a bit of the story line or the impact that the violence is supposed to convey. And, there are certainly some films where the more bloody images work for me and seem appropriate. The Godfather comes to mind, where some of the more gory images serve to complete the horror of the event, and certainly don’t glorify the violence in a way that a normal viewer would want to imitate it.
Any filmmaker who is a Christian needs to examine his or her conscience at every stage of a creative process. Every film is different, every audience is different, and the callings of filmmakers is often different. I know Christian filmmakers who firmly believe that they are not called to make films of a certain genre, with certain themes, for certain audiences. I hope every Christian will be grace-ful to others as we work out our individual callings before God.
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agreed, we don’t have to show everything. In fact leaving certain elements to the viewers imagination makes the story more thrilling. In the Enemy God, when that first raid was executed there is that scene where the child is killed. I don’t see the actual event – just the result in a way I could handle it. It was shocking to think that they had done that – and more so that my imagination filled in the gaps. But it did not glorify the violent act.
Today it seems as if it is all about the act of violence and how much you can show, it can be quite insulting to my imagination and my moral values.
As you mentioned in the great examples – there are some brilliant films that make use of violence in a way that moves the story but is not the story.
Phillip Gibb´s last blog ..Violence in Christian Film
‘The Passion of the Christ’ is one of the most violent films I’ve ever seen. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.
Jay´s last blog ..Lenzner Family
yes, I remember that film – wow, it was good, nothing held back. The difference here was that it was a big budget movie, taken seriously and involving high profile people.
Phillip Gibb´s last blog ..Poll: What do you think of Christian Film