I hope to not promote any controversy or pretentiousness; my goal with this post is for us to consider: What does it mean to glorify God? How can we glorify God?
We have two films: Courageous and Brokeback Mountain. Two films that discuss similar themes of manhood and family values, but discusses these themes in very different languages. I contend that the latter, illuminates these themes in a much more profound and intimate manner than the former, which then gives us a fuller and richer view of God (albeit through negation). Ultimately, Brokeback Mountain does better at showing the necessity for Biblical manhood.
Courageous was made to glorify God, and explicitly address truth and honor its source. This is an admirable task and achievement for the filmmakers. If we were to judge films on if they shared the gospel, then Courageous would hands-down win the Oscar for they share the gospel quite well. But I believe (and I’m open to any and all discussion on this point) that a movie is not inherently made to share the gospel of Christ. It can. It is possible. But there will be certain difficulties that such a film must address that may contradict its own creative infrastructure. But not only that, the gospel itself becomes constrained within the medium. The Good News, in all its glory, is relational. Despite presentation and the potential to reach many, a movie can never be fully relational. It certainly can be a spark to a fire (for example, the impact of Jesus films in foreign nations are astounding), but I feel it would be unfair to both film as a medium and the gospel itself, to judge a film – even under the criteria of glorifying God – by how well it shares the gospel.
So, we should judge Courageous (and other films) not on how or if they share the gospel, but how they employ creativity, the technical aspects of the medium, and the exploration of their desired themes, all as a way to glorify God. Now, at first glance it would seem that I’m dismissing just how great it is to glorify God by explicitly sharing the faith (by this I mean, that we are using words to directly others about the life of Christ). This is without a doubt a great way to glorify God, and the Father certainly rejoices when we do. However, Paul does write that we are able and that we should glorify God by both word and deed. “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Now one could argue, that sharing the gospel brings God the most glory, but that line of thinking leads us into a hierarchy of actions and words. Well, does one sermon glorify God more than another? Does a pastor who preaches the word every Sunday glorify God more than a bank teller? Such distinctions are dangerous, for it may lead us into a division of spiritual and mundane, and such a division is not found in scripture.
All this to say, that Brokeback Mountain even by not sharing the gospel, does a much better job at illuminating and examining the impact of sin than Courageous. There is enough subtlety and true emotion (as the actors are very gifted) that allows the viewer to explore these themes in their own emotional and intellectual way. There is a flow of unpredictability that provides a more accurate representation of how life and God truly works. We sense the inner turmoil and tension of Enis played wonderfully by Heath Ledger, drawing us to an empathetic curiosity. Not only that, but we witness the effects of his deception, passivity, and lack of responsibility that painfully dissolves his family.
Despite best intentions, Courageous only provides a shallow articulation of its themes, as it tells rather than shows. Such a method closes off the viewer’s own ability and desire to draw more out of the material, and thus failing to make itself as impacting as it hopes. The actors, who do give their best effort, come off stale and at times rather forced, limiting the potential depth of their characters. Courageous neatly diagnoses and treats the problem, in a way that feels impractical. For example, I could tell a grieving parent that just lost their child, “God is in control, everything happens for a reason.” This certainly may be true and of the word, but nonetheless the presentation is trite and impersonal.
Confronting sin will only work and be made convicting if there is a personal, self-reflective process. This is a process that the filmmakers of Brokeback Mountain invite the viewer to partake in whether it be through story, music, cinematography, acting, etc. Although their intentions may have been to illuminate a certain aspect of human nature rather than to illuminate the true nature of God, they portray the brokenness of sin with a sense of reality and objectiveness that shows sin for what it is – destructive.
But one may say, even if Brokeback portrays sin more truly, at least Courageous presents the solution, and does so pretty clearly. This comment is fair, but I would say Courageous still does not allow viewers to come to that solution themselves. Truth can carry a much more profound impact on an individual if they come to a conclusion on their own rather than have a third party tell them. Being over-handed is never a good thing in story telling.
I’ll end my thoughts with this: any movie (if it has overt Christian themes or not) is meaningless for a viewer if they are not seeking or interpreting through the lenses of truth. We should view all movies in the light of the cross, being receptive to how the Spirit speaks to us – even through something “secular.” We have a Biblical responsibility to engage our minds with what we are viewing. We also, as Christians, should be the best at all we do. Why? Because we know whom we’re doing it for, the Father. We should make the best movies, the best music, the best books, the best food. Not because we worship those things, or even that our worship is contingent on the how, but instead we rejoice and delight as we know our worship is determined and beautiful because of the why.
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
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