In the past decade, Christian filmmaking has made leaps and bounds in both quality and cultural relevance, with numerous faith-based films topping box office and streaming charts. But even as faith-based films have expanded in quality and financial return, it seems most Christian movies remain stuck in the well-worn genres of bible-movies and biopics. Is this a good thing?
Biblical epics and spiritual biographies have long been a staple in the Christian film landscape. Stretching back to classics like Ben Hur and The Man for All Seasons, up to the present day, where movies like The Passion of the Christ, I Can Only Imagine, and Jesus Revolution, as well as beloved TV series like The Chosen, have found both monetary success and wide cultural exposure. And it makes sense that Christian artists and filmmakers would have a natural desire to narrativize and display their scriptures and stories of their saints on-screen. But recently, I’ve wondered if it might be time to pump the breaks on bible movies and biopics and try something different, something new.
I grew up on VeggieTales and The Nest animated videos, both of which strongly informed my early knowledge of the bible and church history, to the degree that I still joke with friends that I began my theological training by watching cartoons. Biblical movies and spiritual biopics certainly have a place within the church as educational aids and in-group encouragement. But I am beginning to think that maybe what started out as a desire to share scriptural and inspiring stories with a non-believing world has begun to turn into a crutch for easy storytelling, and a comfortable place for Christian audiences to retreat from the scary reality of the outside world.
Storytelling is a powerful medium that has the ability to literally change the way people think. Jesus knew this better than any, utilizing parables to reach the people of his day, and ultimately change the world. So if we, as Christians, desire to change the world, we must learn to tell stories that reach the hearts and minds of our intended audience. So with that being the case, what could possibly be wrong about making more bible movies? Well, let me explain.
Originality is effective
In recent years, secular Hollywood has come under fire for its lack of originality, opting to pour its billions of production dollars not into new and captivating stories, but instead into an endless slate of remakes from past decades or sequels to tired, worn-out franchises. This has left film audiences depleted and desirous of something new. Though I wish I could say the faith-based filmmaking world has taken a better path, unfortunately, most of the big-budget Christian films have been either spiritual biopics of famous historical Christians and saints, or rehashings of biblical stories.
Most of the developed world is highly familiar with the stories from the Bible. Whether their exposure to them came from a church they no longer attend or a basic cultural familiarity, very few in today’s modern culture aren’t at least somewhat aware of the classic Biblical tales. Conversely, the secular world having little or no connection to our historical heroes has little interest in seeing films about them. This being the case, it’s no wonder that even with the rise of Christian movies and their budgets, we continue to see a decline of Christianity in modern culture. We keep telling the same Bible stories, over and over again, or we make movies about people most have no connection to and then wonder why Christianity isn’t having a cultural impact.
Every generation since movies started being made has had their own movies that defined and touched the people of that time. Be it Star Wars or Mean Girls these movies articulated and displayed the experiences of the people of their day. The only way to truly connect to any generation is to tell it a new story — one that’s tailor-made for them, that addresses their needs, articulates their experience, and is in a language they can understand. If reaching this generation is the goal, then telling new stories is an artistic and spiritual imperative.
Jesus’ parables were modern stories
Jesus was a storyteller of his day who was hyper-aware of the culture and people he was talking to. He knew the kinds of stories that would have the greatest effect on his listeners — so what kind of stories did he tell? Jesus told fictional stories that were relevant to the people he was telling them to. Jesus’ stories were set in his current time, with current characters, dealing the current issues of the day. Jesus could’ve told stories from another time or place, but instead he knew that his message of redemption would be best heard if contextualized inside of the current questions, hopes, fears, doubts, and struggles that the audiences in front of him were dealing with.
As Christian filmmakers, we believe the Gospel is eternally relevant and has redemptive and timeless power in the life of any person who might hear it. But so often, instead of writing original stories about what faith might look like in the lives of a modern person, we do another rehash of an old bible story or a biopic on a culturally irrelevant person. When we make these genres the entirety of the “faith-based” genre, we unintentionally imply that faith is something that has only historical relevance but ultimately nothing to do with the stories and issues we as an audience are living and dealing with today.
God likes “new”
God is inherently creative. God is not derivative. His creation is entirely unique and His mercies are “new” every day. God created the entire universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) because originality is a part of His very nature, the nature that we are made to reflect. Being made in God’s image, we have a vision for the kind of artists and creators we are called to be — ones who act in His likeness of originality and creativity and make “new” and beautiful things.
In the Psalms, we are commanded by the author to “sing a new song to the Lord.” When reading this passage in our Bibles, we often brush over the “new” part and instead opt for singing very old songs and making the same old movies, over and over and over again. But part of our worship to God is actually putting effort into creating something new for Him, and others.
Derivatively copying-pasting old stories, where there are well-worn how-to instructions, is easy. But creating something new, unique, and original is difficult. But worship was never meant to be easy. When we choose the road less taken — one that takes more effort, energy, and risk — it is an act of worship that images God.
So, what now?
Listen, Bible movies and spiritual biopics are great and are worthy of being made. They can serve as a tool to both educate and teach the church. But ultimately, if our desire is to reach beyond our comfort zones and outside the walls of our church, we must be willing to put in the work, in an act of worship, to create new and original stories that have a greater ability to reach a lost world in desperate need of a new story.
Luckily the landscape of new and original, faith-based films isn’t completely empty. Original stories like The Shift (a multiverse, scifi, faith-based film) and A Week Away (an original faith-based musical) have given hope to those of us who want to see our faith displayed in new and original stories and genres. But there’s still a long way to go when it comes to faith-based artists breaking out of the tired mold we’ve become stuck in.
