Wednesday Web Link – Exodus: Gods, Kings, and Evangelical Headcanon

The Wednesday Web Link is our weekly feature on an article from the whole internets that is not only movie related, but a movie related article that makes you think deeper about the movies and TV you are watching.  If you have an awesome article to share that plumbs the depths of movies, TV shows, and the stories we watch, let us know on Twitter at @reelworldtheo or like the Reel World Theology Facebook page or email Josh at J.A.Crabb22@gmail.com and the article could end up here!    

Exodus: Gods, Kings, and Evangelical Headcanon from Christ and Pop Culture

Over at Christ and Pop Culture, E. Stephen Burnett shared some early thoughts on the to be released this November movie, Exodus: Gods and Kings starring Christian Bale as Bat-Moses.  He invites us to evaluate much more deeply how we critique films based on Bible narratives otherwise we will end up in the following spiral:

1. The Bible film is announced with a big-name director, actors, and budget.

2. Christians and especially evangelical leaders share concerns.

3. Early reviews and audiences confirm the film shockingly deviates from Scripture.

4. The director and/or studio replies by saying they certainly respect the source.

5. Evangelical leaders suggest we use the film for evangelism (as occurred withNoah).

6. The film is released. Some evangelicals like it, some hate it. We all yell at each other.

7. Quietly the film drifts away to live on in Blu-Ray and streaming sales. We all forget about that wonder (horror) that would have restored Christianity’s pop-cultural glory (committed final blasphemy against its sacred text). Time to do it all again!

I highly recommend the article and his interaction with a couple Ken Ham posts about the movie.  He brings up some fascinating points and asks some great questions regarding what evangelical Christians believe about Biblical narratives and how that interacts with the artistic medium of movies, as well as how previous narratives can inform how we remember the Bible and how we critique newer versions.  Read Burnett’s article, Exodus: Gods, Kings, and Evangelical Headcanon, and think about the following questions:

• Do you agree that we should judge movies by their faithfulness to source material?  I’m not just talking about the Bible, but I bristle at judging The Hunger Games or Harry Potter on fidelity to the books.

• Do movies need to be obviously explicit with their message in order to be impactful? 

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