Christians keep Hollywood profitable.

National Catholic Register ^ | 10 December 2005 | the Editors, National Catholic Register

[Tribune7]

Rome was worth saving & that was worse than Hollywood.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Yes. Alternative media venues are in the wings but they need financial backing and outlets. Give it time...

[ConsentofGoverned]

Whats a movie?? lets face facts what was a movie in 30's 40's 50's and 60's is no longer the "movie" of today. There is no fear in Hellwood they produce what sends the message (anti capitalism, anti American, anti Judeo - Christian )they want- profits or no. Hellwood will not get one red cent from me. The day Disney had GAY DAYs at it's theme parks was the day the Movies died. Do not support the entertainment industry . Disney has for me killed itself with it's pedophile directors (powder) and such at it's touchstone group.

[baseballmom]

Blast From The Past was a cute movie, with Brendan Frazier (I think that's his name) and Alicia Silverstone.

Thanks for your list.

[gedeon3]

I have never seen lord of the rings; I always believed it has witchcraft, but here they say it has a Christian message? Can somebody tell me if this is the truth?

[aligncare]

Yes, but he used oblique references - nothing explicit.

Even the shower scene in 'Psycho' was out of focus, and left mostly to the imagination.

Adults seeing 'Marnie' understood that a rape had occurred, but again - nothing explicit was seen...

You sound as if you are defending Hollywood's slide into the gutter. Hollywood should respect audiences, as the early writers and directors had. They are not doing that today.

One can not even watch tv programs or commercials today, without having his values insulted.

[Mom MD]

Tolkien was deeply Christian, and a member of the Inkling's along with C S Lewis. While Lewis intended to write an allegory with his Narnia series, Tolkien's aim with the Lord of the Rings was to write a heroic myth for England. So TLOTR is not specifically Christian

Having said that, Tolkien's faith can be seen throughout his books. The main characters all exhibit Christ like self sacrifice for others, evil is fought at great cost, there is no compromise with evil, etc. His book the Silmarillion with the creation story for Middle Earth is a little more obviously Christian ( or at least theistic)

[toadthesecond]

Lord of the rings is standard good triumphs over evil stuff, which I guess is one of the themes of every religion on the planet, past and present. As regards to witchcraft, magic is used by both sides.

It could be that Tolkien was a Christian (I don't know and honestly don't care) and if so it would be a shame if any particular group hijacks his work to further their own agenda, especially in the case of Tolkien and Lewis, who are no longer alive to argue for or against.

[Sam the Sham]

If you look at the "Devil" movies like "Rosemary's Baby", "Exorcist", "Devil's Advocate", "Damien", or any of the Grade-B ones on the 70's one thing strikes you about them. God is completely and totally out to lunch. He is no help at all. The humans are completely on their own. In fact, religion is reduced to sorcery with crosses and holy water as magical talismans and prayer as spells.

But let's add to this list of Catholic inspired movies. What about the Irwin Allen disaster movies ? Where the prophet prophesies doom and calls upon the people to follow him to salvation and they angrily refuse and immediately thereafter are striken dead for their sin ? Like the people in the ballroom of the Poseidon who angrily refused to follow Gene Hackman because "help is on the way". And drowned like rats in a rain barrel minutes afterward.

[aligncare]

Yes, I suppose in the liberal mind of today Lord of the Rings would qualify as having themes that are similar to religious themes...The stuggle between good and evil. But, that's as far as it goes.

[wizardoz]

Constantine was a little theologically muddled, but the final message is that God forgives...

[IronJack]

Hollywood is not worth saving. Surely there's got to be some other region in the country where a film industry could get off the ground and shed the decadent baggage of the California fairyland.

It's become a tautology: you want to get into film, you have to go to Hollywood. Why? Because that's where all the film people are. Surely conservatives have demonstrated they have the clout to support an alternative.

[aligncare]

Thank you Sam. Your last point is especially good. Intellectuals love to talk among themselves about allegorical themes in films. To the rest of us...regular folk...they often seem to be just an insult to our traditions and values. We're not smart enough to understand, I guess.

[redherring]

The films of yesteryear may have had sexual content,
but they did not show nudity or people in bed together.
They left it up to the imagination.

[Sam the Sham]

And if you add the Irwin Allen disaster movies with their Jeremiah themes, which were practically the only reliable money makers Hollywood had when it was losing money on hippie movies and overblown musicals, you get an even bigger total.

[gedeon3]

Thanks.

[Sam the Sham]

In Irwin Allen movies the disaster is always caused by human pride and sin. The Poseidon sank because the bean counters stinted on the cost of ballast and the corporate weasal insisted on overruling the captain. The towering inferno was a monument to the pride of its builders, like the Tower of Babel (get it ? tower ?).

[IronJack]

I have never seen lord of the rings; I always believed it has witchcraft, but here they say it has a Christian message? Can somebody tell me if this is the truth?

Lord of the Rings is an epic tale of Good and Evil. The Good figures -- a wizard, some elves, a handful of men, and especially two "halflings" -- benefit from an occasional supernatural phenomenon. The forces of Evil -- mutant creatures, a vain wizard, corrupted kings of men, and a looming shadow of Ultimate Doom -- have their share of magical powers too.

But the conflict is between innocence, faith, and love versus treachery, tyranny, and lust for power. The Good Guys win.

Is that about witchcraft?

[dbwz]

Is Hollywood a lost cause, and not worth saving?

Why do people insist on trying to retrain these stubborn behemoths?

Why not look at this as an opportunity for Catholic/Christian filmmakers to form independent companies? If the support and the audience is there in such quantity, there should be no trouble finding all the necessary ingredients to give Hollywood a run for its money.

[McGavin999]

Hollywood has to be reclaimed. At one time, movies were the very best representatives of the US. People were introduced to our culture by wholesome, all American stories that showed the very best of our society and reflected the ultimate American characteristic, the belief in a happy ending.

Kids would go to the movies and learned manners, ethics, honesty and other wonderful traits by watching. They learned that right triumphs over evil.

Today, kids see that evil is everywhere and that the bad guy has "redeeming qualities" and end up with the audience rooting for a guy with no values, a filthy mouth, and morals of an ally cat.