One Afternoon in a Theater

It's time for me to rant a little about bad Christian art because today Cindy, the girls, and I went to see a movie, "One Night With The King" (the girls were out of school because it is election day).

Wow. Ouch.

Although visually appealing, this movie makes the tragic mistake that all bad art (and news reporting) makes. Namely, they decide that some people are entirely good while others are entirely evil. There's no struggle within the minds of the characters at all. It becomes comical in places.

Haman (pictured below) is about as subtle as Snidely Whiplash with a Swastica. He is played in an entirely un-sympathetic manner. He isn't driven to power as much as he is driven by his hatred of Jews. His hatred of Jews is a 500 year family vendetta whose time has come.

As the evil Haman, the actor spends much of the movie ranting about Jews and democracy (yes, that's right, you can read it again--DEMOCRACY). There is even a scene where he gives a proto-Nazi speech, complete with red flags and symbols of hate. I want to be careful here. I understand that there are, in fact, people who are filled with such hate. The thing this movie overlooks is that even hate-filled people, when plotting evil, use any likability they have to accomplish their tasks. Even Hitler knew how to appear likeable. A movie on him would have to figure out how such an evil man was able to sway so many people to join him. That's because he was real, not a cartoon.

There is nothing in his character with which to be sympathetic. Then there is the beautiful Queen Esther. She does a better job of acting than Haman, but the only way Xerxes comes to realize that she is, indeed, a Jew is that she has a crystal necklace that, when properly lit, spins (in good disco ball fashion) a host of miniature stars of David around the room.

If you don't believe me, go see it yourself. I couldn't make this up.

Back to this issue of "all good vs. all evil." As the church we have to do a better job of understanding the complexity of human character--the incarnation of God in Christ did, we should as well.

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn said, "If only there were evil people somewhere, insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

If the church is going to be able to hear and speak the Gospel we have to understand the truth toward which Solzhenitsyn points. For example, Ted Haggard wasn't all good before his public fall from grace. He isn't all bad now. Any news story or church that glosses over that fact is going for easy answers to age old questions. Easy answers are like snorkels. They only work near the surface.

Considering the nature of my grumbling, it is important that I remind myself that the movie wasn't all bad. It's just that for the Bible to be real the people in it have to be real, not caricatures. For some time now I've been impressed by the honesty of scripture. The Jews were willing to share the fullness of the lives of their ancestors. Abraham and Sarah, Moses and David . . . all the greats are remembered, warts and all.

If you're still reading this entry . . . you must be all good. Peace.