Awenydd

Hello, all!
I just received a blanket email from The Center for Reclaiming America for Christ.  The director, Dr. Gary Cass, has written a letter to the Hollywood industry head honchos, taking them to task for their favoring of the film Brokeback Mountain, particularly in light of the “shoving aside” of The Chronicles of Narnia, a blockbuster success that unequivocally presents the gospel message.
I sent him a reply (though I have no idea whether he will actually ever see it), and to make it short, I’ll just post what I sent him…

Dr. Gary Cass,

I received your e-mail/letter against Hollywood, and had to comment.
I also believe that Brokeback Mountain is an abomination.  I have made a point of not seeing it, of course, and I completely agree with your assessment of the film.  If left at that, I would sign your letter with enthusiasm. 
However, there is that bit about Narnia.  While I agree that Narnia carries with it a distinctly Christian worldview, and I have a great appreciation for the message it conveys, I also do not think that it is award-winning material.  As a film, it was merely “pretty good,” which places it right in the category of mediocrity for me.  Granted, it’s on the higher level of mediocrity, but it cannot rise above that.  And the simple fact is, mediocre films should not win awards.  Period.  A good message does not necessarily make a great film.
The fact that Narnia was a box office success does not make it a great film either.  I think the enourmous success of a merely “okay” movie like Narnia reveals a deeper issue.  A problem, shall we say.  American Christians have grown accustomed to mediocrity.  Only the secular world is supposed to be able to rise to artistic greatness.  Any possibility that a Christian message might be produced by even slightly competent hands is good news.  No, it’s great news. 
But in the end, “slightly competent” isn’t going to cut it.  If Christians want to see tales and films with good messages entering the mainstream of the culture, they must rise above mediocrity.  A truly great Christian film must meet or rise above the artistic standards of a film like Brokeback Mountain without compromising its message.  Christians must stop thinking that the good message can somehow compensate for substandard method.  Mediocrity in method makes it easy for the world to ignore the message.

~Christopher Kou

Having written that, I promptly went and signed his letter anyway.  If we could win any sort of victory here, it might pave the way to better quality in Christian filmmaking.