Content Worth Consuming

“What is Christian film?”

I often ask my students this question, then sit back to watch the discussion unfold. In one class, a student practically demanded the dry-erase marker from me, filling the board with ideas while the discussion raged (in a wonderful way) all around us. I sat down for the rest of the class and loved every minute of it.

In Dordt’s Digital Media Production program, we produce a lot of content. Even more importantly, we spend a lot of time talking about how to thrive in a competitive environment—how to earn a living while also honoring God in our content creation.

To help focus our thoughts, we start by talking about “content worth consuming.” It might come across as too simple—even trite—but it helps us cut through the noise and get at the core of the conundrum: How do we honor God in the media we create and consume? What makes content worth consuming, and how do we create it?

Let’s say we’ve been hired to make a thirty-second commercial to sell toothpaste. How does a Christian do this versus someone who Fung Shui’s their office and uses crystals to balance their aura? Should we have our actors wear tiny cross necklaces or a WWJD bracelet as a nuanced subtext that this message is different than the Fung Shui version? Maybe we could have an open Bible—soft and out of focus—in the background so those with eyes to see will notice it and recognize that this commercial was made by Jesus followers.

I’ve suggested as much to students, and I usually get an eye roll. Maybe they saw my own eye roll first. Do Christians have to be so overt about their faith in everything they create?

Personally, I don’t think so.

Could it be that God is honored when we do excellent work? Could it be that the most creative force in the universe (and I hasten to add that we were made in His image), is pleased when our creativity is unleashed, and we make amazing things? Could it be that a workplace (or film set) that actively pursues shalom in the way people and creation are treated, is honoring to God who seeks the restoration of all things? Could it be that a day of good, honest labor, even on the set of a toothpaste commercial, is pleasing to the One who created the world in six days, then rested on the seventh?

Sometimes I think we make the whole discussion of “Christian film” or “Christian art” too difficult, too lofty, too erudite. It doesn’t have to be this hard. Working with those categories leads us to pigeon-hole films into a whole new genre of movies called “Christian film.” For quite a few decades, the genre wasn’t much to brag about—lacking craftsmanship, polish and an understanding of the nuanced language of film, the genre attracted only a few, and was overlooked by most of culture, even derided for its lack of professionalism. Turns out that the films that everyone wanted to watch—and studies [i] show that Christians in America watch pretty much the same things that the rest of the country watches—were the films made with excellence, craftsmanship, and an understanding of how to tell a story with this very powerful medium.

So we go back to the original question: What is Christian film?

I contend that “Christian film” is a film that is part of the genre called “Christian film.” In this genre, the predominant theme is overtly Christian. Someone might receive Christ. Or through prayer, healing takes place and lives are changed. Or it’s a bio-pic about a Christian saint. The producers of the film often have an agenda or message they want to get across. Sometimes—many times—these films feel more like a sermon than a flick.

What if we change the question? Instead of talking about “Christian film,” we talk about films made by Christians? By moving the question, we sidestep the sometimes puzzling baggage that comes with this genre and reframe the whole discussion to talk about who is making the films—or the toothpaste commercials.

Now we’re free to create an amazing ad selling toothpaste, without wondering about how to get the Bible in the background or placing jewelry on the actors. Now we’re free to create content worth consuming—content created with excellence and a desire to honor God on a set that respects everyone doing their job. We honor work contracts, pay a decent wage, speak with truth and love, deliver the product on time, never cheat our clients, and make a product that competes with the best of the best.

Barbara Nicolosi, a Hollywood writer[ii], former Catholic sister, author, and believer in Jesus, said something I resonate with: “Christians in entertainment don’t have to be always talking about God, but we should be talking about everything in a godly way.”

This attitude frees us to create amazing sit-coms, documentary films, music videos, commercials and public relations campaigns. In short, it unleashes us to create content worth consuming.