How is this even possible?!

Zander said:
I may have been a little overly enthusiastic with my posting. It just seemed so unusual to me. With your common religious private colleges that offer a variety of majors and courses it isn't unusual or bizarre. There is some sort of tie in but with a dedicated film program it just seems unnatural. To me religious study and film are on very opposite ends of the spectrum.
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Actually, you would assume that there would be more of this...
Movies are a wonderful medium to get a message to a large grooup of people.
Most religions want to do exactly that.
Seems like a perfect fit.
 
Actually, most "mainstream" art of just about every stripe (sculpture, music, painting, poetry, the whole gamut) throughout history is religiously inspired, with completely unabashed religious iconography throughout it.

It's only within our great-grandparents' lifetime that "mainstream" art has become eschewing of religion, and especially so only in the last half-century.

So, no, religion and art are absolutely NOT at "opposite ends" of the spectrum.
 
To me religious study and film are on very opposite ends of the spectrum.
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I think film is based on the study of anything and everything human. Practically any good script requires lots of research and study and/or lots of personal life experience.

I personally wouldn't go to any school (film or not) that costs 25k a year strictly because I can't afford it. (My bachelor's degree cost me a total of 18k and I'm still trying to make enough money to pay that off quickly). However, it only accepts 24 students a year so I imagine you'd get a lot of attention and personal help and considering that it would be a very niche market you would probably meet alot of people that you would be working with throughout your career.
 
karapetkov said:
It's closer than you think.

I see that you're interested in funding my miraculous script.

When do we start discussing budget? :laugh:
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If I could fund your script...I wouldn't be crying myself to sleep every night wondering where I could get funding for MY script.
EVERYONE has a "miraculous" script...EVERYONE!

I don't know anything about Bulgaria but here in the US...people aren't keen on handing over money,........ unless you have a gun.
Hmmmmmm. I just might get my movie made yet.
 
who cares. lol....

u guys seen some xtian movies lately..i havnt... but i can sure point them out @ the local blockbuster. Super low budget D movies starring that blonde blue eyed dude from "starship troopers" and oh yah kirk cameron.. lol.. NEXT!!
 
saturnin said:
who cares. lol....

u guys seen some xtian movies lately..i havnt... but i can sure point them out @ the local blockbuster. Super low budget D movies starring that blonde blue eyed dude from "starship troopers" and oh yah kirk cameron.. lol.. NEXT!!
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End of the Spear, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Mission, Frailty, The Apostle, Mass Appeal, At Play in the Fields of the Lord and even to a certain extent Elizabeth and The Golden Age all work with themes of religion and faith, and are first-rate films.

The Passion of the Christ was technically and artistically accomplished, too, whatever you might think about its degree of scriptural fidelity, or the personal qualities of its director.

Sure, there's cheesy hamfisted embarrassing Christian-themed crap out there, just like there's cheesy hamfisted embarrassing anything-themed crap, out there.
 
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Paintedsheep said:
EVERYONE has a "miraculous" script...EVERYONE!
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That is true. But I have no doubt that my script is the MOST-miraculous one...

... In the entire world!

:D

I don't know anything about Bulgaria
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Well, that is going to change,... you feel it, don'cha? :happy:

but here in the US...people aren't keen on handing over money,........ unless you have a gun.
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The pen is mightier than the sword...


... But my sword is bright too.

:engel017:
 
David Jimerson said:
Actually, most "mainstream" art of just about every stripe (sculpture, music, painting, poetry, the whole gamut) throughout history is religiously inspired, with completely unabashed religious iconography throughout it.
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That's because for thousands of years, they were the only ones paying good money for it...Once artists aligned with business, they jumped ship, although instead of having to kowtow to the dictates of the church, they had to kowtow to "the marketplace".
 
It seems to me that most movies have a point, a moral, a message that the filmmaker is trying to communicate. When I think back over the last few years, many of the Oscar contenders were trying to get a point across: "Crash", "Good Night and Good Luck", "Munich", "Million Dollar Baby", etc.

Why is it that if a Christian puts a message or an idea based on faith in a movie it is considered "propaganda", but when others communicate their world view, it is not considered "propaganda"?

I'll be the first to admit that there have been a lot of cheesy Christian movies, but there have also been some there were quite good.

Every filmmaker has a world view from which they craft their art. Whether that world view is Christian or something else has nothing to do with whether the art is good or not.
 
rgcote said:
Why is it that if a Christian puts a message or an idea based on faith in a movie it is considered "propaganda", but when others communicate their world view, it is not considered "propaganda"?
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This is a false distinction.

If you are elaborating or communicating a generalized theme (war is hell, human spirit always prevails, obsession is destructive, whatever) then you are not a propagandist.

If you are pushing the tenets or worldview of a specific movement (the Buddha's teaching leads to enlightenment, Dialectical Materialism is the best philosophy by which to run the world, Christ is Lord) then you are a propagandist.

rgcote said:
Every filmmaker has a world view from which they craft their art. Whether that world view is Christian or something else has nothing to do with whether the art is good or not.
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That's true. And yet, the fact that Triumph of the Will is by most definitions a "good" film, does not mean that it exists in a vacuum. It's still a Nazi document. And other "good" films that are essentially propagandistic, ought to be viewed in the context of the cause for which they propagandize, too.
 
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Sad Max said:
The Passion of the Christ was technically and artistically accomplished, too,
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I'm obviously a fan of Mr. Gibson's cinema, but, ironically, I think that this particular movie has some fundamental flaws... in terms of story-telling, not religious doctrines.
 
karapetkov said:
I'm obviously a fan of Mr. Gibson's cinema, but, ironically, I think that this particular movie has some fundamental flaws... in terms of story-telling, not religious doctrines.
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Yeah, I tried to watch it twice - fell asleep both times... but then I'm not a very good Catholic.

I think there's a fundamental flaw with the terminology, when you call something a "Christian Film" you're sort of placing it in a genre that, to my knowledge, doesn't really exist. However the mere mention of that "genre" brings all sorts of connotations to a film, many of which were probably never intended by the filmmakers themselves (religious propaganda and dogma particularly).

"The Mission", which I think is a magnificent film, while it could certainly be called a "Christian Film", it's not so much the "Christian" traits of its characters that I found affecting - it was their humanity and sacrifice. And I think people from any religious denomination would be affected by it in much the same way.
 
Grug said:
"The Mission", which I think is a magnificent film, while it could certainly be called a "Christian Film", it's not so much the "Christian" traits of its characters that I found affecting - it was their humanity and sacrifice. And I think people from any religious denomination would be affected by it in much the same way.
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I think that's true.
 
Ben Hur is my all-time favorite movie and I think it very well interweaves the religious message with a non-religious main storyline.

Also, The Last Temptation of Christ is a good film. It's a bold look on things, but nevertheless - a story, which is told in a good and modern way.
 
I'll say this much for the graceless over-the-top propagandistic-type Christian films: sometimes you come home with cool props:


Tablet_01.jpg
 
Batutta said:
I've known several people who've made Christian films, and cut one myself. There are too many restrictions put on filmmakers in the Christian film industry that are antithetical to creating good drama. In my opinion, the greatest Christian film ever made is The Exorcist, and no Christian film company would touch that kind of subject material with a ten foot pole...But they should.
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What about The Exorcism of Emily Rose?
 
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