How Conservatives Misunderstand Moviemaking

[Wehrwolfen]

Getting Hollywood not quite right.​

by Andrew Klavan
March 19, 2013

From The Bible: Satan… or Obama… Like, whichever.​

Daniel Wattenberg, the arts and features editor of the conservative Washington Times, wrote a piece last week chiding Hollywood for being confounded by the ratings success of the History channel’s mini-series The Bible. ”Blockbuster ratings for a compilation of bible stories from a reality TV producer taking his first crack at drama? Can’t be,” Wattenberg writes in the persona of a studio exec. “If there was a market for biblical epics, then Hollywood wouldn’t have long ago abandoned the genre. … Makes no sense.”

No one can blame Wattenberg for taking a poke at Hollywood’s apparent reluctance to capitalize on the huge audience of the faithful. As I myself have joked repeatedly, if The Passion of the Christ had been about anything else, the Book of Acts would already be in the can.

But just for the record, no one in Hollywood is baffled by The Bible’s success. I think The Passion of the Christ blowout took them aback a little, but everyone gets it now: There’s a large audience of religious people who are tired of being mocked and put down by a small cadre of coastal sophisticates, but who will show up for solid, non-pandering faith-based entertainment. They’re not stupid; they’re not changing their minds; they’re not going away.

So why isn’t there more good work for the faithful? The problem is not Hollywood cluelessness, nor is it Hollywood evil. Conservatives tend to over-emphasize both.

[Excerpt]

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[Old Rocks]

OK. Then some of the mega-church's need to invest money into making these movies. After all, they could use a little more cash, right?

 

[JoeB131]

[

Daniel Wattenberg, the arts and features editor of the conservative Washington Times, wrote a piece last week chiding Hollywood for being confounded by the ratings success of the History channel’s mini-series The Bible. ”Blockbuster ratings for a compilation of bible stories from a reality TV producer taking his first crack at drama? Can’t be,” Wattenberg writes in the persona of a studio exec. “If there was a market for biblical epics, then Hollywood wouldn’t have long ago abandoned the genre. … Makes no sense.”

No one can blame Wattenberg for taking a poke at Hollywood’s apparent reluctance to capitalize on the huge audience of the faithful. As I myself have joked repeatedly, if The Passion of the Christ had been about anything else, the Book of Acts would already be in the can.

But just for the record, no one in Hollywood is baffled by The Bible’s success. I think The Passion of the Christ blowout took them aback a little, but everyone gets it now: There’s a large audience of religious people who are tired of being mocked and put down by a small cadre of coastal sophisticates, but who will show up for solid, non-pandering faith-based entertainment. They’re not stupid; they’re not changing their minds; they’re not going away.

So why isn’t there more good work for the faithful? The problem is not Hollywood cluelessness, nor is it Hollywood evil. Conservatives tend to over-emphasize both.

]

I think it's kind of scary that you think that Mel Geobbels' Torture Porn "Passion of the Christ" was a good movie.

The South Park guys said it best in their send up. "The important thing about Jesus is what he had to say, not how he died. Focusing on how he died is what they did in the Dark Ages, and it had really bad results!"

Hollywood has been making Bible Movies for generations. The problem is, what they've never made is a bible movie that has actually stuck to what's in the book. If they did, they'd probably create more atheists, not more believers. Hollywood does more softening of stories than freakin' Disney.

The reason why Christianity survives is most Christians don't know the absolute insane stuff that is actually IN the Bible. Or if they do, they don't spend a lot of time thinking about the moral implications.

Case in point, The Ten Commandments, which they play every Easter. Most of the movie focuses on what Moses did in Egypt. The bible is through with that by Chapter 12 of Exodus.

What they don't cover? How God tormented these people in the desert for 40 years, often inflicting horrid punishments for petty offenses.

 

[Oldguy]

[

Daniel Wattenberg, the arts and features editor of the conservative Washington Times, wrote a piece last week chiding Hollywood for being confounded by the ratings success of the History channel’s mini-series The Bible. ”Blockbuster ratings for a compilation of bible stories from a reality TV producer taking his first crack at drama? Can’t be,” Wattenberg writes in the persona of a studio exec. “If there was a market for biblical epics, then Hollywood wouldn’t have long ago abandoned the genre. … Makes no sense.”

No one can blame Wattenberg for taking a poke at Hollywood’s apparent reluctance to capitalize on the huge audience of the faithful. As I myself have joked repeatedly, if The Passion of the Christ had been about anything else, the Book of Acts would already be in the can.

But just for the record, no one in Hollywood is baffled by The Bible’s success. I think The Passion of the Christ blowout took them aback a little, but everyone gets it now: There’s a large audience of religious people who are tired of being mocked and put down by a small cadre of coastal sophisticates, but who will show up for solid, non-pandering faith-based entertainment. They’re not stupid; they’re not changing their minds; they’re not going away.

So why isn’t there more good work for the faithful? The problem is not Hollywood cluelessness, nor is it Hollywood evil. Conservatives tend to over-emphasize both.

]

I think it's kind of scary that you think that Mel Geobbels' Torture Porn "Passion of the Christ" was a good movie.

The South Park guys said it best in their send up. "The important thing about Jesus is what he had to say, not how he died. Focusing on how he died is what they did in the Dark Ages, and it had really bad results!"

Hollywood has been making Bible Movies for generations. The problem is, what they've never made is a bible movie that has actually stuck to what's in the book. If they did, they'd probably create more atheists, not more believers. Hollywood does more softening of stories than freakin' Disney.

The reason why Christianity survives is most Christians don't know the absolute insane stuff that is actually IN the Bible. Or if they do, they don't spend a lot of time thinking about the moral implications.

Case in point, The Ten Commandments, which they play every Easter. Most of the movie focuses on what Moses did in Egypt. The bible is through with that by Chapter 12 of Exodus.

What they don't cover? How God tormented these people in the desert for 40 years, often inflicting horrid punishments for petty offenses.

Whew! There seems to be an awful lot YOU don't understand about Christianity too.

 

[JoeB131]

[

Whew! There seems to be an awful lot YOU don't understand about Christianity too.

As Mark Twain said, It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that troubles me, it's the parts I understand perfectly fine.

You know when I realized Christianity was sort of full of shit? I was 11 years old, and we had this nasty old nun named Sr. Mary Boneventure. Woman had to be about 80 and pretty much what you would expect of a lesbian who has spent 65 years loathing herself.

Well when she told us the story of Noah and the flood, I asked the sensible question. Why would God drown all the babies in the world?

"Because they were WIIIIIIIICKED" the old crone rasped.

Now, as ass-poundingly stupid as that answer is, I have yet to hear a Christian of any denomination come up with an answer to that question that is less retarded.

 

[Sallow]

[

Daniel Wattenberg, the arts and features editor of the conservative Washington Times, wrote a piece last week chiding Hollywood for being confounded by the ratings success of the History channel’s mini-series The Bible. ”Blockbuster ratings for a compilation of bible stories from a reality TV producer taking his first crack at drama? Can’t be,” Wattenberg writes in the persona of a studio exec. “If there was a market for biblical epics, then Hollywood wouldn’t have long ago abandoned the genre. … Makes no sense.”

No one can blame Wattenberg for taking a poke at Hollywood’s apparent reluctance to capitalize on the huge audience of the faithful. As I myself have joked repeatedly, if The Passion of the Christ had been about anything else, the Book of Acts would already be in the can.

But just for the record, no one in Hollywood is baffled by The Bible’s success. I think The Passion of the Christ blowout took them aback a little, but everyone gets it now: There’s a large audience of religious people who are tired of being mocked and put down by a small cadre of coastal sophisticates, but who will show up for solid, non-pandering faith-based entertainment. They’re not stupid; they’re not changing their minds; they’re not going away.

So why isn’t there more good work for the faithful? The problem is not Hollywood cluelessness, nor is it Hollywood evil. Conservatives tend to over-emphasize both.

]

I think it's kind of scary that you think that Mel Geobbels' Torture Porn "Passion of the Christ" was a good movie.

The South Park guys said it best in their send up. "The important thing about Jesus is what he had to say, not how he died. Focusing on how he died is what they did in the Dark Ages, and it had really bad results!"

Hollywood has been making Bible Movies for generations. The problem is, what they've never made is a bible movie that has actually stuck to what's in the book. If they did, they'd probably create more atheists, not more believers. Hollywood does more softening of stories than freakin' Disney.

The reason why Christianity survives is most Christians don't know the absolute insane stuff that is actually IN the Bible. Or if they do, they don't spend a lot of time thinking about the moral implications.

Case in point, The Ten Commandments, which they play every Easter. Most of the movie focuses on what Moses did in Egypt. The bible is through with that by Chapter 12 of Exodus.

What they don't cover? How God tormented these people in the desert for 40 years, often inflicting horrid punishments for petty offenses.

Whew! There seems to be an awful lot YOU don't understand about Christianity too.

What's not to love?

Sticking 6 million Jews in ovens was just peachy..no?

Christianity is the bloodiest religion on the planet..bar none.

All religions are crazy..but Christianity? No. 1 with a bullet.

 

[Oldguy]

[

Whew! There seems to be an awful lot YOU don't understand about Christianity too.

As Mark Twain said, It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that troubles me, it's the parts I understand perfectly fine.

You know when I realized Christianity was sort of full of shit? I was 11 years old, and we had this nasty old nun named Sr. Mary Boneventure. Woman had to be about 80 and pretty much what you would expect of a lesbian who has spent 65 years loathing herself.

Well when she told us the story of Noah and the flood, I asked the sensible question. Why would God drown all the babies in the world?

"Because they were WIIIIIIIICKED" the old crone rasped.

Now, as ass-poundingly stupid as that answer is, I have yet to hear a Christian of any denomination come up with an answer to that question that is less retarded.

I can, but not in this thread. That would be hijacking. However, I'd be happy to answer it over on the religion forums.

 

[Katzndogz]

There is nothing more amusing than a non Christian telling me what the Bible says.

 

[JoeB131]

There is nothing more amusing than a non Christian telling me what the Bible says.

Why? Are there special words only Christians can read?

 

[JoeB131]

[

Whew! There seems to be an awful lot YOU don't understand about Christianity too.

As Mark Twain said, It's not the parts of the Bible I don't understand that troubles me, it's the parts I understand perfectly fine.

You know when I realized Christianity was sort of full of shit? I was 11 years old, and we had this nasty old nun named Sr. Mary Boneventure. Woman had to be about 80 and pretty much what you would expect of a lesbian who has spent 65 years loathing herself.

Well when she told us the story of Noah and the flood, I asked the sensible question. Why would God drown all the babies in the world?

"Because they were WIIIIIIIICKED" the old crone rasped.

Now, as ass-poundingly stupid as that answer is, I have yet to hear a Christian of any denomination come up with an answer to that question that is less retarded.

I can, but not in this thread. That would be hijacking. However, I'd be happy to answer it over on the religion forums.

Fair enough. I have started a thread on this topic, and would be very interested in hearing your thoughts.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/relig...o-old-guy-on-the-subject-of-noah-s-flood.html

 

[hortysir]

There is nothing more amusing than a non Christian telling me what the Bible says.

Why? Are there special words only Christians can read?

With the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
Yes.

 

[JoeB131]

There is nothing more amusing than a non Christian telling me what the Bible says.

Why? Are there special words only Christians can read?

With the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
Yes.

Oooookay, if you need to tell yourself that. I'd call that kind of psychotic.

I'm sure James Holmes had voices in his head telling him the deeper meaning of Batman Comics, but that didn't make them holy script!