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Coleman Luck, a television writer-producer from Los Angeles, and Norman Stone, a film writer-director from Britain, recently addressed a media forum at the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College in Illinois.
"A noisy marketplace" where Christian professionals need to "earn the right to be heard" is how Stone described the British media scene. Luck noted that he had been "surprised by evil" in his professional encounters in Los Angeles. Although Christians often have to "battle" their secular counterparts over content and professional practices, Luck said, "Wonderful things are happening in Hollywood. More Christians are in leadership positions than ever before. Some are leading shows; some are presenting material for feature films; some are writers. Young directors from Christian colleges are finding a place in the industry." Conversely, Luck observed, evangelicals generally do not deal wisely with the film industry, and they appear to care only about what comes on their television screens. The Christian public who protest against films and television programs by means of boycotts and demonstrations are often unsophisticated in their understanding of how Hollywood works, he went on. He cited the Christian furor against the movie "The Last Temptation of Christ" as an example of the incivility of the Christian public that turned out to be counterproductive and caused embarrassment to Christians within the industry.
Media consumers need to know that film and television are not meant to do everything, added Stone. They also need to take into account what Stone describes as the "communication seesaw: You can say a lot to a little [audience], a little to a lot, or a medium amount to a medium." Sometimes, he noted, evangelicals want to say an awful lot to an awful lot and then the seesaw breaks.
Reflecting on the decisions he and others in the industry must make, Luck observed, "There is a time to run and a time to confront. All the discussions about ethics and lifestyle ultimately come down to this: Is what we say true?"
This is a "Sightings" article, distributed by e-mail by the Public Religion Project, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and headed by University of Chicago professor Martin E. Marty. Those wishing to receive Sightings should send their e-mail adress to prp-info@publicreligionproj.org. Previous Sightings are available at <www.publicreligionproj.org/services/sightings/archive/>.
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