Mr. Nanny? Seriously?

One of the blogs that I follow recently posted a link to Christianity Today's list of the ten most redeeming films of 2008. I admit, I think that most "Christian" films still lack serious quality so I almost didn't click the link. But my curiosity got the best of me and, if for no other reason than a good laugh, I decided to check it out. What I found there was not what I expected at all and it reinforced something that I've been thinking about lately, but I'm still not sure how to feel.

I figured that when I got to the site I would find films such as Prince Caspian, Fireproof, and a host of other low budget, low quality films I had never heard of. Surprise! That's not what I found at all. Fireproof was on the list, but at number six. Prince Caspian? Not on the list at all. Here is a sampling of the films that did make the list:

Wall*E - No.1
Gran Torino - No.3
Horton Hears a Who - No.4
Rachel Getting Married - No.5
The Dark Knight - No.7
Slumdog Millionaire - No.9

Do you see why I was a bit taken aback? One of the comments for The Dark Knight even said this: "Under the surface—perhaps unknown even to the filmmakers—is that this film shows Batman as a Christ-figure who self-sacrificially takes the sins of others onto himself, knowing it is the only way to save others and bring hope. Batman becomes an outcast so that the people of Gotham would have hope." Kind of a stretch if you ask me.

And this is where I run into my dilemma. I just don't know what to think. I've seen some of these films and they are excellent. My point in this is not to disparage these works or try to make a case for whether Christians should or should not watch them. That's a discussion that we just don't have time for. But do these films belong in a magazine like Christianity Today? Granted, Jesus used parables all the time as one of His primary forms of teaching. And although there are plenty of family unfriendly scenes and imagery in some of these movies, let's not forget that the Bible is strewn with scenes so violent that we would shudder to see them portrayed on the big screen. Even some of the "Christian" fiction that I read is frowned on in some of the more conservative circles for being too radical and too graphic. But have we gone too far? Are we over analyzing and trying to find Christ in the mainstream in some desperate attempt to make Christ culturally relevant? I don't know, but it leads me to something else that's been bothering me.

If you've read any of my posts at all it's hard to miss the fact that I love to read. And while I can usually find what I want sooner and cheaper at places like Amazon, I try to frequent my local Christian book store as much as I can. I may soon have to put an end to that though. The last few times I've been in there have caused me nothing but frustration, as my wife can attest to (I feel bad for her sometimes for having to listen to my rantings.) I went in on three separate occasions recently to find a certain CD by a popular Christian artist. Not once did I find it in stock, and I finally had to order it. Not that that in itself bothered me. What bothered me was what I did find in stock there. You want the new Jonas Brothers CD? No problem. High School Musical soundtrack? In Stock. How about Daughtry's newest release? On the shelf. And when I glanced over to the movie section, I saw selections such as The Princess Bride, Air Bud, and Mr. Nanny (yeah, the one with Hulk Hogan.)

Again, I'm not in any way trying to disparage any of these titles. After all, who in their right mind doesn't think that The Princess Bride is one the greatest movies ever? I won't comment on my feelings about the Jonas Brothers or High School Musical, but in reality, all of these are pretty wholesome family entertainment. They are all "good" movies and "good" music. But we weren't called to just be "good" people or to lead "good" lives. We were called to be Christlike. Go back to that Christianity Today poll and to what they said about The Dark Knight. This is an excellent, albeit dark, movie. There certainly is a redemptive quality to it and I totally understand how the reviewer arrived at the Batman as a sort of Christ figure analogy. But when Jesus spoke in parables, they were very direct correlations to the point he was trying to make. They were stories specifically built around the message. It wasn't the message trying to be squeezed into the story (as is the case with the Batman analogy), and therein lies the very important and very dangerous distinction.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, I think this whole seeker sensitive/culturally relevant philosophy may be getting a little out of hand. I have to wonder if, in our quest to make Christ relevant, we've crossed the line from simply being "in" the world to now being "of" the world. How far should we go in trying to be culturally relevant? I can't find the latest book by my favorite author, but I can get a PG or PG-13 edition of a small group bible study based around mainstream movies (yes, I've seen this.) Don't want the kids to play Guitar Hero? No problem, just go buy Guitar Praise. Need to fill some seats at Church? Throw in a couple of Top 40 tunes and tie them in to your message. Where do we draw the line?

I guess in the end I'm just frustrated. I'm frustrated that we're so desperate to sell magazines to the masses that we have to search for the redemptive message in movies like Horton Hears a Who, Gran Torino, and The Dark Knight. I'm frustrated that we have to fill our shelves with mainstream pop music and every imaginable trinket that can be emblazoned with a cross, a fish, or a catchy Jesus slogan. I'm frustrated that even though we have a timeless God, with a timeless message, we still feel the need to make God more relevant. I'm frustrated that in the process of doing that, we actually water down the message and we're not even realizing it. And I'm frustrated that I just don't know what to think of it all. I mean seriously, Mr. Nanny?