Searching for God in Hollywood

For this week's online essay, go read Part 2 of Kieth Merrill's "Write the Truth" series, giving some of his views on what's right and wrong (mostly wrong) with Hollywood and the movie business. Here's a quick summary of his view:

The search for God in the movies accentuates the division between the mainstream motion picture industry and main street USA. Many movies from the heart of Hollywood not only tend to favor stories that are often antagonistic toward faith and/or hostile to religion but leave God out all together.

Merrill also discusses Michael Medved's book Hollywood vs. America and offers the following quote from that book:

For many of the most powerful people in the entertainment business, hostility to organized religion goes so deep and burns so intensely that they insist on expressing that hostility, even at the risk of financial disaster. When otherwise savvy producers are willing to defy logic, past experience and commercial self-interest in order to create movies that promote antireligious stereotypes and messages, then it is clear that a powerful prejudice is at work.

Merrill, who wrote, produced, and directed Testaments, is kicking off a new project any day now: Audience Alliance Motion Picture Studios, which will apparently try to deliver movies that are geared toward audience preferences rather than Hollywood preferences. Think family-friendly action comedies. Hmm, sounds like Disney. Which actually hasn't done too bad in the movie business.

Comments

[brett]

Dave, you can post the url www.audiencealliance.com now, as we are taking pre-registrations from people who want to hear about it day one of the launch

cheers,
Brett

[Seth R.]

Dave,

Cheesy, saccarine portrayals of moral behavior and overwrought backlashes by jaded hipsters are just two sides of exactly the same warped thinking of religion in society. Both facillitate the disease.

[chris g]

When people get so wrapped up in that attack ideology, how has that not started to become a religion unto itself? Sew in a non-profit organization, occasional marches and protests, and one just needs a relatively infallible book or symbol.