Christians Called To See New Movie: Fireproof
Posted: Wednesday, June 11, 2008
by Abigail Richards
Over 1,000 Southern Baptist pastors took part in a special screening of "Fireproof," a movie set to hit the big screens in September.
Fireproof chronicles the impact of selfishness, financial struggles, emotional adultery and Internet pornography on the seven-year marriage of firefighter Caleb Holt, played by Kirk Cameron, and his wife Catherine, a public relations executive.
It is the third film produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., after the release of "Facing The Giants" last year. Fireproof is set to release Sept. 26 in about 800 theaters nationwide. Christians are urged to visit the website, www.fireproofthemovie.com, to see if it will be showing in close locations as well as form action groups to try and get the film in their towns.
I have not seen this film and honestly it does sound interesting. What gets me every time these viral marketing campaigns are launched, is the audacity of Christians to seclude themselves in a different group. They make the movies seem to others as only being for Christians when it seems that they would have more of an effect on non-Christians.
I recently read an article in Hollywood reporter that said Hollywood was planning to give up on these type of word of mouth marketing campaigns because they weren't effective.
"From our experiences marketing to faith-based communities, we believe that moviegoers searching for appropriate entertainment don't exist independent from the mainstream," says Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of marketing and distribution to Hollywood Reporter. "In fact, they are the mainstream and depend on traditional marketing to inform decisions about which films seem right for themselves and their families."
From a personal standpoint, I think they are effective. Case in point, I can't tell you how many emails I get a week asking me to vote on this cause, support this person, go see this movie, read this book, etc. The emails are portrayed such as if I do not do what ever it is asking that I am not a "true Christian," so to speak.
Watching or supporting a movie doesn't make me a Christian-good or bad. To be honest, I think these Christian movies don't do as well because of their quality, not because of anything to do with theaters refusing to show them or people not supporting the Christian cause.
I think people are used to big blockbusters on the screens where millions have been spent on special effects, sound, writing, etc. Then these movies come out and they are slow, not as well-written, etc.
I am not bashing Christian movies, please don't leave nasty comments. I think the messages are good. I just think it gets lost because of the conditioning we are used to when watching movies. We are used to seeing fast-paced movies.
Let me explain further. I recently rented Mary Poppins for my kids. I remember loving that movie when I was a child. But something happened. The kids couldn't sit through it, I couldn't sit through it as well. It was nothing like what I remembered. It seemed very slow.
The reason? It is nothing like what my kids are used to watching with today's movies. Movies that portray themselves as these Christian movies seem like these old movies so in essence people have a hard time relating because of the movie itself, not the message.
I hope "Fireproof" is a big success for the sake of the message, but I am not sure I can sit through another bad quality movie.
The movie has also launched a marriage resource site as well: www.fireproofmymarriage.com
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)I must suggest to all Christians and Atheist to read this book " The End of Reason " by Dr. Ravi Zacharias. This book forces the reader's mind to do the critical thinking that is so lacking in Christianity today. It should also be considered required reading for the atheist who has never really looked at a logical argument for the existence of God, or the Christian who has never really critically analyzed his own faith. Check out more information on The End of Reason here
You said" "the audacity of Christians to seclude themselves in a different group. They make the movies seem to others as only being for Christians when it seems that they would have more of an effect on non-Christians". It is not that we seclued ourselves and market these kinds of movies for just Christians. The reason they are marketed within the Christian community so that Christians will go to a movie. Many Christians, including myself, have virtually stopped going to movies, since they usually contain so much unnecessary and objectional violence, nudity, and profanity. Even children's movies are filled with inuendos and comments that are not appropriate for children to repeat at school, church or at home. Movie makers and movie goers seem to think that just because a movie is animated, that it is kid friendly. Not so anymore.You are so right on that non-christians would benefit from these type movies more than Christians. I hope lots of people will go see fireproof and see how enjoyable movies can really be.It is good that we have a movie like fireproof that we can feel comfortable viewing, without being insulted with all the exta stuff that Hollywood inserts in the name of entertainment.
My husband and I went to see Fireproof tonight with another couple. We ALL thought the movie was greatly put together with an awesome message.To tell you the truth, I was expecting it to not be as good as it was because I heard that alot of the people who made it were volunteers as well as the strifes they all went through to get the movie to completion. Boy was I wrong. I was actually impressed with the quality, message, acting, humor and seriousness.I also think it could be a great tool for any church library in case of struggling marriages. I sure wish I could have had someone hand me the 40 day dare book!
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