Movies for Counter-Programming: Can You Help?

[ThatSnark]

Message from a friend last evening: "My sister belongs to some mega-church in Greensboro. Totally not my thing. Her daughter is 13. They will be watching "God Is Not Dead" with her youth group this weekend, and my sister has some concerns. In addition to being apparently lousy on dramatic grounds, the film also seems to impart an anti-intellectual message, that college professors are evil atheists eager to indoctrinate gullible young Christians... I'm wondering if there are any good religious movies for children that you've encountered as a parent that I might recommend as a kind of counter-programming."

I have a couple of ideas, but a busy life has kept me away from the movies for some years now. Can you all recommend anything that's appropriate for a 13-year-old that will help her keep an open mind when she's getting some pretty rigid messages? Thanks!

[Swamptribe]

If your sister has concerns, perhaps her daughter should skip the movie entirely. Or, you sister should go with her so she can later point out the flaws in the movie.

[ThatSnark]

If your sister has concerns, perhaps her daughter should skip the movie entirely. Or, you sister should go with her so she can later point out the flaws in the movie.

This is a friend writing about his sister; he doesn't have children and asked me (as a mother) for some counter-films to recommend as an alternative point of view. I have some good ones on my list: Dead Poets Society, Contact, Creation, Schindler's List, Chariots of Fire-- anything to point out the issues when you let someone else do your critical thinking for you.

There's a real issue with some of these fundamentalist megachurches drawing in children with super-fun activities (theme park! bowling night!) and then one of the fun activities is indoctrination after they've built up trust. This young lady fortunately has a mother who's got some second thoughts and an uncle who wants to help keep her mind open to the rest of the world.

[debrand]

I checked the movie out on IMBD. The movie itself sounds very snarkworthy so I want to watch it. It sounds like something that would appeal only to the far right, Christian. The best counter, I think , is to talk to her about straw men and how to spot one. The entire movie sounds as if it was built on an untruth, the persecution of American Christians.

[cindyluvs24]

Gandhi, Ben Hur ( ok, I just threw that in because of the chariot race), Defiance (ok, just included that for Daniel Craig and Liev Shrieber), Lilies of the Field, The Sound of Music, Casablanca ( just because)

[16strong]

Throwing out a different line of thought here. Not religious films, but the later Harry Potter movies (5, 6, 7) are a message in educating yourself despite forces that deter critical thought and individual thinking. They also show that a brick building labeled school doesn't have to be the be-all end-all of education and learning. Since the movies are geared towards young people, they would be well-received, and less daunting for a 13-year-old to watch than some of the others listed.

[CynicMom]

Footloose

Cosmos

The remake of Cosmos is on now (on FOX!!) and is very well done. It's not an anti-religious message by any means, but definitely has some stuff in there about how religion has found itself on the wrong side of science through history.

[CynicMom]

Also, based on the preview I have SERIOUS concerns that the movie apparently paints all non-believers as family-hating mean jerks who get really upset if someone so much as mentions they're religious. They even neglect the elderly!

I had a class (Intro to Philosophy) that I think was similar to the one described in the movie. The professor gave us an assignment to compare/contrast various arguments for and against the existence of God. He gave a little speech before hand saying that he didn't care nor want to know our personal view. The assignment was to compare/contrast THESE views only. A significant fraction turned in an essay on "why the Bible is True" and failed. For all I know the professor was a devout Christian!

So that's the real danger of this movie. It teaches people to be afraid and confrontational with people not like them. It also sets them up to fail this college class.

[CynicMom]

More ideas:

Carrie (??? maybe 13 is too young)

Jesus Camp

Monty Python's Life of Brian

Edit: The Crucible (also maybe13 is too young - viewer discretion)

[PennySycamore]

Footloose

Cosmos

The remake of Cosmos is on now (on FOX!!) and is very well done. It's not an anti-religious message by any means, but definitely has some stuff in there about how religion has found itself on the wrong side of science through history.

The remake of Cosmos is awesome! This last episode was all about comets, Robert Hooke, Edmond Halley and his support of and influence on Isaac Newton. Halley privately published the Newton's Principia Mathematica.

[ThatSnark]

Thanks, all-- these are great. I started my list out by recommending Cosmos; I think Neil deGrasse Tyson's thoughtful, logical dismantling of fear-based religion is one of the greatest things I have ever seen on television, and I hope he's able to watch it with her. I also put films like Mr. Holland's Opus, Dead Man Walking, Little Buddha, Contact, Die Welle (The Wave), The Invention of Lying, The Man from Earth, and similar thought-provoking stories where someone stands up for what they believe in.

The more I read about God's Not Dead, the more upset I get. That's why I put films showing never-Christians like Gandhi on this list, so that she can see that tremendous good comes from other traditions, not just hers.

He wrote back that his sister has decided not to send her with the youth group to see this, after reading his concerns. One less indoctrinated teenager.

[salex]

kansascity.com/2014/03/24/4912518/gods-not-dead-but-this-movie-doesnt.html

Upside is the movie apparently isn't very good!

This is the angriest faith-based film in memory.

Believers here are outnumbered, a persecuted, righteous and intellectually rigorous minority.

Non-believers run the gamut from fascist, bullying college professors to an abusive Muslim who would rather beat his child than let her study the Christian Bible, from godless Chinese who fear government persecution to “ambush†journalists out to get those God-fearing “Duck Dynasty†millionaires.

It’s a movie where rare is the voice that is raised, but deep is the rage bubbling through its rabid anti-intellectualism. When a non-believer is better off dead, that’s not brimstone you’re smelling. It’s bile.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/03/24/49 ... rylink=cpy

[dawbs]

saved

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332375/

[Arete]

An old one but good one about the push and pull of combining religious belief and observance with modern scholarship and intellect from a Jewish perspective is "The Chosen". It centers around two friends and how they reconcile their religious beliefs with living and wanting to go to college in the modern world.

It is based on the book of the same name by Chaim Potok

[PennySycamore]

Kevin Sorbo, the "star" of God is Not Dead, was on the Home and Family on the Hallmark Channel this morning. I quit watching it when the first words out of his mouth was some BS about Common Core. I had not taken my blood pressure yet and didn't need anything to make it higher. The stuff he's said recently just make him out to be another RWNJ (right-wing nut job.)

I always suspected that Hallmark Channel canned Martha Stewart's show (also Emeril and Lucinda Scala Quinn) because she's too progressive. I don't usually watch Home and Family for that reason.

[AnnieC 305]

How about taking her to the nearest university and asking if you can sit in on a philosophy class? Maybe talk to a real professor or two?

[keen23]

I'd look for religious satire movies.

Saved! is a great one. Dogma too, but she might be a bit young. Life of Brian.

I'd check out The Invention of Lying.

[RandomTrivia]

I checked the movie out on IMBD. The movie itself sounds very snarkworthy so I want to watch it. It sounds like something that would appeal only to the far right, Christian. The best counter, I think , is to talk to her about straw men and how to spot one. The entire movie sounds as if it was built on an untruth, the persecution of American Christians.

God is Not Dead got a mention in the Entertainment Weekly that was delivered today. Apparently it had the best per-screen earnings ever for a limited-release religious film, or something like that. Made the top 5 in the box office results for its opening weekend.

The biggest surprise of the weekend is undoubtedly the success of God’s Not Dead, an inspirational drama about a college student who defends his belief in God against a non-believing professor. With no marquee stars (Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain appear in the film, as does Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson) and little mainstream press, the film earned $8.6 million from just 780 theaters.The Freestyle Releasing title benefited from a highly specific marketing plan that involved drumming up social buzz (the film has over 1 million likes on Facebook) and partnering with the Christian music festival Winter Jam to raise awareness in its target audience

I didn't realize Kevin Sorbo had gone all wacky conservative. Big change from playing Hercules and being the Captain Kirk of early Greece.

[nomoxian]

Life of Brian FOR SURE :D The Meaning of Life is another funny Monty Python movie dealing with religion. If she's into comedy, Dogma might also be a good movie for her to watch. Not a movie, and possibly not "appropriate" depending on which adult you ask, but Father Ted and Ms. Browns Boys are both funny British series dealing with religion.

Inherit the Wind is an older movie, so I don't know if it would hold her attention, but it might be good for her to learn more about how religion tries to affect state/secular policy.

Some people might say Religulous is too "boring" or "old" for her, but I liked documentaries when I was 13. I found it more watchable than Jesus Camp... I'd say any kind of science related thing, like Cosmos, or stuff to do with philosophy is a great way to have her start thinking critically and with a broader mind.

I haven't seen the following movies but...

Apparently The Golden Compass is an "atheist movie" (according to religious people)

Oranges are not The Only Fruit deals with a kid who realizes they are a lesbian while living in a really religious household. I used to watch really intense stuff from a young age, so I can't really say whether this is appropriate or not, especially without knowing her.

[Mama Mia]

I would go for movies that show a wide range of people and ideas, but stay away for ones that are blatantly disparaging her beliefs. If she feels her beliefs are being attacked she's likely to become defensive ( as everyone does ), and be closed to further conversation on the topic.

[FloraKitty35]

Gandhi, Ben Hur ( ok, I just threw that in because of the chariot race), Defiance (ok, just included that for Daniel Craig and Liev Shrieber), Lilies of the Field, The Sound of Music, Casablanca ( just because)

mmm Daniel Craig

[lilwriter85]

Life of Brian FOR SURE :D The Meaning of Life is another funny Monty Python movie dealing with religion. If she's into comedy, Dogma might also be a good movie for her to watch. Not a movie, and possibly not "appropriate" depending on which adult you ask, but Father Ted and Ms. Browns Boys are both funny British series dealing with religion.

Inherit the Wind is an older movie, so I don't know if it would hold her attention, but it might be good for her to learn more about how religion tries to affect state/secular policy.

Some people might say Religulous is too "boring" or "old" for her, but I liked documentaries when I was 13. I found it more watchable than Jesus Camp... I'd say any kind of science related thing, like Cosmos, or stuff to do with philosophy is a great way to have her start thinking critically and with a broader mind.

I haven't seen the following movies but...

Apparently The Golden Compass is an "atheist movie" (according to religious people)

Oranges are not The Only Fruit deals with a kid who realizes they are a lesbian while living in a really religious household. I used to watch really intense stuff from a young age, so I can't really say whether this is appropriate or not, especially without knowing her.

I agree with the Inherit the Wind recommendation.

[lilwriter85]

God is Not Dead got a mention in the Entertainment Weekly that was delivered today. Apparently it had the best per-screen earnings ever for a limited-release religious film, or something like that. Made the top 5 in the box office results for its opening weekend.

I didn't realize Kevin Sorbo had gone all wacky conservative. Big change from playing Hercules and being the Captain Kirk of early Greece.

A few months back I found out about Kevin Sorbo being a conservative Christian. I was flipping channels during a Sunday morning and I came across a Christian movie he did. The movie I saw was basically a Christian version of The Family Man. I read somewhere online about him being a conservative Christian. He was also in Soul Surfer.

[roddma]

It seems Kevin Sorbo has done a complete 360 since "Hercules". The only movie I can think of that has not been mentioned "Handmaid's Tale"