He-Man, Barbies, and The Sound of Freedom

Growing up, I had several He-Man and Masters of the Universe action figures. I had this cool battle damage He-Man and Skeletor, a Battlecat, Panthor, Stinkor, Man-At-Arms, Moss-Man, a Meckaneck, and even a Castle Grayskull set. A few years later, my parents bought my brother and me some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. To this day, I wish I still had them. I was a classic child of the 1980s, and my Saturday mornings included watching Masters of the Universe, Droids, Ewoks, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, and Pee Wee's Playhouse. This was normal for me and millions of other kids, except for one little caveat.

Before church, my mom often said, "So, please don't bring up He-Man and the Masters of the Universe at church." Not because she was necessarily afraid of the opinions of others who abstained from television or other pop culture outlets. It was more because she didn't want to enter into a conflict that wasn't necessary. Masters of the Universe involved magic and sorcery. What we now call the culture war was well underway in our evangelical subculture. It was the era of James Dobson and the moral majority, where Christian parents were admonished not to allow their kids to watch television, play video games or go to movies. While the culture war was waged, there were many families that really didn't engage in it. Most of my friends in the church had parents who adopted a similar family life approach. We owned TVs, we all probably owned a Bart Simpson t-shirt, and we had a toy chest full of obscure Star Wars droid action figures (because the good ones were always out of stock) and knew to scream if someone said the magic word. In practice, we were not raised to believe pop culture was something we needed to fight or resist. To this day, I have little interest in attacking pop culture and those who enjoy it. There is no agenda for me to see a movie other than to enjoy the experience.

Today, Christians are actively promoting the film "The Sound of Freedom." A movie about the battle against child abuse and trafficking. It is interesting to see the church come out in droves to see this movie. Some of them can count on one hand the number of times they've stepped foot in a theatre to see a show. Why are they coming out to this thing? Is there a great story? Is the acting in the story emotional and captivating? How about the special effects? Is it fun to watch? You could ask all these questions about any movie you see with a hot buttery bag of popcorn. What's so special about this movie?

I suspect that, for many, this is an opportunity to fight. This is why some Christians who've railed against movies for years will go to this one. A fight that costs $15 per ticket plus popcorn if you want.

A classic us versus them scenario.

The scrappy, ever-persecuted evangelicals against the great liberal Hollywood Elite that must be defeated! While I haven't seen The Sound of Freedom, I suspect the film doesn't actually promote this. However, the undercurrent of this movie's success is connected to this perceived conflict. There is a tremendous amount of pride behind the idea that somehow Mickey Mouse has been dealt a black eye by having the film succeed financially. As of today, it's grossed over $163,000,000. A lot of money. I love a good underdog story of victory as much as the next guy. A small movie with a small budget doing well can always make an impact. In the most positive circumstances, it's a victory for creativity and the arts. Remember those small indy films "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", "Napoleon Dynamite" or even that old one,"Star Wars"?

The success of Star Wars was rooted in the fact that it captured our imaginations about a group of friends working together to defeat the forces of evil. Not only that, it welcomed everyone into that story. In the late 1970s, people like my Dad lined up around the block in downtown Edmonton at the Paramount Theatre to see Star Wars, not as a show of defiance against the day's culture but to experience the fun and adventure of the story.

I fear that the Sound of Freedom is capturing the imagination of church folks and directing its energy into the idea that people outside the church are corrupted and somehow less righteous than those inside. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if the movie has nothing to do with that. Additionally, I fear that the momentum around the film's success is propagating an idea that only the conservative church cares about abducted and trafficked children.

In Canada and the United States, there are whole divisions of law enforcement dedicated to rescuing kids. We live in a society where we will wake each other up at the most inconvenient times with an Amber Alert on our phones, alerting us to the fact that there's a child in need. Perpetrators are caught and go to jail all the time. Schools, daycares, sports programs, airports, and even shopping malls spend time and resources educating the public about the dangers of child abuse. I haven't met a liberal teacher, administrator, or lawmaker who doesn't care about this. These efforts far outpace any work done on this issue in the church. "Take the spec out of your eye before removing the plank out of your neighbor's eye" is the thought that comes to mind. Before we sound off with poisonous accusations of the Pride community conspiring to groom children, maybe let's deal with the numerous, factual, and documented instances of child grooming and abuse in the church. I would encourage the church to consider spending 163 million dollars on that issue. Yes, churches are doing some amazing work and progress on this point, but more work needs to be done. A cynical world watches as the church has spent millions of dollars going to see the Sound of Freedom but isn’t willing to invest in solving more pressing issues.

I'm genuinely happy for those who have gone out to see The Sound of Freedom and appreciated it. Movie theatres are great, and the stories told in these spaces bring us all together. If the movie stands on its own merits, great. My challenge to the film's fans is to not spoil this opportunity by using it to sling mud at those outside the church. I'll be the first in line to celebrate art that sows seeds of faith in the hearts of those who sit in the pews and those outside the church. Art can do this and often does. Films can be great conversation starters; when done well, they keep the conversation going for years.

If it's art that is being used to stoke the flames of a culture war and attack any group or community, I'm out. I would much rather spend my energy on creating and building, and I hope you do too.

Friend, thanks for reading; it means a lot. May you come across art this week that inspires you to believe the best about others who are not like you.