On Easter Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is when Jesus, who was killed on a cross and buried in a grave, came out of the grave, alive.
While Hollywood is not in a grave, it is no longer in its golden age. Most of the big movies made are made elsewhere. Netflix, the rising star of the entertainment industry, is not even headquartered in Hollywood.
Would it be possible to bring Hollywood back to vibrant life?
This Easter Sunday let’s look at an opportunity. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just about him coming back to life after being crucified. It’s about victory over evil.
In 2000 the best picture Oscar to Gladiator, a story of competition to the death in Roman coliseums. Such contests were eventually ended by Christian influence. Slavery and segregation were ended by the impact of Christian influence.
What is this influence?
Baptism symbolizes death to the soul (driven by worldly desires) and the beginning of a new life led by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit brings the fruits of heaven: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These qualities transform lives. Murderers on death row have been transformed into kind gentlemen. John Newton was transformed for a slave ship captain to an important leader in the anti-slavery movement. He wrote the song Amazing Grace.
If Hollywood experienced a resurrection we would hear less vulgarity, see less violence, see women treated with more respect and see racism diminished.
In the 1960s Hollywood took a dive into what it called realism and began producing ugly stories of miserable people. Box office shrunk. America became uglier and uglier. Poverty, welfare and prison populations soared. Divorce increased as well. The American sense of morality sank toward what Hollywood presented as normal.
A resurrection in Hollywood would put that dark period behind us. Hollywood would hunger to offer light, truth and love. It would hunger to bring more of heaven to earth.
There are those in Hollywood right now who hunger for something better. Not just for themselves, but for the industry, for America, and for the world. They long to be free to make movies that make earth more like heaven.
A resurrection is coming.
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I'm not one to tell people what they can and can't worship but what has this got to do with screenwriting? If you want to preach then do so on your own stage or in anything goes, and remove it from the screenwriting board.
A change from ugly, violent stories to stories filled with love and joy is a serious issue in scriptwriting. In the future there may be more demand for uplifting stories. I'm not suggesting you must write one. I am suggesting that they will become more popular and some readers of this blog might consider writing such stories, not just to make money, but to make the world a better place to live.
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Sorry but this is a thinly veiled sermon that has no place in a screenwriting forum.
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Jesus... Another Hollywood rant by people who don’t even work in Hollywood.
When you think about it, Christianity is responsible for the biggest mass murderers and murders in human history. Catholic priests have destroyed countless lives through pedophilia, which has been more often than not covered up by various Cardinals and Popes. From a cultural point-of-view, it's a shame that Notre Dame was destroyed in a fire, but how about feeding the poor and famished instead of pouring billions into a building that clearly had its day. The American Christian fundamentalists are now touting Trump as endorsed by God. Spare me this utter nonsense, please. Life is short... and I lost many minutes (which I'll never get back) having to write this comment.
A scriptwriting forum is definitely the place to plead for more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control in the stories written for the world. These are what's called the fruit of the spirit. They're what Jesus came to fill the world with. They replace values like hatred, depression, dishonesty, racism, greed, and violence. It amazes me when people look at God and see hatred. What do they see in Satan? Love. We live in a world profoundly impacted by spiritual forces. I readily admit I favor the forces of heaven to those of hell. And, yes, I would like scriptwriters in Hollywood to promote more heaven on earth. This is the forum to ask for that.
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I understand there are a lot of people who follow the Christian faith within screenwriting circles. No idea why but we had the same thing when I was moderating Trigger Street so a separate "lounge" was setup for those who wanted to spout or discuss religion and politics because it's bullshit that we should be sitting around with this kumbaya crap in a screenwriting forum. Hey mods, can this please be moved elsewhere because it does not belong in a screenwriting forum.
I find Him delightful.