In Search of Originality

In Psalm 40, we read about the calling to communicate God's love and truth:
5 Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. 8 I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." 9 I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10 I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly.

Verse 10 says, "I speak of your faithfulness and salvation..."  As verse 5 reminds us, there are multiple wonders that the Lord has done.   And, when we consider the nature and ways of God, we recognize that there is so much about Him to know and love, and to share with others.   Sometimes that will involve communicating in fresh ways, relying on God to make that connection that will penetrate a heart and hopefully change a life.  We are called to be willing vessels, carrying the message of grace through Jesus Christ - He will inspire and direct us as we make ourselves available.

Isaiah 43 can help us to reflect on the identity of the God of Creativity:
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, Israel's Creator, your King." 16 This is what the LORD says-- he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
The organization "Movie to Movement" posted a chart on Facebook that listed the top 10 films in 1981, 91, 2001, and 2011.    It was also designated if the film was an original, an adaptation, or a screenplay. 

Let's just take the top 5 of each year:
In 1981, it was Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond, Superman II, Arthur, and Stripes - 4 out of 5 originals, 8 original films in the top 10.
In 1991, the top 5 were Terminator 2, Robin Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Silence of the Lambs, and City Slickers, which was the only original in the top 10, not adapted from another work or a sequel.
In 2001, Harry Potter, the first Lord of the Rings film, Shrek, Monsters Inc., and Rush Hour 2 comprised the top 5 - 5 out of the top 10 were sequels that year.
Last year, in 2011, 8 out of the top 10 were sequels - Harry Potter, Transformers, Twilight, The Hangover, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  How many films considered "originals", not a sequel or adapted from a book?  0

The point here - Hollywood is losing its originality.   And, one trend that author and social commentator Phil Cooke highlighted on a recent Lighthouse Report, is that there is a host of Christian filmmakers who are dedicated to communicating life- and faith-affirming movies.  At one point Christians essentially shied away from Hollywood - that is not the case any more.   Last week, Last Ounce of Courage placed in the top 10 in per-screen average, debuting on almost 1500 screens.   This week, Unconditional makes its way into theaters.  

We have documented success stories by Christian filmmakers who are seeking the Creator God, the God of creativity - and originality - in order to tell stories on screen and touch hearts.   We can each ask the Holy Spirit to show us, to give us ideas, fresh ideas, on how we can touch the people around us with Christ's love and truth. 

Movie to Movement is helping to do that - and facilitate it - in film.  It has a stated purpose of promoting "a culture of Life, Love & Beauty. We do this through the production of our own films, as well as sharing others."   Jason Jones, producer of the film, "Bella", has been involved in promoting films with a redeeming message consistent with our faith.   The concept of Movie to Movement actually originated from the process of spreading the word about the little film with a big message.   Jason told BeliefNet:

If all of the church’s in our communities said “We are going to support art that communicates the Gospel of Life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ” can you imagine how our society would be transformed?”…We can preach the Gospel through architecture, we can preach the Gospel through how we behave in the workplace and we preach the Gospel (through film). Now, not everything’s gonna be a Bible story. Jesus spoke in parables not in Bible stories. We can preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in parables that aren’t (necessarily) Bible stories…Distribution is the key. But who is the key to distribution? The person reading this article right now is the key to distribution because they’re the ones that can fill a theater in their community.

God has given each of us a message - and I am confident that He will lead us in communicating it - through our words, through the way we live our lives, and perhaps other creative means through which we can testify to the work of God through us.