Religion in movies vs. sitcoms

Our class discussion last week about sitcoms and how little religion is discussed in them made me think about how much religion and religious themes are presented in movies. I started listing off in my head all the movies I could think of that were built around a religious theme or spoke about religion, and I surprisingly came up with a pretty long list. The last movie I saw in the theater, that everyone I talked to raved about, was The Blind Side. It started off with a coach at a Christian school telling the school board they needed to admit a certain teenager, Big Mike, even though his grades weren't good because they were a "Christian" school.



I searched the Web and learned more about how religion is apparent in this movie. I even saw that Sandra Bullock's faith in people who live their religion was renewed after doing this movie.

Another movie that came to mind when I was thinking of religious-themed films was Evan Almighty, where Steve Carell becomes a modern-aged Noah and even speaks with God several times during the movie. After just discussing religion in the media in class, I looked at the trailer again and was a little surprised about how forward this movie was about God. Right at the beginning, it says God has chosen different prophets to speak to throughout the ages and then lists off Moses, Abraham, and Joan of Arc. This is stated as fact in the trailer. Can you imagine many TV shows that would say the same thing? It reminded me a little bit of the clip we watched of the interview with the Dalai Lama and the newscaster calls him the reincarnated Buddha.



Movies like The Davinci Code, where the Catholic church and the question of Mary Magdalene's relationship with Jesus is discussed; The Passion of the Christ, where the depth of Jesus' suffering is explored; Bruce Almighty, where one man is given the "power of God;" and Licensed to Wed, where a preacher tells a couple they can't sleep together until they are married, do not hide their inherent theme of religion. Even a movie like Knowing, that was kind of creepy throughout, turned religious at the end. I could go on and on with movies that center around religious themes (and I found lots of Web sites that list movie after movie with religious themes in them). Many don't just laugh and mention religion (like sitcoms seem to), but they explore and discuss religious stories and beliefs.

I thought of many reasons why this might be so. First of all, there is more time in movies to discuss religion than there usually is on a TV show. TV shows last 20 to 40 minutes, where most movies are 90 to 160 minutes. Religion can be brought up and different aspects can be given more thought and be explained more.

Another reason perhaps is that movies have a more targeted audience and don't have to appeal to so many people, like sitcoms do. They don't have to worry about offending as much because people buy and pay for a ticket and the previews tell them essentially that "this movie is going to be about religion, so if you don't want to see something about religion, don't watch it."

Movies could also just be a way for a producer to impart his or her religious beliefs on a mass scale. I read about a certain professor who uses movies in his religion class to appeal more to his students and to reach them more. He even commented that:

Hollywood and religion, as cultural forms, have the power to reinforce, alter, or challenge our most deep-seated beliefs, values, and hopes. For this reason, a study of religion and film is a natural one for religious studies curricula and for programs that rely upon and promote critical thinking. For whatever else they might be, for good or bad, popular movies do carry substantial weight in the public presentation of values and beliefs, and for that reason alone, films exist as natural texts for our students interested in religion in contemporary society.

Or maybe movies have more religious themes and discussions because they reflect society and the search for truth more than sitcoms do.

In my opinion, though, I think the real reason may be that religion appeals to movie-goers more than sitcom-watchers. Watching a sitcom can often be a way to relax after a long day and people may not want to have to think about religion, whereas movies are more about thinking, discovery and action. Movies, in a sense, have become society's way of exploring religion at a mass level. And this is not a new phenomenon. I found that movies back when our teachers and parents were growing up also had religious themes to them.



On one Web site I was going over about religion and movies, the author said films with religious themes "provide a place for us to pause and meditate on our purpose and place in life." I found that even movies like Star Wars, Avatar, and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe have religious themes to them. People can choose whether to take religious-themed movies as they are or dig deeper for perhaps a religious undertone. I think society enjoys looking for these religious undertones and reflecting perhaps on their own lives by watching a movie and contemplating it.

Some people may disagree and say those who are spiritual are offended by different spiritual explorations or discussions in movies. I know several people who were offended by The Davinci Code and other such movies.

So why do you think movies explore religion more often than sitcoms do?