Blue Like Jazz? Blue Like the Emergent Church apparently.
How can this film be described other than an idealized portrayal of how a dysfunctional American Christianity should interact with a seemingly liberalizing American society? When two polar opposite cultures are placed in one location how can co-existence occur? Compromise, Rebellion, Humility, and Apology appear to be the answer by the end of the film. The American Liberal view of how American Christianity ought to operate is idealized in this film: Accept us for who we are, look the other way, and apologize. However, the book from which this movie is based on is 100% fiction as is the movie.
This film appears to be the dream of the Emergent Church's Post-Modern idealization of how Christianity ought to be. From the beginning the pain and dysfunction of each character is quite readily evident which in turn reflects the pain and dysfunction of Christianity as represented by the church in the United States. Our brave main character, Don, comes from an average Southern Christian background when his world is destroyed when he finds out his divorced mother is having an affair with the youth pastor of whom he is very close with. This is unacceptable, so with the help of his apparently dysfunctional drop-out liberal father's offer, our young lead sets out on a trip to the notorious Reed college in the Pacific Northwest in order that he may find himself. After denying his heritage and beliefs throughout the movie he attempts to gain acceptance from his peers in an 'enlightened' environment. (What exactly the Post-Modern Church wants to do to try to win people over.) He is further inflamed when he finds out his mother is pregnant. This event then appears to further solidify his new found acceptance through his compromise of values when he is suddenly rocked by his love-interest's discovery of the God and the healing that he had abandoned in his old life. Through a series of events he is drawn back to the church which culminates to the ending where he is setup as a pope figure using his position in a role-reversal manner to apologize for how his faith (Conservative Christianity) has damaged the people of Reed College in some way. The movie then ends.
Fortunately this movie is 100% fiction with a cliché event at every corner to mirror that of most Christian films. Like most of the Post-Modern Emergent church's teachings, the audience is left to wonder what is going on. The movie ends with the lead character apologizing to a line of people who are there to see 'the pope' about how Christianity has messed up their life. We never discover what happens to any of the characters. Instead we are left with questions such as: Did Don restore his relationship with God? with his mother? the youth pastor? his father? the love-interest? Is redemption possible? Are all people equally messed up no matter what their belief is? Does God even exist? What is truth? This film appears to paint a picture of post-modern madness quite clearly.
How can this film be described other than an idealized portrayal of how a dysfunctional American Christianity should interact with a seemingly liberalizing American society? When two polar opposite cultures are placed in one location how can co-existence occur? Compromise, Rebellion, Humility, and Apology appear to be the answer by the end of the film. The American Liberal view of how American Christianity ought to operate is idealized in this film: Accept us for who we are, look the other way, and apologize. However, the book from which this movie is based on is 100% fiction as is the movie.
This film appears to be the dream of the Emergent Church's Post-Modern idealization of how Christianity ought to be. From the beginning the pain and dysfunction of each character is quite readily evident which in turn reflects the pain and dysfunction of Christianity as represented by the church in the United States. Our brave main character, Don, comes from an average Southern Christian background when his world is destroyed when he finds out his divorced mother is having an affair with the youth pastor of whom he is very close with. This is unacceptable, so with the help of his apparently dysfunctional drop-out liberal father's offer, our young lead sets out on a trip to the notorious Reed college in the Pacific Northwest in order that he may find himself. After denying his heritage and beliefs throughout the movie he attempts to gain acceptance from his peers in an 'enlightened' environment. (What exactly the Post-Modern Church wants to do to try to win people over.) He is further inflamed when he finds out his mother is pregnant. This event then appears to further solidify his new found acceptance through his compromise of values when he is suddenly rocked by his love-interest's discovery of the God and the healing that he had abandoned in his old life. Through a series of events he is drawn back to the church which culminates to the ending where he is setup as a pope figure using his position in a role-reversal manner to apologize for how his faith (Conservative Christianity) has damaged the people of Reed College in some way. The movie then ends.
Fortunately this movie is 100% fiction with a cliché event at every corner to mirror that of most Christian films. Like most of the Post-Modern Emergent church's teachings, the audience is left to wonder what is going on. The movie ends with the lead character apologizing to a line of people who are there to see 'the pope' about how Christianity has messed up their life. We never discover what happens to any of the characters. Instead we are left with questions such as: Did Don restore his relationship with God? with his mother? the youth pastor? his father? the love-interest? Is redemption possible? Are all people equally messed up no matter what their belief is? Does God even exist? What is truth? This film appears to paint a picture of post-modern madness quite clearly.