Fireproof Review, Part One

After I rented Fireproof from Netflix, it sat on our entertainment center for three weeks. Now usually when I do this, it's because I've had no time to watch whatever we have rented. Not Fireproof. In truth, it scared me. Why? Because it was getting universal praise from Christians. That is a dubious honor in the world of artistic expression. For whatever reason, Christians, generally, are not very artistic. We try our hardest to be cutting edge and brilliant. But it never seems to work out that way. Now part of the reason is because our numbers are small compared to the rest of the world. The world generates the greatest art partly because it has a bigger pool of talent to draw from.

Too Literal

The other reason, I think, is because modern Christians are too literal. Stemming primarily from a backlash to modernism and liberalism in the last century, we explicate our beliefs in very simple, boxed-in ways. That is, we tend to be literalists. Someone once asked me why I can't stand country music. As I thought about it, I finally explained to him, "It's because country music is too literal." That is true of modern Christian art as well. Because we were so concerned to make plain the "fundamentals" of the faith, it seems that our art has followed suit. When we write music, the lyrics have got to explain the gospel, shot-gun style. When we paint paintings, they must be pictures of Bible stories, of Jesus with flowing hair and pretty smile, or of picturesque, unrealistic, unbelievable scenes of the home. When we write poems, they must explain all of biblical theology and it all must rhyme (with no allegory please).

Now contrast this with good modern art. Modern art is meant to evoke deep thought, guiding the viewer or hearer to see things in new ways, profound ways. It is meant to help the world look more deeply into those things which might have seemed prosaic before. And this sort of art is does necessarily buck truth. Many times good modern art is so good because it is so true. And, of course, good modern art tends to be good. (I am speaking generally here. So much modern art, it seems, has taken itself far too seriously and gone into a realm I would still consider art, but not art I would consider good.)

Christian Movies Tend to be Bad

All that to say, Fireproof scared me. It scared me because Christians have badly mangled the art of movie making, perhaps more than any other medium. And beyond the banality of their literalness, Christian movies just tend to be bad. I honestly don't know why this is. They are burdened, partly, by the desire to want to highlight the gospel. That is understandable and, in some sense, right. But it is hard to relate the gospel over and over in new and interesting ways. Writers and directors are hamstrung, in a way, and aren't able to spread their proverbial wings. Unfortunately, however, Christian movies have not progressed as much as they should have. While their cousin, Christian music, is making leaps and bounds in artistry, Christian films have remained boring, one-sided, and cheesy.

The main issue with Christian films, it seems, is that they fail to capture real life. Most Christian movies are conversion stories. Their only message, usually, is that bad people need to turn to Jesus. And always in these movies--always--the bad person turns to Jesus. And that is great. But when every story, every plot is the same, it leaves you feeling like Christianity is only about one thing. Now immediately we must recognize that Christianity is about one thing: Jesus Christ and him crucified. But Christian films seem to reflect the idea that Christianity is only about getting saved when, in truth, Christianity is about much more than that. It is about real life and real people and a real Jesus. He speaks into every aspect of life, not just into a one time event.

Some Good Ones

Recently, some movies have realized this and done a significant job relating Christianity to real life. They have also made some good art in the process. The End of the Spear, Amazing Grace, and Bella come to mind. And, thankfully, I can add Fireproof to that list. I am so glad I didn't chicken out and send Fireproof back unopened. I have since watched it twice (twice!) and just might watch it again. At least comparatively, it is great.

I'll post a full review later this week.