{"id":1796,"date":"2007-01-02T20:32:00","date_gmt":"2007-01-02T20:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals\/"},"modified":"2007-01-02T20:32:00","modified_gmt":"2007-01-02T20:32:00","slug":"can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html","title":{"rendered":"“Can H’wood make friends with evangelicals?”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

That\u2019s the headline on this piece<\/a> by Variety<\/i> writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:<\/span><\/p>\n

ALEXANDRA PELOSI\u2019S latest HBO documentary, \u201cFriends of God,\u201d will doubtless garner some attention for her fortuitously timed interview with Pastor Ted Haggard<\/a>, the disgraced head of the National Assn. of Evangelicals. Interviewed prior to allegations that he purchased illicit drugs and had sex with a male prostitute, Haggard boasts about evangelicals\u2019 rollicking sex lives and ironically contemplates the harm done when their leaders experience moral lapses.<\/p>\n

Yet another theme threaded throughout this hourlong production, which premieres Jan. 25, is of greater import to the entertainment industry \u2014 namely, whether Hollywood can befriend the sprawling evangelical movement or must accept it as a lost cause.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Further down, Lowry writes:<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, there are tens of millions of evangelicals out there (Pelosi\u2019s film estimates their numbers at 50 million to 80 million in the U.S.), possessing purchasing power stunningly demonstrated by \u201cThe Passion of the Christ<\/a>.\u201d From a practical standpoint, the Christian market thus appears too bountiful to ignore, which explains the furtive attempts to establish film labels catering to this niche<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bridging the gap, however, will require a serious dialogue \u2014 one that hinges on separating those who specialize in the business of outrage from evangelicals who, despite misgivings, genuinely want to be part of the larger media culture.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ah, but here\u2019s the thing: In my experience, at least, the kind of evangelicals who want to be part of the larger media culture aren\u2019t the kind of evangelicals who care to be treated like a \u201cniche\u201d. And they aren\u2019t interested in \u201cdialogue\u201d if all it means is letting secular bigshots find new ways to exploit their \u201cpurchasing power\u201d.<\/p>\n

Then again, maybe I overstate the point; maybe our experience with, say, The Da Vinci Code<\/a><\/i> suggests otherwise.<\/p>\n

At any rate, kudos to Lowry for critiquing his fellow secular media types for their sometimes \u201cthinly veiled condescension\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly: ALEXANDRA PELOSI\u2019S latest HBO documentary, \u201cFriends of God,\u201d will doubtless garner some attention for her fortuitously timed interview with Pastor Ted Haggard, the disgraced head of the National Assn. of Evangelicals. Interviewed prior to allegations that he purchased illicit drugs and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n"Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, "Friends of God," will\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, "Friends of God," will\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FilmChat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Peter T. Chattaway\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\"},\"description\":\"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, \\\"Friends of God,\\\" will\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Can H’wood make friends with evangelicals?”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/\",\"name\":\"FilmChat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde\",\"name\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Peter T. Chattaway\"},\"description\":\"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?\"","description":"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, \"Friends of God,\" will","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?\"","og_description":"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, \"Friends of God,\" will","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html","og_site_name":"FilmChat","article_published_time":"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00","author":"Peter T. Chattaway","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Peter T. Chattaway","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html","name":"\"Can H'wood make friends with evangelicals?\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00","dateModified":"2007-01-02T20:32:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde"},"description":"That's the headline on this piece by Variety writer Brian Lowry, which begins thusly:ALEXANDRA PELOSI'S latest HBO documentary, \"Friends of God,\" will","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2007\/01\/can-hwood-make-friends-with-evangelicals.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Can H’wood make friends with evangelicals?”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/","name":"FilmChat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/5759ddf28b81af08b29eb15b4e071fde","name":"Peter T. Chattaway","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9c4b809df092b410d749a6995bcf4f3e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Peter T. Chattaway"},"description":"Peter T. Chattaway was the regular film critic for BC Christian News from 1992 to 2011. In addition to his award-winning film column for that paper, his news and opinion pieces have appeared in such publications as Books & Culture, Christianity Today, Bible Review and the Vancouver Sun. He has also contributed essays to the books Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson\u2019s Film and Its Critics (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), Scandalizing Jesus?: Kazantzakis\u2019s The Last Temptation of Christ Fifty Years on (Continuum, 2005) and The Bible in Motion: A Handbook of the Bible and Its Reception in Film (De Gruyter, 2016).","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/author\/peterchattaway"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}