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{"id":592,"date":"2008-09-30T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2008-09-30T17:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/?p=592"},"modified":"2008-09-30T09:38:16","modified_gmt":"2008-09-30T17:38:16","slug":"before-the-giants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/poptheology\/2008\/09\/before-the-giants\/","title":{"rendered":"Before the Giants…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Before the surprising success of Facing the Giants<\/em>, Alex and Stephen Kendrick, produced their first feature film, Flywheel<\/em>.\u00a0 With a budget of only $20,000, these relatively new filmmakers cast community and church members to tell a morally uplifting story about the power of prayer and the necessity of placing God first in your life.<\/p>\n

Flywheel <\/em><\/a>tells the story of Jay Austin (Alex Kendrick), a crooked used car salesman who sells his cars at a ridiculous mark up.\u00a0 His cheating business practices know few boundaries, as he even scams his own minister.\u00a0 Jay\u2019s corrupt business practices pollute his home life:\u00a0 he is rude and dismissive to his wife and basically ignores his son.\u00a0 All of this, of course, is just a symptom of his greater, spiritual illness.\u00a0 He does not place God first in his life, he does not pray or go to church regularly, and when he does attend church, he places an empty envelope in the offering plate.<\/p>\n

All of this comes to a head when Jay overhears his son tell a friend that he does not want to be like his dad and that, basically, he is ashamed of him.\u00a0 To top it off, though he sells cars at a great profit, he is behind on his rent for the lot and on repaying a bank loan.\u00a0 After watching a television sermon, Jay feels convicted, breaks down, prays for God\u2019s guidance and forgiveness, and turns his business over to God, his \u201cnew boss.\u201d\u00a0 Along with Jay\u2019s commitment to good business practices and willingness to return all the money to the customers he cheated before, a series of \u201cmiraculous\u201d events saves Jay\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>It is difficult to judge this film alongside Hollywood products or even films that come from the specifically mainstream Christian film industry.\u00a0 Again, the producers only had a $20,000 budget and, as I suspected, only one camera.\u00a0 In the introduction to the film, writer, director, and lead actor Alex Kendrick said that they were all surprised that they even finished Flywheel<\/em>.\u00a0 Intended for their local theaters and rental stores only, the Kendrick brothers claim that it was a blessing from God that Flywheel <\/em>found wider distribution in Blockbuster stores across the country and television broadcasts on a variety of networks.\u00a0 So in a sense, we must see that this was a specific product marketed to a specific audience with a specific intention.\u00a0 However, through changing marketing and distribution practices, Flywheel <\/em>found a much larger audience, and thus, is open to the criticisms of that audience.\u00a0 Like other films, we must assess it critically as do the filmmakers.\u00a0 However, this is a rather fruitless engagement given the drastic increase in production values and filmmaking techniques in their subsequent film, Facing the Giants<\/em><\/a>, and the filmmakers\u2019 own admission of naive rookie mistakes.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, I do believe it is necessary to critically engage the theology present in the film.\u00a0 The worlds of both Flywheel <\/em>and Facing the Giants<\/em> almost seem to be parallel universes.\u00a0 In these worlds, God is to be credited for every good thing, even if it is a human endeavor.\u00a0 In this world, prayer is the answer to every problem.\u00a0 These problems are a result of not placing God first in life or, in other words, stem from a basic lack of faith.\u00a0 The problem with these films\u2019 limited worldview is that they do not present alternatives, even religious ones.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, Sherwood Baptist Church, scenes of which the filmmakers include in Flywheel<\/em>, must contain numerous members of great faith and trust in God who face seemingly insurmountable problems or injustices, through no fault of their own.\u00a0 A person stricken with cancer or who loses their job because a business moves overseas has little if anything to do with that person\u2019s lack of faith.\u00a0 In fact, to claim that correlation is an equally grave injustice that signifies a theology that is short-sighted at best and corrupt at worst.\u00a0 The over-emphasis on God\u2019s involvement in every<\/em> good even that takes place in the film downplays the very real role that we can and should play in working to bring about the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

I recognize that I am not the intended audience for Flywheel<\/em>, theologically speaking, although I might be from an evangelistic standpoint.\u00a0 I recognize what a great source of inspiration that this film has been and will be in particular communities of faith.\u00a0 I also recognize that it might help bring people into those communities.\u00a0 However, as it and other Sherwood Pictures productions, make their way into wider audiences, they will and must be met with theological critique and dialogue.\u00a0 With the recent release of their latest film, Fireproof<\/em> (check back soon for review), the Kendrick brothers might just be the future of religious filmmaking.<\/p>\n

Flywheel <\/em>(120 mins.) is available on DVD and is not rated, but don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s not one of those scandalous NR\u2019s.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"