People are supposed to meditate in church, but the epiphany that rocked<\/p>\n
filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder two years ago was different.<\/p>\n\n
It started when he visited several churches in Charlotte, N.C., while<\/p>\n
visiting family. In service after service he heard preachers telling<\/p>\n
people it was their \u201cChristian duty\u201d to rush out and buy a ticket for \u201cThe<\/p>\n
Passion of the Christ.\u201d There were brochures for Mel Gibson\u2019s bloody epic<\/p>\n
in the bulletins, posters in sanctuary lobbies and preview clips for the<\/p>\n
faithful.<\/p>\n\n
Swartzwelder began thinking about the biblical drama in which, as St. Mark<\/p>\n
said, \u201cJesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold<\/p>\n
and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers,<\/p>\n
and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man<\/p>\n
should carry any vessel through the temple.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
So he pounded out a sarcastic \u2014 some would say bitter or blasphemous \u2014<\/p>\n
script entitled \u201cThe McPassion,\u201d a feverish vision of what would happen if<\/p>\n
Hollywood and the fast-food industry teamed up to sell Holy Week. The<\/p>\n
script sat on a shelf until Swartzwelder decided that Tinseltown\u2019s love<\/p>\n
affair with born-again marketing was growing instead of fading.<\/p>\n\n
The results have been posted at www.TheMcPassion.com, a 4-minute blast<\/p>\n
that opens with chipper children scarfing down their McPassion meals,<\/p>\n
complete with a crown of thorns and round fries that the announcer notes<\/p>\n
are \u201cshaped just like the Eucharist.\u201d Then there\u2019s the McLast Supper from<\/p>\n
Burger King of Kings or the McLoaves and Fish Sticks dinner (all you can<\/p>\n
eat, while supplies last). The meals come with toys, like the pretend<\/p>\n
stigmata tattoos, a simulated leather cat of nine tails, Shroud of Turin<\/p>\n
towelettes, a kid-sized crucifix and the \u201ccool McPassion hammer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The pitch ends with this call to commerce: \u201cBuy one today! Make Jesus<\/p>\n
happy! \u2026 Alleluia, God\u2019s lovin\u2019 it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n
None of this is terribly subtle.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI want people to wince,\u201d said Swartzwelder. \u201cI wince when the girl says<\/p>\n
that dipping the body of Christ in ketchup is fun. I wince when the boy<\/p>\n
hits the girl\u2019s palm with the toy hammer and you hear that clink, clink<\/p>\n
sound.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The goal was to inspire heated discussions and Swartzwelder and director<\/p>\n
Benjamin Hershleder were more than willing to infuriate many Christian<\/p>\n
viewers in order to get their point across. The result was an online<\/p>\n
firestorm that has been both painful and gratifying.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI keep reminding people that I am a Christian and that, if they really<\/p>\n
want to know, I am a big fan of what I thought was a courageous movie by<\/p>\n
Mel Gibson,\u201d said Swartzwelder, a freelance filmmaker in Burbank, Calif.<\/p>\n
He is best known as the creator of \u201cThe Least of These,\u201d a short film<\/p>\n
released in 2002 that won 27 awards and played at mainstream and religious<\/p>\n
film festivals around the world.<\/p>\n\n
The Emmy Award-winner stressed that he is glad that \u201cThe Passion\u201d rang up<\/p>\n
$370 million at the U.S. box office, opening doors for more artists to<\/p>\n
make more films \u2014 From \u201cThe Exorcism of Emily Rose\u201d to \u201cThe End of the<\/p>\n
Spear\u201d \u2014 that can tap into a faith-friendly marketplace out in Middle<\/p>\n
America. As an admirer of Christian apologist C.S. Lewis, he is glad that<\/p>\n
the \u201cThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe\u201d is<\/p>\n
rising toward $290 million in U.S. ticket sales.<\/p>\n\n
Swartzwelder is even pleased that many evangelicals, after decades of<\/p>\n
merely throwing stones at Hollywood, are now seeking positive ways to<\/p>\n
engage the world of entertainment.<\/p>\n\n
The problem, he said, is that some religious leaders have allowed movie<\/p>\n
publicity campaigns to bleed out of the marketplace and into the church<\/p>\n
sanctuaries that are supposed to be safe havens for vulnerable souls.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cAt some point we have to ask: What is the purpose of worship? What is the<\/p>\n
purpose of the pulpit?\u201d, asked Swartzwelder, who also has led filmmaking<\/p>\n
workshops at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cEven with the best of intentions, using the pulpit to push movies \u2014 even<\/p>\n
good ones \u2014 is dangerous. And what happens when we start seeing more<\/p>\n
people making more movies for this audience? How do we decide which movies<\/p>\n
to plug? There could be, no there will be, abuses and that\u2019s going to lead<\/p>\n
us into murky waters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
People are supposed to meditate in church, but the epiphany that rocked filmmaker Rik Swartzwelder two years ago was different. It started when he visited several churches in Charlotte, N.C., while visiting family. In service after service he heard preachers telling people it was their \u201cChristian duty\u201d to rush out and buy a ticket for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[193,431,1542,778,856],"class_list":["post-1377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christian-film","tag-hollywood","tag-movies","tag-screenwriting","tag-the-passion"],"yoast_head":"\n