I recently watched Fireproof, the most recent Sherwood Pictures joint, so I could discuss it on the Youth Hacks Podcast. I don’t feel like I was very articulate on the show (although I was quite verbose. Sorry, Sara), so I thought I’d make up for it by sharing some of thoughts here.
So here’s a quick and dirty rundown of Fireproof, from my perspective.
The Good
- This film is a remarkable achievement for a local congregation. Sherwood Baptist starting making films in 2002 with $20,000.00 dollars. A short six years later, they’ve produced three feature films and Fireproof is among the most profitable films ever made. Regardless of whether you think local churches should be making movies, they’ve certainly done something special here.
2. It’s community made. The cast, extras, and many of the crew members are volunteers. Local individuals and organizations pitch in to help, and Kirk Cameron, the biggest star in the film, worked for free.
- It’s helping people. No amount of criticism can take away the fact that there are people who’s marriages are better because of this film. I’m certain there are others who have come to Christ because Fireproof as well.
The Bad:
1. Its a tract. Fireproof is a tract wrapped in a passable story. Its not a great story that also communicates the viewpoint of the filmmakers. It serves the same purpose as a tract, or a youth group drama: to create a dramatic scenario that proves your message. Its a fiction constructed around an agenda.
- It’s poorly made. The writing and acting just aren’t very good. The characters are one-dimensional, and a few moments are just plain laughable. I hate that bad art has become the calling card of the American church. I think that some of these problems are indicative of the filmmakers lack of experience, and some are symptomatic of the tract approach: when you’re trying to make the story fit your message, its hard to make it not come out stilted and unnatural.
3. It has some strange implied-messages. This is the same problem that I had with “Facing the Giants.” The overt messages (love your wife, give your life to Jesus, don’t look at pornography) are great, but the implied messages are, in my opinion, problematic.
In Fireproof, we’re presented with two couples: a christian couple, who seem to be happy and thriving, and a non-christian couple, who are on the brink of divorce. In order for the couple to save their marriage, they have to become Christians. Implied message? Christians have great marriages and non-Christians have terrible ones. That’s just not the world we live in. I know of many non-Christians with great marriages and many Christians with terrible ones. Films like this give life to the false notion that becoming a Christian makes your problems go away.
Additionally, Fireproof overtly claims multiple times that without Jesus, you can’t really love your spouse. Friends, if we want to win people to Christ, telling them that they don’t love their wives may not be the best approach.
In conclusion, Fireproof is an excellent example of the kind of Christian art that I don’t like: christian propaganda wrapped in a mediocre shell. The next time I want to watch the gospel told on film, I’ll just watch Harry Potter.
