Thursday, March 6, 2014

Where is the shock?

So you have undoubtedly heard the news from the red carpet.  Matthew McConaughey, who lost some 40 pounds to star in (and persuade reluctant financiers to back) the AIDS drama “Dallas Buyers Club,” won the Oscar for best actor.  Now you might think that a rather gritty story of a man with AIDS and his struggle to bring non-FDA approved drugs into the US to treat AIDS might be shocking enough.  Or, perhaps, the fact that the Best Supporting Actor nod went to Jared Leto for playing a transgendered character.  Apparently this story and its cast of characters is not shocking at all to Hollyweird.  But have an Oscar winner wax on about his need for God, his faith, his father who taught him to be a man and cheering him on from heaven's vantage point, his mom teaching him to respect himself so that he could respect others, his personal pursuit of a better version of himself, etc... and Hollyweird does not know what to say.  Some laughed hoping it was a joke.  A few lone voices cheered.  The rest of Hollyweird sat in stunned silence, fearing that such talk was a symptom of mental illness at best or deranged religiosity at worst.  The headlines still do not know what to say.

My only point (not being a McConaughey fan) is that the movies coming out of Hollyweird are eminently explainable given the complete shock and lack of appreciation for any expression of Christian faith on the part of those writing, producing, directing, and starring in them.  I will bet that not a few of them (especially the ones who refuse any form of censorship) were secretly hoping that someone upstairs would turn off the audio on Mr. McConaughey.  There is little speech less free than the voice of Christian faith in the American public square and it is less welcome and less tolerated each day.

1 comment:

Ted Badje said...

Well, how about any nice, or socially redeemable behavior coming out of Hollywood? It is really bad what comes out of there.