Today we watched Saved! as a lesson in film critique. Bill Maddox of USA Today joined the SIJ group for the afternoon to walk us thru the process. Here's my take on the movie.
Initially, I liked it. I thought it was fun, witty, and (surprise) inoffensive. There was a lot of truth to the caricature of Christian subculture posed by the movie. However, I don't think the movie can stand alone as an accurate critique of the current state of the church.
Quick synopsis: Mary is a good Christian girl at American Eagle Christian High School who receives a message from Jesus telling her to sleep with her gay boyfriend to rid him of his homosexuality. She hesitantly obliges and gets pregnant. Meanwhile, her best friends (the other good Christian girls) reject her, while she finds love in the arms of open-minded outcasts.
So the movie's fun and mostly harmless, but it falls flat when trying to portray Christians. The movie's director claims the movie rejects extremes, but doesn't really offer any middle-ground. If you're a Christian, you're a nasty hypocrite. If you're not a Christian, you're a sweet victim who loves everyone. The movie preaches vehemently against intolerance, in such a way that they become intolerant. Hmmm...
The truth is, everyone knows Christians like the students at American Eagle, but not ALL Christians are like that. I know we all joke about Taylor kids always wearing masks, but I actually see a lot of genuine care in the student body, more than I ever felt attending a public high school.
It's a sweet little movie, but not one I'd rave about. It's an interesting commentary on how society sees Christians, but at the same time, it doesn't really offer any solutions. I'm kind of cynical about the director's intentions. Was he just trying to get a rise out of the Bible Belt and, in essence, score free publicity? I don't think Saved! is worth the hype, but I'm not going to condemn it. I just worry that it makes complex issues too simple.
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