Hollywood's Bias
Against Christians

The Last Temptation of Christ, a 1986 re-
lease that took cinematic irreverence and
iconoclasm to new heights.
But Hollywood's portrayals of religious
figures have worsened over the last decade.
How else do we explain the fact that Chris-
tian clergy — when they are portrayed at
all — are usually shown engaging in moral-
RABBI YECHIEL ECKSTEIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ly reprehensible behavior? Or the fact that
Christian symbols are associated with char-
arental concerns over the levels of to go out of their way to depict people of acters who prey on society?
sex, violence and profanity on tele- faith in the worst possible light. And while
Or that the crimes of various antagonists
\_ )
vision have led the entertainment in- Jews and Judaism are, by and large, por- are shown to be religiously motivated?
dustry to introduce a controversial trayed favorably and reverentially, Chris-
In Primal Fear, for example, the local
new TV rating system.
tians, particularly Evangelical Protestants archbishop is murdered by one of the
Unfortunately, the public debate over and devout Catholics, do not fare well.
waifs he exploited in his self-made porn
program content has not extended to an-
One is left with the distinct impression films. The lead character in Priest is
other troubling aspect of our popular en- that Hollywood has a very real and per- shown in a homosexual tryst with a
tertainment: Hollywood's increasing vasive anti-Christian bias. Critics of the stranger. The sadistic nurse in Misery
antipathy toward religious faith in gener-
film industry often wears a cross; the rapist in Eye For An
al and to Christianity in particular.
cite the highly con- Eye sports one as well. A killer played
Is Hollywood hostile to institutional re-
troversial movie by Harry Connick Jr. in Copycat re-
\ ligion? To faith? To Christianity? If so, why?
The questions demand careful analysis, for
Hollywood's impact on our popular culture
is profound and undeniable.
A brief review of films with religious
characters reveals that this impact is large-
ly negative.
Hollywood's defenders point to recent
films such as The Preacher's Wife and Dead
Man Walking in their efforts to deny this
hostility. But these are merely the excep-
tions that prove the rule.
More often than not, film-makers seem

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein is the president of
teh Center for Jewish and Christian
Values in Washington, D.C.

Jfi

peatedly invokes the name of Jesus.
In the remake of Cape Fear, the psychotic
killer has a crucifix tattooed on his back
and frequently quotes the Bible. In Sev-
en, the crazed killer has a neon cross above
his bed; his room is filled with religious
items, including Bibles and empty Holy
Water containers. In Johnny Mnemonic,
the main assassin is a Jesus look-alike
named Street Preacher. He carries a huge
crucifix that's actually a dagger, and he kills
his victims crucifixion-style.
Sadly, such anti-Christian films repre-
sent the norm among films being released
by Hollywood today.
The manifestation of such prejudice on
screen is a relatively recent phenomenon.
During the golden era of Hollywood when,
incidentally, the "Jewish influence" on the
industry was much stronger thnt it is to-
day, moviegoers were more likely to en-
counter religious characters who were
heroes. It wasn't until the late 1960s that
positive portrayals became an endangered
species.
Contrast, for example, the nun played
by Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music in
1965 and the nuns in 1985's Agnes of God,
in which a pregnant nun murders her own
infant child.
One can't help but wonder if this shift
could have been averted if Christian groups
were as well-organized as the Jewish com-
munity. Could Hollywood producers ridicule
and malign Christians with impurity if the
Christian community organized its own
equivalent of the Anti-Defamation League?
Hollywood can and should do better. We
should demand it. ❑

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