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The Messages 7 What are the messages in today's films?For a number of years I have been writing about Hollywood's anti-religious bias,but I must point out that this hostility has never been quite as intense as in the last few years.The 1991 season boasted one religion-bashing movie after another in which Hollywood was able to demonstrate that it was an equal-opportunity offender. 8 For Protestants there was At Play in the Fields of the Lord,a lavish $35 million rainforest spectacle about natives and their wholesome primitive ways and the sick, disgusting missionaries who try to ruin their lives.And then for Catholics there was The Pope Must Die,which was re-released as The Pope Must Diet.It didn't work either way.It features scenes of the Holy Father flirting with harlot nuns and hiding in a closet pigging out on communion wafers.For Jews there was Naked Tango,written and directed by the brother of the screenwriter for The Last Temptation of Christ.This particular epic featured religious Jews operating a brutal bordello right next door to a synagogue and forcing women into white slavery. 9 And then most amazingly there was Cape Fear,which was nominated for a number of the most prestigious Academy Awards.It wasn't an original concept.Cape Fear was a remake of a 1962 movie in which Robert Mitchum plays a released convict intent on revenge who tracks down his old defense attorney.Gregory Peck portrays the defense attorney,a strong,stalwart and upright man who defends his family against this crazed killer.In the remake,by Last Temptation director Martin Scorsese,there is a new twist:the released convict is not just an ordinary maniac,but a"Killer Christian from Hell."To prevent anyone from missing the point,his muscular back has a gigantic cross tattooed on it,and he has Biblical verses tattooed on both arms. 10 When he is about to rape the attorney's wife,played by Jessica Lange,he says, "Are you ready to be born again?After just one hour with me,you'll be talking in tongues."He carries a Bible with him in scenes in which he is persecuting his family, and he tells people that he is a member of a Pentecostal church 2. 11 The most surprising aspect of this utterly insulting characterization is that it drew so little protest.Imagine that DeNiro's character had been portrayed as a gay rights activist.Homosexual groups would have howled in protest,condemning this caricature as an example of bigotry.But we are so accustomed to Hollywood's insulting stereotypes of religious believers that no one even seems to notice the hatred behind them. 12 The entertainment industry further demonstrates its hostility to organized religion by eliminating faith and ritual as a factor in the lives of nearly all the characters it creates.Forty to fifty percent of all Americans go to church or synagogue every week. When was the last time you saw anybody in a motion picture going to church,unless that person was some kind of crook,or a mental case,or a flagrant hypocrite? 13 Hollywood even removes religious elements from situations in which they clearly belong.The summer of 1991 offered a spate of medical melodramas like Regarding Henry,Dying Young,and The Doctor.Did you notice that all these characters go intoThe Messages 7 What are the messages in today’s films? For a number of years I have been writing about Hollywood’s anti-religious bias, but I must point out that this hostility has never been quite as intense as in the last few years. The 1991 season boasted one religion-bashing movie after another in which Hollywood was able to demonstrate that it was an equal-opportunity offender. 8 For Protestants there was At Play in the Fields of the Lord, a lavish $35 million rainforest spectacle about natives and their wholesome primitive ways and the sick, disgusting missionaries who try to ruin their lives. And then for Catholics there was The Pope Must Die, which was re-released as The Pope Must Diet. It didn’t work either way. It features scenes of the Holy Father flirting with harlot nuns and hiding in a closet pigging out on communion wafers. For Jews there was Naked Tango, written and directed by the brother of the screenwriter for The Last Temptation of Christ. This particular epic featured religious Jews operating a brutal bordello right next door to a synagogue and forcing women into white slavery. 9 And then most amazingly there was Cape Fear, which was nominated for a number of the most prestigious Academy Awards. It wasn’t an original concept. Cape Fear was a remake of a 1962 movie in which Robert Mitchum plays a released convict intent on revenge who tracks down his old defense attorney. Gregory Peck portrays the defense attorney, a strong, stalwart and upright man who defends his family against this crazed killer. In the remake, by Last Temptation director Martin Scorsese, there is a new twist: the released convict is not just an ordinary maniac, but a “Killer Christian from Hell.” To prevent anyone from missing the point, his muscular back has a gigantic cross tattooed on it, and he has Biblical verses tattooed on both arms. 10 When he is about to rape the attorney’s wife, played by Jessica Lange, he says, “Are you ready to be born again? After just one hour with me, you’ll be talking in tongues.” He carries a Bible with him in scenes in which he is persecuting his family, and he tells people that he is a member of a Pentecostal church 2 . 11 The most surprising aspect of this utterly insulting characterization is that it drew so little protest. Imagine that DeNiro’s character had been portrayed as a gay rights activist. Homosexual groups would have howled in protest, condemning this caricature as an example of bigotry. But we are so accustomed to Hollywood’s insulting stereotypes of religious believers that no one even seems to notice the hatred behind them. 12 The entertainment industry further demonstrates its hostility to organized religion by eliminating faith and ritual as a factor in the lives of nearly all the characters it creates. Forty to fifty percent of all Americans go to church or synagogue every week. When was the last time you saw anybody in a motion picture going to church, unless that person was some kind of crook, or a mental case, or a flagrant hypocrite? 13 Hollywood even removes religious elements from situations in which they clearly belong. The summer of 1991 offered a spate of medical melodramas like Regarding Henry, Dying Young, and The Doctor. Did you notice that all these characters go into
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