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The Seductive Image: A Christian Critique of the World of Film
Book by Billingsley, K. L.
- GenresFilmChristianity
236 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 4, 2022
This is an examination of the movies, and the movie industry, by a former script writer for film, television, and stage, from a Christian perspective. It is heavier on the philosophical side, but is well done. Incisive, critical, helpful.
September 12, 2024
Only partially read this one; quit when I realized my copy was missing pages. What I read was ok, but more recent books are better.
May 6, 2023
This book was more a rant on "liberal-leaning" Hollywood than a Christian critique of film. Not until the last few short chapters does he say anything with regard to Christianity and film.
He did, however, do some positive things. First, he argues against the notion that Jews, who have been involved with Hollywood from the beginning, are using the medium to try to destroy the Christian faith. I've seen this view promoted, and I suspect that it is somewhere being promoted in the church even now, especially in the fractured culture we have today. This view, however, does no good for anybody. It's racist, and as such hurts the Jews, while at the same time bringing out the worst in Christians, most of whom would never say anything racist or anti-Semitic. Fortunately, this author does not take this position.
The other thing he does is talk genuinely about so-called 'Christian' films which have predictable plots and that, at the end of the movie, contain a moral having to do with the gospel. These movies have a place, no doubt, but shouldn't be confused with mainstream movies reaching a mainstream audience. They are an in-church phenomenon only.
Another thing he does is try to soften the backlash against conservatives concerning the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities' reign of fear in Hollywood. Without question, he is on the defensive on this issue, but he tries to lay a groundwork for why those events took place, and to inject some balance into the controversy. Obviously, some of Hollywood's negative reactions to conservatism have to do with actual events that affected, not Hollywood characters, but real people.
The last thing he does, in a chapter on "The Christian Filmmaker", is he gives some advice to young people wanting to work in or reform Hollywood. But it is a very short chapter.
Most of the big middle of the book is about liberal excesses in the movies. I understand his reactions to some of the dumber, maybe cornier, left-leaning movies made in the past, but my reaction is that there are movies of every philosophy and political persuasion, and that that is part of what makes going to the movies so great. To me, most movies tend to defy categorization, anyway. What are we supposed to do with all those movies? In addition, I was alarmed that, in a section on leftist documentaries, he mentions Bill Moyers of PBS, who appears to me to be a devout Christian (and one of the most rational and reasonable people in the media that I know of). If he's writing a book for Christians, why doesn't he say something about that? The big middle of the book is very snarky to say the least. Why he is so hard on the communists I can tolerate - in the past century they represented tyranny - but you'd think that liberalism was also some kind of high treason. We need to pare back some of the rhetoric and start leaving some room for dialogue.
Although this book wasn't a Christian critique on film, there were some snippets of truth, and maybe a conservative line on the movie industry. It was the middle of this book, mostly, that discouraged me. Despite those parts of the book, I still believe it's possible to hold out some hope for dialogue in our country, despite our deep and systematically nurtured divisions.
He did, however, do some positive things. First, he argues against the notion that Jews, who have been involved with Hollywood from the beginning, are using the medium to try to destroy the Christian faith. I've seen this view promoted, and I suspect that it is somewhere being promoted in the church even now, especially in the fractured culture we have today. This view, however, does no good for anybody. It's racist, and as such hurts the Jews, while at the same time bringing out the worst in Christians, most of whom would never say anything racist or anti-Semitic. Fortunately, this author does not take this position.
The other thing he does is talk genuinely about so-called 'Christian' films which have predictable plots and that, at the end of the movie, contain a moral having to do with the gospel. These movies have a place, no doubt, but shouldn't be confused with mainstream movies reaching a mainstream audience. They are an in-church phenomenon only.
Another thing he does is try to soften the backlash against conservatives concerning the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities' reign of fear in Hollywood. Without question, he is on the defensive on this issue, but he tries to lay a groundwork for why those events took place, and to inject some balance into the controversy. Obviously, some of Hollywood's negative reactions to conservatism have to do with actual events that affected, not Hollywood characters, but real people.
The last thing he does, in a chapter on "The Christian Filmmaker", is he gives some advice to young people wanting to work in or reform Hollywood. But it is a very short chapter.
Most of the big middle of the book is about liberal excesses in the movies. I understand his reactions to some of the dumber, maybe cornier, left-leaning movies made in the past, but my reaction is that there are movies of every philosophy and political persuasion, and that that is part of what makes going to the movies so great. To me, most movies tend to defy categorization, anyway. What are we supposed to do with all those movies? In addition, I was alarmed that, in a section on leftist documentaries, he mentions Bill Moyers of PBS, who appears to me to be a devout Christian (and one of the most rational and reasonable people in the media that I know of). If he's writing a book for Christians, why doesn't he say something about that? The big middle of the book is very snarky to say the least. Why he is so hard on the communists I can tolerate - in the past century they represented tyranny - but you'd think that liberalism was also some kind of high treason. We need to pare back some of the rhetoric and start leaving some room for dialogue.
Although this book wasn't a Christian critique on film, there were some snippets of truth, and maybe a conservative line on the movie industry. It was the middle of this book, mostly, that discouraged me. Despite those parts of the book, I still believe it's possible to hold out some hope for dialogue in our country, despite our deep and systematically nurtured divisions.
February 7, 2021
A little hit-and-miss, but I'm glad at least to see the effort. Several notches above one of those "good Christians don't watch movies" screeds that used to be such standard fare. Part Two is the best section by far, where Billingsley thoughtfully weighs the strengths and weaknesses of film as a medium. I also welcomed his acknowledgement that all explicitly didactic art (whether it be of Christian, Marxist, or Woke variety) is inevitably BAD art as well. The brief history of Hollywood didn't add much.
June 16, 2023
Even with 100 pages of political commentary (which, while well-researched and insightful, dragged things down quite a bit), I found this an entertaining and informative read. I am quickly coming to the conclusion that all the best Christian books on cinema were written before the 21st century.
April 20, 2009
Excellent.
November 24, 2009
Doesn't try so much to critique the world or art of film as much as it tries to connect Hollywood with the communists. My rating: D+
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews