Given all the tremendous pain and suffering being unveiled in Myanmar, it is easy to despair. So many have felt compelled to do their part to assist the beleagured people of Myanmar. And yet we’ve struggled to even import supplies amidst an oppressive regime. How can human rights be extended around the globe? How can we come to see each other as equally precious in God’s sight? What small things can filmmakers create to broaden freedom and dignity?
Twenty-four short films from around the globe will premiere on MAY 10, 2008. Pangea Day started as the dream of Jehane Noujaim, director of the documentaries StartUp.com and Control Room. Having been born to Egyptian/Lebanese/Persian father and an American mother, Jehane embodies much of the conflict in the Middle East within herself. When she was awarded the $100,000 TED prize in 2006, she shared her dream of world peace. Not in the Miss America contestant cliche way, but in the power of image to sensitize and humanize us. You can hear her address to the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Conference here.
TED has invited the world’s sharpest and most innovative thinkers to give the ‘talk of their lives’ in 18 minutes. You can access their amazing archives of “ideas worth spreading” here.
Pangea Day is a way to aggregate images from filmmakers around the globe. Cities like Cairo, Kigali, London, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles will be linked for the broadcast over one bright and moving Saturday. Find out how to tune in here. Participant Productions, founded upon the social entrepreneurship of Jeff Skoll, awarded $5000 to five filmmakers in the global competition. Thanks to the visionary John La Grou for alerting me to this news. This little bit of seed money goes a long way to encouraging/establishing more insightful and beautiful art. Grassroots filmmakers are telling stories close to the ground in their communities. So relish this opportunity to see the other side of the world from their perspective rather than ours…:) Our heart may ache for Myanmar, but our faith may yet be renewed.
It was a kick to screen Purple State of Mind at my other alma mater, the University of Southern California. Diane Winston, the Knight Chair in Media and Religion (and her bright daughter, Isabel!) hosted us as part of her Spring forum on faith and politics. We concluded a dynamic series that included appearances by author E. J. Dionne, J.J. Goldberg from Forward, David Simon, producer of The Wire, and a conference on “Covering Islam.” Diane has brought so many divergent groups to Annenberg, broadening the media’s understanding and coverage of so many different religions. What a valuable role in the pluralistic enterprise that is Southern California.
The evening started with pizza, a perfect way to wrap the school year. Thanks to Liza Baker for coordinating such the classy evening. We had an interesting cross-section of students, profs and guests from the community. Amongst the friends I got to reconnect with were Don and Lauren Waisanen and an expectant Jennifer Kinnear from InterVarsity.
The conversation afterwards focused upon the role of argumentation. Sharp professors from the Annenberg School of Communication like Stephen O’Leary and Thomas Goodnight approached Purple State as a study in rhetoric. What we call conversation, they identify as persuasion. Dr. O’Leary wanted to know why I found arguments about religion unhelpful.
John Marks argues that arguments are essential to our humanity. We need to get everything out, on the table, before we can possibily move forward. The politically correct dialogues of the 1990s stifled arguments, forcing us to dance around our true feelings so as not to offend. The sublimation of our opinions may have contributed to the rise of rancor characterized by Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh on the right and Al Franken and the Daily Kos on the left.
It is not arguing itself that is detrimental. I am all for hearty, rigorous debate. But when people who have not agreed to actually listen, who haven’t entered into a social construct rooted in mutual respect, enter into argument, then communication has actually broken down. We start approaching people as projects, button-holing them with our agendas. Surely, one of the basic tenets of communication involves communion, a willingness to entertain the others’ perspective. A shouting match in which neither side is listening honestly doesn’t help anybody. It only entrenches us further into our corners.
Purple State of Mind may be criticized in Christian circles for engaging in conversation rather than conversion. But only after I’ve truly heard and empathized with another, should I dare to respond. Christians committed to communicating ‘the Gospel’ must realize that Jesus adapted his message to every person he encountered. His metaphors sprang from the situation–living waters, mustard seeds, a house with many mansions. To pre-package our message may actually drain the life right out of it.
After the movie, my partner from USC film school days, Robert Little, slipped into the back of the room. Robert and I made four or five films together at USC. As an agnostic on the receiving end of anti-gay rhetoric, Robert has provided an essential perspective for me. He has heard so many arguments directed at him. I understand why Robert resents being treated as a problem. He has offered a helpful ear and mirror for the hole Christians have been digging for ourselves with our dehumanizing ways.
Why do I surround myself with athiests, agnostic, and skeptics like Robert and John? I realize that in retrospect, I have always sought out the loyal opposition. If I am not engaged in ongoing dialogue with people I disagree with, I get soft and self-satisfied, comfortable in my own cocoon. If i cut off those I disagree with (”dusting my feet off” in New Testament parlance), then I have invalidated any conversation we ever had. These are dear, genuine, lifelong friends. I seek out the other because I need some perspective. I need someone to point out my blind spots, to check me before I wreck me. My films are stronger because they are fair fights. No straw men. No set-ups. Just a genuine creative exchange. As a person of faith, why would I fear the agnostic, the athiest or the other?
In that sense, arguments are essential. I’m glad to be sandwiched between two smart skeptics, John Marks and Robert Little. They keep me honest.
As we’ve traveled across the country with our little doc that could (and does!), I’ve done plenty of California Dreamin’. I longed to see the palm trees and sunshine that characterize my adopted state. Mostly, I dreamed of being back home, hanging out with my family, showing the film to friends. Consequently, it was with great pleasure that we unfurled Purple State at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena. My amazing wife Caroline and our energetic children Zoe and Theo came to the show!
John Marks was in town for the L.A. Times’ massive Festival of Books at UCLA. He was on a panel with authors like Jonathan Kirsch and Chris Hedges. John was genuinely disappointed by the lack of conversation that happened in a fairly self-satisfied, left-leaning crowd. They knew all that they wanted to know about evangelicals, and consequently shut down and shied away from actually talking about his acclaimed book REASONS TO BELIEVE or treating Christians as thoughtful people.
So imagine, John’s surprise when the open-minded people with the probing questions turned out to be the students of Fuller Theological Seminary. He encountered a smarter, more generous Christianity than the newsmedia, the TV industry or popular perceptions ever see. John sold more books to Fuller students already besieged by assignments than he did at a book lovers convention at UCLA! Fuller engaged in a significant exchange with an honest skeptic like John.
The unexpected portion of my evening occurred during the movie. My son, Theo, got a bit tired of the documentary (me, too!), so he wanted to go for a stroll. We wandered around the campus, chasing each other amidst the palm trees. But the site that stopped him in his tracks was a life-size sculpture of the Crucifixion. Christopher Slatoff’s “Jesus is Nailed to the Cross” is positioned in the middle of the campus, appropriate for its centrality to the Christian faith. Slatoff has done work for feature films like Face/Off and Enemy of the State, but these stations of the cross remain his most passionate projects.
I was amazed how many questions this striking sculpture generated. Theo wanted to know about the Roman soldiers, “Why did they hate Jesus?” He wanted to know how nails in the hands could end up killing someone. Theo touched the crown of thorns. “Why did they put a crown on Jesus’ head?” “Was he really a king?” “Why was the Roman emperor afraid of Jesus?” It was a thrilling testimony to the power of art to raise questions, to generate a visceral response. My son has heard about the crucifixion, but Christopher Slatoff’s enduring work made it so much more tangible.
The conversations after the film were wide-ranging and passionate. About 200 people came to the screening from across the San Gabriel Valley. I greeted former students from Biola and current students from Fuller. Thanks to Lynn Reynolds and the staff of the Brehm Center for such fabulous preparation. It reminded me why I love the gracious spirit that sustains Fuller Seminary.
Since we’re rapping about Billy Graham and vampires over at Purple State of John, I thought I’d add this unexpected link to Robert Downey’s thrilling turn as Iron Man. Yes, one of the funkiest takes on the film comes courtesy of Jeremy Hunt from the Billy Graham Organization. He connects Tony Stark’s turnaround in the desert to St. Paul’s experience on the Road to Damascus. Perhaps Jeremy’s insights are attributable to his education at Davidson College, our dear old alma mater. Thanks to Steve Knight for turning me onto the article.
I flew to Los Angeles straight from the Purple State Roadshow. Without time to catch my breathe, I rushed over to the Biola Media Conference. Four hundred people filled the backlot at CBS studios to figure out how to navigate the digital age. We transformed the Seinfeld’ New York street into a marketplace of ideas. With record stores closing and network TV ratings plummeting, the old media conglomerates are struggling. Yet, on a weekend when Iron Man makes $100 million something is still working. What’s the blueprint for the Internet era?
I hosted the morning session of the Biola Media Conference. Kudos to the crew which transformed Stage 15 at CBS into a makeshift studio. The set looked great and the big screen featured people like Todd Komarnicki, producer of Eddie Murphy’s next movie, Meet Dave. I interviewed Anita Renfoe, whose rousing MomSense routine sung to the William Tell Overture, received over 8 million views on YouTube. Anita’s unexpected breakthrough proves that funny and timely trumps all. I also chatted onstage with David Kinnaman, author of the groundbreaking study, UnChristian. The Barna Research Group suggests that the politicized faith of the Religious Right has dug a major public relations hole for the entire Christian community. It will take much more than better media to convince the next generation that not all Christians are judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual and too political.
My documentary, Purple State of Mind, offers one small step in that direction. It is an honest conversation, a fair fight, an opportunity to truly listen to the other side. Purple State joins a wave of efforts like the doc, Lord Save Us From Your Followers or the book I Like Jesus, but Not the Church by Dan Kimball. We’re injecting some much needed humor and humility in Christians’ public persona.
I’ve joined an online community, Conversant Life, that is attempting to develop a more nuanced faith. My book, Purple State of Mind, will be arrive in July from Conversant Life.
In the meantime, it was great to connect with friends from around the country like Darren Moorman, Angie Alvarez, Sid Goodloe and Dave Anderson. Amongst my local compadres at the Biola Media Conference were producer Mike Leahy, new Biola president Barry Corey, and ace student filmmaker Matt Jones.
The future is scary and uncertain for old media. But the democratization of entertainment and suggests that anyone can be a filmmaker. Distribution is the challenge in the YouTube era. How to get your project noticed amidst the clutter? We will be subjected to an avalanche of mediocre, micro-budgeted projects. But quality will still rise to the top. I encourage the next generation to reframe the faith as gracious, compassionate and compelling.
The ruckus on the blogosphere about the Emerging church started to disturb me. So the release of CLOVERFIELD on DVD brings it all to the surface. Some of my more random musings on faith and culture have generated heated remarks at Out of Ur. Read the second half of my post on Cloverfield and emerging Christians.
Jesus told a parable about a shepherd who practiced “the new math.” Christ suggested, “If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine and go after the one? And if he finds it, doesn’t he make far more over it than over the ninety-nine who stay put? Your Father in heaven feels the same way.” At Wheaton College, John Marks was the one standing out amidst the ninety-nine. He may not have liked those odds. But the conferencees extended a warm embrace to both of us.
We were honored to present Purple State of Mind at Wheaton, the leading light of evangelical education in America. Wheaton is a highly selective liberal arts college, located in suburban Chicago. The college’s position as a bulwark of enduring truth is symbolized by the castle that occupies the center of campus. They also have a stylish, new Wade Center, which houses the acclaimed works of C. S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers and J.R.R. Tolkien. Wade Center director Chris Mitchell even gave me an opportunity to see the wardrobe which inspired C.S. Lewis and his Narnia series.
Wheaton’s renowned alumni include Congressman Jim McDermott, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, church historian Nathan Hatch, and the missionaries featured in the movie, End of the Spear. Leading pastors from Wheaton include John Ortberg, John Piper and Rob Bell. Their student center honors Todd Beamer, who exclaimed, “Let’s roll” on United Flight 93. They may not claim grads like New Testament critic Bart Ehrman and horror film meister Wes Craven. By far, Wheaton’s most famous graduate remains Dr. Billy Graham.
Wheaton’s Billy Graham Center houses all the papers, photos and archives from his remarkable global ministry. The massive columns outside nearly connect heaven and earth. The Center hosted a conference on “The Gospel and the Imagination” and invited John Marks and me to present our film and our thoughts. We heard from esteemed scholars like Ralph Wood from Baylor, Kevin Van Hoozer on Theo-Drama, and Trevor Hart from the Institute of Theology, Imagination and the Arts at St. Andrews, Scotland. What was I doing here, talking about postmodern movies and their meaning? Wheaton prof Rick Richardson and his committee assembled an impressive array of thoughtful presentations (mine withstanding…).
Before the movie, I outed John as the only non-believer in a room full of evangelists. I even invited the audience to try some of the most effective communication strategies on my skeptical friend. John was thoroughly impressed by the warm reception accorded to our film and especially to him.
The post-screening conversation was broad and wide-ranging. Great questions about how we edited the film, waht we decided to keep and cut. People wondered if there might be any particular evidence that would compel John to embrace Jesus. They asked thoughtful questions of historicity, authority, and friendship. Afterwards, I was glad to connect with the family of one of my sharpest Biola students, Jason Lee.
The next day, Ralph Wood noted how G. K. Chesteron was sharpened in his thinking by befriending George Bernard Shaw. The director of the Billy Graham Center, Lon Allison, drew comparisons to the historic friendship between skeptic Ben Franklin and evangelist George Whitfield. People of faith must listen carefully to the questions that agnostics and atheists ask in earnest.
Wheaton offered a prime opportunity to reconnect with friends like Christine Danforth and my ace editor at Baker Books, Bob Hosack. I was also grateful for the hospitality of Read Schuchardt as he hosted Bob Davidson, David Swanson, and my new friend, Tom.
What do we take away from Wheaton? Thanks so much to Paul Larsen for his vision and Jean Bilang for her hospitality. Lon and Rick and Chris and Read were all great hosts. We could have easily been lost in the crowd. And yet, Wheaton made John Marks feel like the most important person in the room. In this case, it was good to be the one.
We were also honored to be interviewed by Ben Kieffer from Iowa Public Radio. Ben is the sharp host of The Exchange. His thoughtful questions demonstrated that he actually watched the film and read John’s book—imagine such responsible preparation! Such quality puts NPR at the top.
The questions from callers all across the state demonstrated their hunger for a new kind of conversation. I especially empathized with the Lutheran pastor who felt like her congregation had been hoodwinked by the Left Behind series. Listen to the streaming conversation on WSUI here.
While it is easy for those of us on the coasts to dismiss the flyover district as just so many cornfields, our experience in Iowa City suggests that it may well be the most wondrous and genuine city in America. I now understand how appropriate it is to begin our presidential contests in the Heartland. Our Purple State Roadshow included three days of presentations to churches, professors, writers and students. In each venue, we encountered both unparalleled hospitality and rigorous intellectual engagement. They bought us drinks, baked us cookies, and grilled us with questions. It was so invigorating!
Amongst the highlights? Enjoying the local businesses bringing delicious tastes to Iowa City, especially Whitey’s milkshakes!
I was also surprised by a car full of people pulling up beside you and rolling down the windows, just to say, “Hello.” In Los Angeles, we duck. We have a different “drive by” tradition. And what respect is accorded to writers at the Prairie Lights bookstore! Inside, Paul Ingram dishes out passion and wisdom about the writers life. He recommended two books to me: The Normals by David Gilbert and The Short Day Dying by Peter Hobbs. I bought both.
Sixty people came to John Marks’ reading from Reasons To Believe on a Monday night. And the conversation at Prairie Lights was recorded for local radio and TV.
I loved addressing St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, especially because the crowd ranged from twelve to eighty-two, with everybody chiming in. Thanks to Nancy and Harry and Paul and Margaret and the volunteers from United Campus Ministry like Emmie and Lisa.
John Marks had an opportunity to revisit the Iowa Writer’s Workshop where his fiction was first ripped to shreds by Frank Conroy. He also walked past the places where he met and fell in love with his eventual wife–the brilliant writer, Debra Immergut.
I was profoundly moved by the hospitality of the Cilek Family. They have been in Iowa City for multiple generations, with their family owning hardware stories, playing quarterback for the Iowa Hawkeyes and even having bridges named after their grandmothers. Mike and Judy Cilek hosted me in their home, a promontory overlooking the Iowa River. Ducks, geese, and herons greeted me each morning.
Joe and Nina Cilek laid all the groundwork for our visit. We had previews in the local newspaper, in the campus newspaper, on Iowa NPR. We were greeted with warm welcomes in each venue. Joe would make a great concert promoter or movie producer.
The only experience in Iowa City that pained me was the truck I spotted that was covered with images of aborted fetuses. This truck circled through downtown. Evidently, a group from Missouri drives into town on a regular basis to spread the bad news. This is the hole of our making that Christians must dig out of.
The questions following our screening were as wide-ranging and thoughtful as any venue so far. I had to consider whether my faith was merely a placebo. My brilliant former student Lindsay Row wondered how we had the chutzpah to create such a vanity project.
A philosopher asked me to articulate why seemingly faith-based Christians operate out of such a position of fear. These hard questions arose from such heartfelt places that we could only appreciate the honesty that met our movie. I met smart high school students from Young Life. I talked to an army soldier whose tattooed arms belied his tender heart. An organic farmer called to thank me a day later. We were honored to show the movie on Earth Day. May Purple State of Mind inspire us to take better care of our world and each other. To practice, we headed down to John’s old writers’ haunt, the Fox Head.
As we concluded our visit at a beautiful dive–the Fox Head, I asked my fast friends like J.J. and Ellie whether I should publicize the glories of Iowa City.
Should I tell people how affordable, how walk-able, how invigorating this college town can be? Or should I drive away with a big broad grin on my face, satisfied that they let us in on their secret. The Iowans suggested, “You can keep your coasts—feel free to fly over or stop in at anytime. Maybe even stay awhile…
So having heard my fill of absurd speculation regarding emergent Christians, I finally found an appropriate equivalent. Yes, the panic sweeping the streets in Cloverfield certainly matches the hyperbole abounding on the blogosphere about whatever Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Rob Bell et. al. MAY espouse. Fear can be fun. Fear can be silly. Fear can also be foolish. Read more about it at OUT OF UR.
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