My DVD contained "extras" that told us the real history of the events portrayed in the film. You can easily see the obnoxious Bible-Belt bias (done to appeal to the Bible-Belters who are the film's intended audience). Whenever this bias intrudes into the film, it makes me wonder how much more inspirational this film could have been, if these events had been handled by a truly great Christian director.
Evangelicals today seriously believe that they are a persecuted minority, which is why they've taken their kids out of the "secular humanist" public schools. To pander to this ridiculous belief, the film added token atheists to persecute the poor Christians -- but this is pure fiction, and never happened in Alabama back then. Why add something completely false and then lie by implying this is history?
This could have been more a film about civil rights, non-violent protests, and the tremendous emotions which were roiling the South (and the rest of the country) during that incendiary era. There are a ton of excellent films which have been made about this important historical period.
But if anything, this film deemphasizes the racial tension. Why? The film had a chance to try to reach a wider audience -- liberals for whom race is likely to be a huge issue. Instead, it panders to its conservative Christian base, and conservatives don't even think racism is a problem in America today.
Jesus was a huge part of what was happening back then. All the fans overflowing the stadium in the climactic game seemed to be there as much for what amounts to a Christian rally as for a great football game. This really happened in Alabama, and there's nothing wrong with giving the glory to Jesus because black and white players were able to come together for Him, and even rival teams were able to come together for Him.
Still, did the film really have to preach Jesus at its audience quite so incessantly? It's not like there are lots of Americans who need to hear such a message. We've all been "Jesused at" until we're about ready to vomit. No, when the message is so heavy-handed, it's likely to appeal only to those who are already Christian. Those who are "on the fence" are more likely to be turned off by all the preaching than turned on.
And that's really sad. Christianity has such an important message to deliver. But this film's preachiness won't even appeal to most Christians. No, it's a pretty good football movie, and well worth seeing for that reason alone. But it's appeal of "Come to Jesus" is only likely to find a sympathetic audience among those who are not only already Christians, but also Creationists, who think global warming is a hoax, and who think the "Left Behind" series is realistic.
Evangelicals today seriously believe that they are a persecuted minority, which is why they've taken their kids out of the "secular humanist" public schools. To pander to this ridiculous belief, the film added token atheists to persecute the poor Christians -- but this is pure fiction, and never happened in Alabama back then. Why add something completely false and then lie by implying this is history?
This could have been more a film about civil rights, non-violent protests, and the tremendous emotions which were roiling the South (and the rest of the country) during that incendiary era. There are a ton of excellent films which have been made about this important historical period.
But if anything, this film deemphasizes the racial tension. Why? The film had a chance to try to reach a wider audience -- liberals for whom race is likely to be a huge issue. Instead, it panders to its conservative Christian base, and conservatives don't even think racism is a problem in America today.
Jesus was a huge part of what was happening back then. All the fans overflowing the stadium in the climactic game seemed to be there as much for what amounts to a Christian rally as for a great football game. This really happened in Alabama, and there's nothing wrong with giving the glory to Jesus because black and white players were able to come together for Him, and even rival teams were able to come together for Him.
Still, did the film really have to preach Jesus at its audience quite so incessantly? It's not like there are lots of Americans who need to hear such a message. We've all been "Jesused at" until we're about ready to vomit. No, when the message is so heavy-handed, it's likely to appeal only to those who are already Christian. Those who are "on the fence" are more likely to be turned off by all the preaching than turned on.
And that's really sad. Christianity has such an important message to deliver. But this film's preachiness won't even appeal to most Christians. No, it's a pretty good football movie, and well worth seeing for that reason alone. But it's appeal of "Come to Jesus" is only likely to find a sympathetic audience among those who are not only already Christians, but also Creationists, who think global warming is a hoax, and who think the "Left Behind" series is realistic.