Too Controversial?

A new film produced in the United Kingdom on Darwin’s life, called Creation, so far has not been successful in finding a distributor so that it will be shown in American movie theaters. Some are reporting that

Producers of a new film about the life of naturalist Charles Darwin have been unable to secure a company to handle distribution in the United States. According to Oscar-winning director Jeremy Thomas, the theme of the forthcoming movie “Creation” is deemed “too controversial for religious America.”

I was interviewed by the secular media this past week (ABC News) and asked if I thought that it was because the movie was about Darwin and if the producers’ claim had some merit: that because a large percentage of Americans supposedly don’t believe in evolution, then that is the reason the American movie industry hasn’t picked it up.

I replied that such a claim to me is nonsense. If a movie is controversial, I’m sure it would be shown—as it would probably get good attendance and make money. And if the movie was anti-creation/anti-Christian, would that stop the movie industry taking it up? Not at all—to the contrary.

Think about the movie Religulous with Bill Maher—an anti-Christian, blasphemous, and vile movie—but it was shown in theaters across the country. Also the movie Inherit the Wind, which was a Hollywood-distorted fictional movie about the Scopes trial that mocked conservative Christianity, was shown widely in theaters (and is on TV many decades later).

In fact, it seems to me that if a film attacks Christianity and is well produced, the movie industry in America would jump at the opportunity to show it to the public—if it would make money.

I told the reporter that it was my opinion that the producer was making the claim because he wanted to create controversy and needs the publicity. I haven’t seen the movie, but I have read a number of reviews—and it seems to me from what I’ve read that it is not really an exciting movie. Some have even called it “boring.”

Because it is a movie about the life of Charles Darwin, I personally don’t think that this sort of movie would do well in the theaters. I could understand it being produced for the History Channel or something like that, even though it could be called a “docu-drama.”

Well, it will be interesting to see if it does get shown in the U.S. movie theaters and what the reviews are—of course, people will vote with their feet (and dollars!). It starts showing in UK theaters this Friday (but has already had a showing in Canada), and I hope some of our UK supporters will let us know what they think of it—if they choose to spend money on such a movie.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken