This is an old article from May 11 2017 about our movie "Generational Sins" (2020)
It is hard to argue with those who claim our nation has never been more polarized as we are today. Clearly, this is the case in politics, but more and more evidence seems to suggest this is also true for the Church.
Reaction to recent press about our upcoming movie “Generational Sins” has been quite astonishing. We’ve had people reach out to us from all over the world, expressing both praise and condemnation. If you ever want to sample the good, the bad, and the ugly of humanity, just peruse the comments section of a controversial story.
From a recent Fox News story by Blanche Johnson, one comment put it this way, “As a Christian who works in Hollywood, I agree with both of these opinions. Even I won’t bother to see ‘faith-based’ films, because they generally suck in quality, and the story is too preachy/corny. Just make a regular film and organically weave in the ‘faith’ part.”
Others were not so kind. Referring to the limited profanity in the movie, one contributor to the comments section of The Hollywood Reporter stated, without ever seeing the yet to be released film, “Considering how IT IS NOT A FAITH-BASED FILM, but rather a sick and twisted misrepresentation of a Christian film, it’s hardly surprising that GLAAD hasn’t objected. This will bomb unsurprisingly.”
Then there was this one, “Another twisted sick film promoted by the left-wing media.” But my all time favorite reviewer, who was critical of our executive team, as well as our yet to be seen movie, declared, “This is garbage and not a ‘faith based’ film and will flop. Only heathen-crats and their heathen-wood would think this is ‘faith based’!. Um, like what do these filthy, immoral, hell bound heathen-crats know about the Lord and his word, anyways? … Their father is the devil!”
The most alarming of responses were from what the Washington Times called “The Christian Entertainment Watchdogs.” First, who are these self-appointed watchdogs, and why would they be so adamant about talking down and judging a film they have never seen? It is puzzling and honestly, disturbing. There is no a restriction on who can make art or tell stories.
As Christians responded to these stories with various points of view, their posts invariably attracted the ever-present internet trolls who attack any discussion dealing with faith or religion. At times, it became quite amusing to watch the threads develop. Regrettably, only on rare occasions did these exchanges approach productive dialogue.
There remains a huge gap between how the world and the church perceive “faith-based” films. At Third Brother Films, we hope to modify the definition of the term and force further discussion of the meaning and purpose of the “faith-based” film industry.
We know that our films are not family-friendly. We started our company, Third Brother Films, to make films like “Generational Sins” that would address the mountain of adult rated themes and stories in the Bible — stories that current “faith-based” films cannot realistically address and are too sanitized to portray honestly.
Nevertheless, there is an important role for the current style of family friendly “faith-based” films. We appreciate the fact that these self-affirming films fulfill a purpose in edifying and building up the church. They provide entertainment that the whole family can gather around and watch together. But that is not our calling. Our mission is more evangelistic. We contextualize our films and stories to cater to the marginalized, the down-trodden, and the least of these — the unchurched — those who are most discouraged about religion and faith.
There is room for everyone; the praisers, haters, and even the confused. We welcome ongoing dialogues with anyone about our goals and our vision to make excellent films that portray ultimate truth as we understand it. As Christians, we identify truth found in Jesus, but that is by no means a prerequisite for watching this movie. This story is about two brothers who return home to reconcile with their alcoholic and abusive father. Sadly, it is not that unique of a story, and something that will be too familiar for many viewers.
It is our sincere hope that this movie would help unbind past hurts and heal them. It is our prayer that this movie would stir the imaginations and the hearts of thousands, if not millions of viewers. It is our calling to tell stories that liberate and that give hope to the downtrodden, the less fortunate, and the broken. We are filmmakers with a unique calling, and we look forward to sharing this film with audiences everywhere.
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