For Youth Ministers:
The Use of Popular Films in Ministry

          One of the most interesting documents resulting from the Second Vatican Council was the document entitled Gaudium et Spes, or the "Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World."  The Council Fathers chose to address the subject of the "world and modern people." Never before had an official Church document looked at the subject in quite the same way.  It did not condemn.  It only reflected and offered pastoral statements.
          One such statement could be applied to modern media.  The Council Fathers wrote in their introductory statement: “The Church as always has the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.  Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions that ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other.  We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its expectations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics.”
       As we “recognize and understand the world in which we live,” especially in the arena of youth activity, we must encounter the motion picture, one of the major, if not the major form of entertainment for American youth.  Therefore the “duty” for the Church, and consequently the religious educator, is to “scrutinize” the motion picture and interpret it in the “light of the Gospel.”
          There are numerous ways of going about the task.  Many choose to take a negative route declaring that the modern film has nothing significant to offer in light of the Gospel.  I think such an approach is neither profitable nor true.  Every modern film has a message, even if it is totally inane, and since the Scriptures talk about life and every form of life in one way or another, there is the possibility of teaming up some specific Scripture passages with the message of the film.  Such is the approach of this website.
          This website emphasizes that modern media is a means to teach our junior high, senior high, and college youth.  It is a method that uses the actual media without alteration and then simply scrutinizes it in light of the Gospel.
       I feel that such an approach is not only useful, but it is absolutely necessary given the young person of today.  A critic in one of the nation's leading media magazines, Variety, wrote already in 1985: “While TV networks, radio programs, the music world, magazines, and the video world cater to the young, the strongest attempt to win the minds and souls of young people probably occurs in the film industry." The language of the critic is interesting: it is an “attempt to win the minds and souls of young people.”  Should not the Church, then, in scrutinizing the signs of the times, address this medium of entertainment with the intention of “using” what it has to offer in light of the Gospel?
          Hundreds of films are produced every year.  Although all of them can be scrutinized, and perhaps should be scrutinized, in light of the Gospel, there are many that would fall into the category of what I refer to as “teaching films.”  They are films with a message that can serve as a teacher for everyone including the young person.  These are the films that are the subject of the meditations on this website.  The movies I have chosen, I believe, make a significant statement to young people in particular.
          We remain in difficult times in the field of religious education.  Most of us do not operate in a Catholic school setting on a junior high, senior high, or college level.  We do not have the opportunity every day or every other day to teach the young people we so desperately want to educate. We see them at most once a week.  How do we give quality education on a subject that is so important, if not the most important subject of their lives--religion--given the time constraints?  It is the essential question for parochial religious education.
          This website is my contribution to a solution.  The idea is a simple one.  Take the popular films that most every teenager has already seen and apply them to different parts of Scripture, showing how Scripture has “something to say” in the same area that the film is considering.  The movies of this site are recent releases and some of them have been honored with an award from the motion picture industry.  Consequently, they would qualify as “good” in one way or another.
        I believe that meditations using modern movies are a good way to educate our youth.  Further, I would go so far as to say that it is an essential way.  My reasons are as follows:
          1.  As explained above, movies are “where they are.”  The average American teenager is viewing at least one movie a week either in the movie theater or through the VCR.  Therefore movies exercise an incredible amount of power in speaking to teenagers.
          2.  Obviously, this is a way of gaining their attention.  Young people like movies.  They will fix themselves on the images of a movie screen much easier than they will on an instructor, no matter how good the course is. Religious educators always understand that they are competing with real professionals when it comes to “gaining attention.”  Young people are constantly exposed to the highest quality presentations in theaters, on television, and radio: what religious educators can do by themselves is often mediocre.  Why not use the talents of those who make excellent films?
          3.  The young person will know the film, especially if it is one that appeals to the younger ages, and therefore a significant part of a lesson to be taught is “automatic”: namely, knowledge of the situation.  The educator must often supply the morality content, but it will not be an especially difficult task since knowledge of the situation is a given.
          4.  Almost every good film--every film included in the meditations on this website--has some type of a God-figure or Jesus-figure.  The awareness that a modern secular film contains such an image can have a powerful impact on the young mind.  Religious educators want the young minds to understand why it has an impact.
          5.  Every educator has experienced the inability to convey some particular concept well.  It is often much easier to refer to a film that says it for us.  The film portrays the concept and provides the opportunity to discuss the concept specifically portrayed.
           6.  It is a well-known axiom that a picture is worth a thousand words. An idea portrayed on the screen has much greater impact than an instructor’s vocal presentation.
          7.  Movies often have many themes running through them, and frequently one of the minor themes is one that strikes a young person. Such a topic may not be covered in a regular religion class.
          8.  Almost every film contains some type of violence or sexual activity.  These topics must be addressed for the modern teen and a good film will usually provide the opportunity of discussing the topics directly and in a setting that makes sense to the young person.  [Note: I do not feel that the “porno film” or X-rated movies supply this opportunity since the intention of the film maker is much less noble.]
          9.  Using films in the classroom promotes the idea that the media is not bad.  We often jump to a negative conclusion about the media that is not warranted.  Adults must be convinced that there is good in the media; our discussion of a film in a class with their young people may help to produce a more positive image of the media.
          10.  Perhaps most importantly, movies tend to promote participation. Young people may have a difficult time talking about their individual problems, but it is relatively easy for them to talk about other people’s problems that resemble theirs.  Working with films supplies such an opportunity.