God’s Not Dead 3 or How I learned to Start Worrying and Just Play the Victim

Well, here we are.  God’s Not Dead: Light in the Darkness.  What can I say at this point?  It’s quite apparent that Pureflix doesn’t seem to know how to prove God’s existence seeing as they’ve needed three movies to do so.  I’m not really looking forward to talking about this flaming dumpster fire if I’m being at all honest but I started watching these movies out of morbid curiosity and so we might as well float on.  So, yadda, yadda history of religious media.  Yadda, yadda, God’s Not Dead:  Light in the Darkness is the third installment of the God’s Not Dead franchise by Pureflix…

What?  If Pureflix can just phone it on this movie, why can’t I?

Okay, okay.  I’ll be serious for a moment.

Does the third God’s Not Dead movie improve on the problems presented in the previous films? or does it continue the fear mongering path of its successors?  This article today is going to address that question as we review the next installment of this offending franchise.  (Spoiler Alert: It doesn’t.)

Synopsis

After being acquitted of a charge of contempt of court for not turning in transcripts his sermons from the past 6 months in the God’s Not Dead 2 (it was shown in a post credit scene ‘cause logic!), Pastor Dave Hill (David A. R. White) is a free man with a new set of problems.  The Hadleigh University, the school from the first God’s Not Dead movie, has become antagonistic to his church and ultimately wants to remove it from the campus, much to the disagreement of Dave’s friend and school administrator Tom Ellsworth (Ted McGinley).  Matters worsen when a brick thrown through the church’s basement window brakes a gas valve causing the church to burst into flames, killing Dave’s friend and co-pastor Pastor Jude (Benjamin Onyango) in the process (we shall be touching upon this a bit later).  With things falling around him, Pastor Dave turns to his estranged brother, Pierce Hill (John Corbet), to help in the legal battle with the school to save the church.  Just when things seem to be going the church’s way, Pastor Dave learns of who committed the crime and decides to confront them, ruining any chances he had of saving St. James’ Church and the relationship he had been rebuilding with Pierce.  In the end, Dave settles with the university and sets up a new church while also making amends with Pierce and Thomas and finds closure for the death of his friend.

At the same time there is a B-plot involving a student named Keaton who is at a cross roads regarding her faith.  While meeting with the protagonist of the first God’s Not Dead Josh Wheatabix (yeah, I know it’s Josh Wheaton, but I don’t care.  Well, that plus it was a dumb name in the first one and it still is now), Keaton decides to end things with her boyfriend Harvey… it might be Adam (Mike C. Manning) going by what Pastor Dave addresses him…  I mean the movie does a poor job of establishing what his name is and the character is forgettable and bland.  Can we call him Steve?  He looks like a Steve.  Adam takes it well… in that he gets drunk and hurls a brick into the basement window of the church window.  Eventually, Harvey/Steve/Adam/[insert whiter than white bread bland name here] admits his wrong doing, he and Keaton get back together, they both find the Jesus and live happily ever after.

Trouble where you plot it

In God’s Not Dead is notorious for multiple plots.  Yes, it’s okay to have more than one plot in a given movie as it gives the audience a break from the main action, but this franchise in general does a bad job at executing them.  The first one had too many, the second had them all convolutedly connected, and this one has only two plots and blows it in how they pick the weaker of the two as the main one.  The story of Keaton’s soul search had great potential and I believe would have made for a stronger story.  The problem is it wouldn’t fit into the over arching narrative of the series, that being about privileged white Christians being victims despite that clearly not being the case.  Because of that it had to play second fiddle to the main plot: Pastor Dave’s church being kicked out.  While the main story does make a better choice for Pureflix’s narrative, the problem that now pops up is they don’t really do a good job selling it.

Just think about it.  God’s Not Dead sold its audience on a tête-à-tête between a Christian student and his atheist professor who is using his powers as teacher to intimidate and attack his student.  God’s Not Dead 2 was the same in making it about a Christian high school teacher who was being targeted by her school board for mentioned Jesus in class.  The common theme is Christians as victims.  The movie we are talking about fails to do this.  Hadleigh University’s concerns were justified as tensions built up in the beginning of the movie and even more so when the St. James’ church went up in flames.  In a way the school was trying to deescalate the situation by offering to buy the church, allowing Pastor Dave to find a new site for a church.  No one said it couldn’t be near the campus just that considering the escalating situation the church should be off the campus.  Dave’s response to the situation was also logical.  Lawyering up and countering the school’s decision makes sense since it’s his church in the center of the conflict makes sense.  The problem is, there isn’t a sense of urgency like in the past two films and that in turn makes the plot weaker than the others.  It feels like the writers behind the film were trying to avoid many of the problems that faced the previous two movies but in doing so sacrificed any quality in the movie.

Character Assassination

As I’ve mentioned in the previous two film reviews, I love the dynamic that is Pastors Dave and Jude.  If there was a movie or tv series of these two getting up to shenanigans, I would watch it in a heart beat.  There are two big character problems in God’s Not Dead: Light in the Darkness. The first is in the choice to kill off Pastor Jude.  There is a great dynamic between these two characters and Jude’s death doesn’t really add anything to the movie except putting Dave in a more isolated situation.  The only explanation that I can think of is that the writers wanted to introduce Pierce and didn’t know how to write for both characters at the same time.

Conclusion

In closing, God’s Not Dead: Light in the Darkness is a terrible movie and not in the same way as the first two.  The movie leaps away from even at least following the same themes that follow its predecessors and by trying to correct issues while providing no improvements to the plot.  The film is also insulting to the characters that have been already established by have established attitudes completely brushed away and replaced with merely hollow shades masquerading as those characters.  While it is true God is good all the time and all the time God is good, this movie and in extension the franchise is most definitely not.

Sources:

God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness. Directed by Michael Mason. Performed by David A. R. White and John Corbett. USA: Pure Flix Productions, 2018. DVD.

Something Old, Something New: A look at the updated Edition of Brian Sibley’s The Thomas the Tank Engine Man

The Thomas the Tank Engine Man
By Brian Sibley
(2015 Edition)

Of all the things that were a part of my childhood, Thomas the Tank Engine stands out as having a major part.  I’m sure there are many who would say the same.  I was in grade four when I learned about the Rev. W. Awdry, the Anglican priest who crafted these stories about the little blue tank engine all those years ago.  In 1995, Brian Sibley compiled and wrote The Thomas the Tank Engine Man, a book that informed those who had grown up with the Railway Series about the Rev. W. Awdry and how he created the books that brought us Thomas the Tank Engine.  Twenty years later in 2015, just in time for the 70th anniversary of the Railway Series, Lion Hudson Ltd. came published an updated edition of The Thomas the Tank Engine Man.  My question is, does the updated book hold up with the original publication?  Well, just keep reading this blog and find out!


The Thomas the Tank Engine Man
By Brian Sibley
(1995 Edition)

Brian Sibley’s The Thomas the Tank Engine Man tells us about the life of the Rev. Wilbert Vere Awdry.  From exploring the family history of the Awdrys to the origins of some of the greatest moments in the Railway Series and the beginning of the television series Thomas the Tank Engine.  Sibley follows a simple timeline of the Rev. Awdry’s life while providing moments that highlight the kind hearted, ecclesiastical vicar while also providing quotes from the reverend himself who was interviewed for the book over twenty years ago.  All this is tied together by a thesis presented as a question by Brian Sibley’s colleague, John Forrest: “Do you know anything about the Thomas the Tank Engine man” (Sibley, 11, 2015; Sibley, 5, 1995)?  This simple question fits well with the book and still holds up today.  Everyone is so familiar with the character Thomas the tank engine, his coaches Annie and Clarabelle, Percy, Gordon, Henry, Toby, Edward and others but few know about the kindly clergyman who told these stories to his son seventy-one years ago.

The overall writing of this book was well done.  It’s difficult to compare the updated edition from the original publication when both editions have the exact text.  The only differing part is the 2015 edition features an epilogue that updates the reader on what has occurred since the original publication in 1995.  This add on, though necessary, feels a bit rushed.  This section is covering almost twenty years of information, this including the passing of the Rev. W. Awdry and the continuation of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.  It felt much more like a laundry list of events, a very different way from the flowing narrative that is seen in the preceding part of the book.  It would have made better sense to up date the previous chapter to 1997 and the have the epilogue cover the years after, that way the finale isn’t squished with concluding the life of the Rev. Awdry, the final books of the Railway Series and the continued momentum of the television series.  Despite this short coming, the epilogue is definitely informative and still well written.

My major issue with The Thomas the tank Engine Man was the aesthetics of the book.  This can be quite apparent from the covers of the book (as seen above).  On the whole, both editions follow the same set up: a collage of different aspects of the Reverend Awdry and Thomas the Tank Engine, both doing this in differing ways.  While the adage don’t judge a book by its cover is true in many instances, the book cover still has to convey some level of connection to the content inside.  The cover of the 1995 edition concentrates on the “man”, providing images of Awdry, various images from his life, the original drawings from when the stories were originally written for his son Christopher, and the original model of Thomas the tank Engine (spoilers: he looks nothing like the one you grew up with!).  The 2015 edition concentrates on the “Thomas the tank Engine” part, showing mainly images from books in the Railway Series and Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

Personally, I prefer the 1995 cover more.  The book is looking at the figure behind the tank engine.  By 1995, Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends was already over shadowing the Railway Series, not enough that the books were no longer out of print (the books ending in 1996 with two follow ups in 2007 and 2011) but it was definitely taking over as what children pictured the Reverend’s famous engines.

In conclusion, Brian Sibley’s book The Thomas the Tank Engine Man is a great read for anyone who grew up with Thomas the Tank Engine.  It is well written and provides insight into the creation of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends.  Though the epilogue is a little flawed and the cover art is not to my personal taste, The Thomas the Tank Engine Man is a book worth picking up.

Bibliography

“The Thomas the Tank Engine Man.” Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia. Accessed June 21, 2016. http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/The_Thomas_the_Tank_Engine_Man.

Diyfather. “The Father of Thomas the Tank Engine.” YouTube. 2010. Accessed June 21, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT31slIrwxQ.

Sibley, Brian. The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. London: William Heinmann Ltd. 1995.

—. The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. Oxford: Lion Hudson Ltd. 2015.


Adulting Never felt so Weird: A Review of Sara Andersen’s Adulthood is a Myth

This in November 2016, I had my 25th birthday (yeah, just put all the cards and presents in the corner over there).  On that milestone, I look at all my friends and I see some of them getting their own places, having kids, getting married, etc., while I’m still mulling by with two punches away from a free sub (goody!).  It’s stuff like that makes me begin to wonder what this whole adulthood thing is about.  Am I even adulating the way I ought to be?  Are there certain benchmarks I’m supposed to be reaching by now?  Boomers and X-er’s constantly tell us how “Back in my day, when I was your age, I had a job, a house, and [insert thing here].”  Now I’m not trying to go into start an argument over which generation is more horrible (you guys know how to do that on your own), I just find myself asking more of those questions when I hear that sort of thing.

Over last year and this year, I’ve become a fan of the webcomic series Sara’s Scribbles by artist Sarah Andersen.  These delightful comics follow the day-to-day life of the character Sarah, as she deals with entering the new world of adulthood.  These escapades range from love, socializing with people (ugh), and the trials that adulthood and life likes to throw at you.  With her boyfriend or pet bunny by her side, Sara faces the world head on, with an air of anxiety and melodrama.  Recently, Andersen has published a selection of her comics into a book entitled Adulthood is a Myth.

The greatest strength that Andersen’s comics have is their relatability between the work and the audience.  Many of these comics deal with things that you and I face in some form or another.  I’ve always had some connection to the book oriented comics that Andersen draws periodically, these include the love of smelling books and prioritising my money to buy them. I find a connection with these examples because I have a love – teetering on obsession at times – for books.  Going even further, Sarah’s interactions with the world around her shows how much of a joke the concept of adulthood is just by the fact that she is still childish in her reactions to certain situations, a thing we all can relate with.

In closing, I highly recommend Sarah Andersen’s webcomic series and even her book Adulthood is a Myth.  The character Sarah is someone we can see and think to ourselves “That’s totally me!” and good laugh out of our follies.  At the same time, it softens the idea that adulthood is this black monster that need you to give up on what makes you… you… by saying “hey, don’t worry, adulthood is a myth so have some fun and enjoy yourself!”  For that, Sarah Andersen – if you are reading this – I thank you for that up lifting message.

If you want to check out more:

Official Website: http://sarahcandersen.com/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SarahsScribbles/posts#/_=_

Illustrative Work: http://www.sarahandersenart.com/

**All art used in this post are the property of Sarah Andersen and her respected associates.**

Bibliography

“Robot Check.” Robot Check. Accessed November 23, 2016. https://www.amazon.ca/Adulthood-Myth-Sarahs-Scribbles-Collection/dp/1449474195.

“Sarah’s Scribbles.” Sarah’s Scribbles. Accessed November 23, 2016. http://sarahcandersen.com/.

Andersen, Sarah. Adulthood is a Myth. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing. 2016.

Andersen, Sarah. “Sarah’s Scribbles.” Pinterest. Accessed November 23, 2016. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401735229239719070/. 

God’s Not Dead 2: More God-ier but less Dead-ier than the last God’s Not Dead

Source: Wikipedia

                The year 2014 saw the success of the Christian movie God’s Not Dead.  This film told the story of a student debating with this philosophy professor about the existence of God.  Now, I’m not going to go on about the movie beyond that since I already did a review about the movie.  In a movie where Sabrina the Teenage Witch is put on trial with Commissioner Gordon prosecuting and Winston Zeddemore presiding over the court,the question I want to address is does God’s Not Dead 2 continue to reinforce the ignorance and anger of the first one or does it try to learn from the sins of its predecessor?

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Synopsis

                God’s Not Dead 2 tells the story of Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart), a high school history teacher whose career is on the line and faith put to the test after answering a student’s question during class about Jesus.  With the help of her lawyer (Jesse Metcalfe), Grace must defend her faith from prosecutor Pete Kane (Ray Wise), in a trial that not only will have her career at risk.  Along the way we are reunited with Martin – the Chinese student who converted to Christianity –, Amy – the left-wing blogger who was diagnosed with cancer –, and Reverends Dave and Jude, each finding themselves a part of the trial (Cronk 2016).

Story

                I have to say, God’s Not Dead 2 is very much an improvement from the first.  The main plot panned out mostly how I expected and the side stories generally worked well with the story.  This can be noticed in the cases of Martin and Amy.  Both plots dealt with the characters trying to understand their faith in some way – Amy questioning it after finding out that her cancer is in remission and Martin trying to understand his faith more.  Unlike in God’s Not Dead, both Amy and Martin serve some form of purpose to the main plot by helping Brooke cope with the situation and eventually come to accept Christ.  It’s through their interaction with one of the main protagonists that Martin and Amy are able to fit into the main plot while having their stories come to a resolution.

                While the main plots and side stories worked together, there were exceptions.  This was in the case of the side story with the pastors and the sudden subpoena for their sermons from the last three months by the government.  It went nowhere for one thing and it felt like it was trying portraying it as the government is out to get Christians.  It is an inaccurate statement and participates in making the movie to be a straw-man story of Christian persecution in modern times.

                At the same time, the movie tries to straw-man the story with making what should be an issue with school policy and the improper dismissal of a teacher into a story where faith is on trial and that Grace’s trial is just the tipping point of some huge conspiracy of religious oppression.  Now I’ve seen this argument made in Inherit the Wind but being made by science, but this was meant to establish the characters and it was a movie more about egos at war with one another than God vs. Science.  This movie, it takes what should be a movie that could provoke discussion 

Characters and Actors

                Much like the last movie, the characters seem just as flat.  We see the religious victim, the maniacal villain, the determined young lawyer and so on.  I felt like there could have been more done with these characters, which was a shame.

                Also, just like God’s Not Dead, the actors definitely did their best with what they were given.  I have to say my favourites were Melissa Joan Hart and Ray Wise for their roles of Grace Wesley and Pete Kane, respectively.  Hart was able to portray a person who is cemented in their beliefs and was able to show that even the most devout can still feel the pressure of the situation.  Hart’s Grace is someone who believes very much in God and will stand by it, even though everything she has is at stake.

                Just as a side note.  I demand there be a spin off with Reverends Dave and Jude.  Though I didn’t laugh out loud to their shenanigans, Dave and Jude are quite likeable and do give an impression of people who care very much for God and those who are in need of help.  They would definitely be characters I would very much love to see in their own movie or show.

Closing

                At the start of this review, I said that I wanted to determine if God’s Not Dead 2 is as bad or worse than its predecessor is.  I have to say that this movie is an improvement from the first.  The writers seemed to learn to make the side stories more relevant and connected to the overall plot and the editing was much better done.  That said, it continues to try to portray Christians as victims of some conspiracy that is out to get them and make those who are non-believers to be inhuman and cruel beings.  Evangelism can bring out the best in Christianity (love compassion, passion, etc…), but this movie shows the ugly side of it (ignorance, bigotry, etc…).  There is no war on religion, only ignorants kicking up dirt.  For those reasons, I can’t call this a good movie.  Better than the first one, but in need of much improvement.

The Sad Story of Henry: Mental Health and “Thomas The Tank Engine”

The hit children’s program Thomas and Friends has developed a close association with the Autism community in a positive manner.  This has gotten me to wonder about mental health within the over all series.  I’m not saying it was the Rev. W. Awdry’s intention or that this is a fact, unlike some people from the Guardian, I’m just proposing that this maybe something to consider when watching some of these episodes. First and foremost, this is a children’s show and, unless making it obvious, it doesn’t need to be subtle or have some underlining meaning.  After re-watching the stories “Coal” and “Flying Kipper”, part of me began to wonder if Henry may be relatable to those dealing with anxiety and depression.  I personally deal with such issues and have found myself relating to the green tender engine.

Henry in his old shape

For those who don’t know, since this story arc occurred years ago, Henry appeared more like Gordon for the first few books in the Railway Series – even being painted blue for three books! By the time of the third book in the Railway Series, Tank Engine Thomas Again, Henry’s troubles become apparent and the green (well, blue at this point in the books) engine mentions his situation to Thomas, who passes it off as the former just being lazy (Awdry, Tank Engine Thomas Again, 8).

Still from the TV adaption of “Coal”.

By the time of book six, Henry the Green Engine, Henry’s prolonged condition is described as sometimes having the strength to work but at other times he felt too weak to do so (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 4).  It’s clear that the other engines have no patience for Henry’s problem, James even accusing Henry at the beginning of “Coal” of not working hard enough (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 4).  At the same time, the Fat Controller, who has done all he can for Henry, is losing patience: “You are too expensive, Henry.  You have had lots of new parts and new paint, but they’ve done you no good.  If we can’t make you better, we must get another engine…” (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 4). It is quickly discovered that the reason for Henry’s troubles is the quality of coal being used. Henry’s fireman argues that because he doesn’t have a big firebox like the other engines, Henry isn’t able to function as well using the same coal and suggests Henry be prescribed Welsh Coal as a solution (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 8)

Henry gets his Welsh Coal
Still from the TV adaption of “Flying Kipper”

The success of the Welsh coal makes Henry feel great. He is able to work so well that the Fat Controller gives him the job of pulling The Flying Kipper. Unfortunately, on his first night of pulling the train, Henry collides into another train due to ice and snow jamming the points and signal (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 22). Upon arriving to survey the accident, the Fat Controller informs Henry that he will sent to Crewe, “a fine place for sick engines. They’ll give you a new shape and a larger firebox. Then you’ll feel a different engine, and you won’t need special coal any more” (Awdry, Henry the Green Engine, 28). Henry returns from Crewe a new engine with a new shape and went on to have many more escapades such as sneezing at some naughty boys and later moving two failed diesels all on his own.

So you may be asking: “how does the story of a green engine getting a new shape become relatable for someone with mental illness?” Well, people who do deal with anxiety or depression may feel like something is wrong but they aren’t sure what it is. Those around that person may either try to pass it off as nothing like Thomas and James, while those who are trying to help the person, like the Fat Controller, may be frustrated because they’ve done all they can to help but nothing is working. Henry can be seen as someone suffering from mental illness in that same regard. At the same time, the Welsh coal can serve as some sort of anti-depressant that allows him to function properly. Despite being properly medicated, people with mental health problems still struggle and can have points where things go the extreme; Henry’s accident with the Flying Kipper can serve to represent that sort of situation. Finally, going to Crewe is like going to therapy and getting the proper help needed to adjust and be able to cope with the illness in the best way. Henry comes back from Crewe a different engine, feeling much better than before. However, unlike Henry, there are still people who do get help and are medicated but still have to battle with mental illness every day. So please be patient.

Henry in his new shape.

Sources

 “Awdryana.” Awdryana. Accessed June 14, 2016. http://awdryana.tumblr.com/page/3. 

“Coal.” Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia. Accessed June 14, 2016. http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/Coal.

“The Flying Kipper.” Thomas the Tank Engine Wikia. Accessed June 14, 2016. http://ttte.wikia.com/wiki/The_Flying_Kipper.

“Henry.” The Railway Series Wiki. Accessed June 14, 2016. http://the-railway-series.wikia.com/wiki/Henry.

Awdry, Rev. W. Henry the Green Engine. Leicester: Edmund Ward. 1951.

—. Tank Engine Thomas Again. Leicester: Edmund Ward. 1951.

NewController01. “TRSR2 HENRY THE GREEN ENGINE BOOK 6 PART 1 ‘Coal'” YouTube. 2009. Accessed June 14, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMrClf2JKCg. 


God’s Not Dead Review

Source: Wikipedia

Opening

            The 2010s have seen a rise in Christian films.  Some people may feel that this is something new, but religion has had its proverbial hand in media as far back as time millennia.  It has been able to gain more steam with the rise of technology.  Aimee Semple MacPherson was able to reach out to the United States through the radio during the Inner-War Period (1919-1939) and I like to think that had she not died in 1949, she would have been part of televangelism movement after the Second World War.  As a kid, I remember coming across Veggie Tales and other Christian programs on CTS.  The point of this rambling is that Christian programing has been around for a while; we are only just starting to notice it more now after the success of films like War Room, Old Fashioned, and – the topic of this blog post – God’s Not Dead.

            God’s Not Dead is the story of Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), a first year college student who is pitted against his Atheist philosophy professor Jeffery Radisson (Kevin Sorbo) after refusing to write on a piece of paper saying “God is Dead”.  For disobeying his professor, Josh has the task of presenting to his class the existence of God while facing the scorn of not only Radisson, but also those around him (Cronk 2014).  Now this sounds like an interesting premise; it may come out as one sided in the end, but as long as the story, characters and other aspects are good the movie should be at least enjoyable, or so I thought.  This post is going to examine the film God’s Not Dead and determine how well this movie holds up.

Story

Though mainly about a college student defending his faith, God’s Not Dead also features several storylines.  For ease of use, I listed them in order of importance.

1.      Josh having to debate with Radisson about God’s existence.

2.      Radisson’s partner, named Mina, having issues with her relationship with Radisson vs. her faith in God.

3.      Amy, a leftist blogger, having to deal with a sudden terminal cancer diagnosis and her faith.

4.      Ayisha, a Muslim student who secretly converted to Christianity.

5.      Martin, a student from China, who converts to Christianity at the end of the movie.

6.      Mina’s brother – who is also Amy’s boyfriend – Mark, wanting to concentrate on his success rather than his relationship and his and Mina’s mother, who suffers from dementia.

7.      Two pastors, the Reverends Dave and Jude, plan on taking a vacation to what sounds like Disney World, but their plans are prevented when they keep running into car trouble.

Though multiple story lines are doable in a film, it does not work out in God’s Not Dead.  Part of this is on the part of editing but I will leave that for later; the other is that these plots don’t really meet, come to much of a resolution or not enough is shown for those plots to stand out.  Mark’s storyline shows this lack of resolution.  Mark is seen as an arrogant, self-obsessed, avarice individual who cuts off anything that isn’t in his best interest (Cronk 2014).  Toward the end of the film, Mark visits his ailing mother and mocks her for her faith and his mother replies (in a moment of lucidness) that his financial success is only because the Devil wants to keep Mark from God (Cronk 2014).  We don’t really see Mark after this scene except in the montage of people receiving the text message saying “God’s Not Dead”, which he casts his phone aside (Cronk 2014).  It would have been better if there were more of a sign that Mark had either been shaken by his mother’s remark or had just shrugged it off and continued on his way.

            Another thing that could be done was to cut out some plot lines.  The best examples of this would be Martin, Ayisha, and the two reverends.  It would be better to have them just as straight up supporting characters.  Martin and Ayisha could become friends with Josh and help him in his research in facing off against Radisson while also starting to have feelings about Christianity.  In the case of Reverend Dave and Reverend Jude, I would just scrap the whole Disney trip and just have them interact with what is going on.

Characters

            Unlike my other reviews in the past, I am not going to look at each character individually.  This is because I can easily sum up all the characters as one-dimensional.  In the case of the main plot, Josh is the Christian hero while Radisson is the bitter Atheist; the same can be said for the side characters Martin and Ayisha, whose plots represent stereotypes.  In Ayisha’s case, she is secretly a Christian in a very traditionally Muslim home and is disowned by her father for having an opposing faith (Cronk 2014).  I would be more okay if it was apparent that there was confliction from her father for doing kicking her out or something to understand the situation.  The writers thought it would be better to have Ayisha be hit by her father in a very uncomfortable to watch scene and just throw her out into the street.  It just plays on stereotypes and just makes for something uncomfortable to watch.

            Despite the poor design of the characters themselves, it is apparent that the actors did their best with what they were given.  The best example is Kevin Sorbo, who the Herculaneum task of portraying Jeffry Radisson.  I was most convinced my Sorbo’s performance of being a bitter professor who wanted his way of thinking to be the rule at the end of the day (something many of us can relate to having to deal with).  I was convinced that I was watching Jeffery Radisson and not Kevin Sorbo playing some professor named Jeffery Radisson.

Editing

This was something that made the multiple plots in the film difficult to follow.  The film kept  jumping between the different plots midway through a scene so the audience would not have much of a chance to appreciate what is going on between Josh and Radisson because suddenly the Reverends Dave and Jude have more car trouble shenanigans to get into .

            One of the most infamous examples of editing trouble is after Josh has given his first presentation and is quickly blown out of the water by Radisson and the whole class is laughing at Josh for his failure.  In the immediate scene that follows, Radisson is bullying Josh and telling him that Radisson will not be made a fool in his own class (Cronk 2014).  There are two problems with this: (1) Radisson can be reported for harassment and assault for grabbing Josh and (2) Radisson has clearly won that round.  It would make sense for this scene to be used at the end of one of the later presentations.

Closing Remarks

Overall, I thought God’s Not Dead was not that great.  The acting was good enough to keep me engaged but the poor editing and one-dimensional characters made the film hard confusing and hard to be considered good.  Despite these shortcomings, the film earned $9,244,641 US on its opening weekend in 2014, grossing $60,753,735 by August 1 of that year (Internet Movie Database n.d.).  It is enough for a sequel, which comes out April 1 and will be the topic for my next review.

Bibliography

2014. Gods Not Dead. Directed by Harold Cronk.

Internet Movie Database. n.d. God’s Not Dead. Accessed March 30, 2016. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2528814/.

All Change!

Hey All! Welcome to the new home of Stuff By Joey! Here, you’ll see the same quality content as seen on the blogger version that you have come to expect starting April 1st (and that’s no April Fool). While I get to work on the new content and build up a fresh backlog some classic posts will be appearing for the first little while. The Faerielands serial will be back with first the appearance of Into the Faerielands starting November 9th. Thank you so much for your patience and I hope that you’re all as excited as I am!