Evangelicals miss big picture in Hollywood
William Romanowski, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences
USA Today
February 5, 2005

The Passion 's numbers were an eye-opener for Hollywood. ... Consumers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on religious books and Christian-themed music. The film industry wants to cultivate this market. The problem Hollywood faces as it seeks to maximize this potential audience is that "evangelical" Christians are not easy to define. But one thing is certain: The major portion of that market no longer thinks that only films rated G or those based on Bible stories are appropriate for evangelical consumption. There is a market for more wholesome fare, with or without a religious theme, and it needn't be just for children. ...

People of goodwill ought to be concerned with the cumulative impact of a steady diet of American movies that often exalt self-interest as the supreme human value, glorify violent resolutions to problems, make finding the perfect mate one's primary vocation and highest destiny, and offer material prosperity as the most reliable source of meaning and satisfaction in this life. Such a value system arguably runs against the grain of most religious traditions.

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