Raining on Noah

“Noah' is the least biblical biblical film ever made”

Director Darren Aronofsky

Biblical Inaccuracy

Biblical inaccuracy in films has become an art form, the inaccuracy is intended and it has a purpose. 

Just when Christians thought that it might be safe to return to movie theatres to see Biblically based movies after what appeared to be a resurgence of the authentic genre with the release of Son of God earlier this year and the planned release of Exodus later this year, atheist and culturally Jewish director and co-writer Darren Aronofsky brings us Noah.  

Mr. Arnonofsky directed the critically acclaimed The Wrestler and The Black Swan both dark fatalistic movies replete with heavy drug abuse as a major theme.  Perfect resume for the director of Noah, huh?

The Christian market represents a sizable and significant demographic for which Hollywood has long coveted, but the studios just seem to have problems with sticking to the plot and theme because it runs counter to Hollywood’s world view.  

Despite the fact that the Bible contains lust, sex, infidelity, incest, murder, violence, and many more sensational movie worthy topics within its covers, it’s the God centered moral lessons, from which they are determined not to succumb, that's what gives Hollywood serious heartburn. 

It hasn’t always been that way, in the 1950’s Hollywood produced two all time biblical blockbusters with The Robe and The Ten Commandments.  These two giants of the silver screen were both critically acclaimed and were box office smashes, representing rites of passage for the movie going public.  

The Biblical movie genre at the time had it all  - Great actors, great stories, great box office results, the holy trinity of Hollywood success enjoying a time in the spotlight, but slowly faded from view as Hollywood sought to change the tastes of movie goers with excessively graphic language, nudity, subject matter content, and most importantly promoting a particular world view agenda.

In other words, the clear message from major Hollywood studios is Christianity is corrupt, God is a myth along with the Bible - a comic book of fables.  When was the last time you saw a Christian or Christianity portrayed favorably, it’s long been the Hollywood fashion to depict both as ignorant, dishonest, perverted, malicious…and whatever other grossly outrageous description fit their agenda. 

The prevailing motion picture industry attitude has spawned in recent years a number of independently produced Christian films offering a refreshing alternative to the standard Hollywood fare.   Fireproof – Kirk Cameron, (Drama/Romance), The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry - Gavin MacLeod, (Drama) Luther – Joseph Fiennes, Peter Ustinov, (Historical) and the just released God’s Not Dead – Shane Harper (Drama), constitute just a few successful examples of independent Christian filmmakers foray into tinsel town.

The argument has been advanced by Hollywood that literal biblical interpretation inhibits artistic latitude and expression of the screenwriters, directors, and actors.  

Au contraire, most Christians are not opposed to the degree of artistic license seen in The Passion of the Christ, e.g. Satan carrying a demonic baby during Christ's flogging, a Roman soldier calling Simon a Jew, when he is not identified as a Jew in scripture,  Judas tormented by demons who appear as children to him, et al, simply because they do not misrepresent the biblical message of the Passion.

On the other hand, The Last Temptation of Christ is gravely blasphemous, sacrilegious, and heretical – Jesus is presented as a self doubting individual who does not know or believe he is the son of God, berates his followers, confides in Judas, who is depicted as a good man, and Christ imagines himself engaged in sexual activities.  

Remember, this is the Holy Bible, the inspired word of God we are talking about giving some degree of artistic license to, not the latest film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations.

Entertainment Presented in Biblical Context

Darren Aronofsky, the director of Noah leaves no doubt his self proclaimed tour de force is impious and irrelevant to Christians, "I don’t think it’s a very religious story, I think it’s a great fable that’s part of so many different religions and spiritual practices. I just think it’s a great story that’s never been on film." 

Further testament to the director’s egregiously misplaced vision calls Noah’s ark the second most famous sea craft in history behind the Titanic - wrong director with wrong subject.  Clueless is the word that comes to mind.  Arononofsky, the atheist sets the Universalist stage and builds his own fairy tale promoting his own agenda and vision.  Noah gives new meaning to the term sacrilege. The only thing biblical about Noah is its title.

The opening of the movie is true to the director’s atheistic creed: “In the beginning there was nothing.” The Bible opens with, “In the beginning God.”

It all goes downhill from there.  

The overarching theme in this muddled fantasy -  the environment was violated (global warming) by meat eaters and that animals are more valuable than people (Noah values his animals on board the ark more than people.)  Green Peace and PETA are pleased.

Nowhere in the movie does God communicate with the principles.  The idea of building an ark comes from Noah’s father Methuselah, portrayed as witch doctor type who gives Noah a magical potion, from whence the vision of the ark comes. 

Other than Noah, his sons, father, and the ark nothing is recognizable from Genesis, we are introduced to figments of the director’s imagination - Tubal-Cain, meat eating bad guy and giant rock creatures (Watchers) to help build the ark.  Why am I thinking of the Hobbit?

Confused symbolism is evident in the snake skin that Noah wraps around his arm like a Jewish phylactery.  The serpent from the Garden of Eden?

The director confuses the story of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of his son with his farcical Noah tale, when Noah plans to kill his unborn grandchild, the child of Shem’s wife, if it is a girl (Feminists alert.)

Doubtless many will be enthralled by the special effects visuals of this contorted and confused tale of fantasy characters that disrespectfully draws its title from the Bible, is as much about the Noah of Genesis as Don Quixote.  Trample all over scripture for the purpose of making the big bucks by using an iconic biblical name.

Fantasy and the Agenda of Biblical Proportions

For centuries practical knowledge of the Holy Bible and scripture has been the hallmark of an educated person.  The Bible’s influence on virtually all of western literature and authors is immeasurable.  In today’s dumbed downed culture, it’s not surprising that accurate biblical knowledge, sadly even among some Christians, is becoming an anachronism.   As stated at the beginning this inaccuracy is intended and has a purpose.

Nowhere is the shaping of the Öffentlichkeit, the climate of public opinion, more prevalent than in the entertainment industry, movies in particular.  In fact, the world’s leading authority on Öffentlichkeit and social theory, democratic socialist Jurgen Habermas has stated that the sphere of public opinion requires the “specific means for transmitting information and influencing those who receive it.”

Simply stated, public opinion is determined and shaped by those who have the resources to accomplish it.  Habermas further holds that no political public sphere can work without the media system and the politicians.  

This means that the entertainment industry as part of the media is an essential component in shaping public opinion, reinforcing that which is already funneled through the liberal media.

So what’s this got to with the movie Noah? 

One of the many dichotomies of our high tech society is the proliferation low information people, or perhaps more accurately stated low accurate information people.  

There is an insidious amount of information available today from which many people lack the ability to recognize.  With more information at our disposal now than in the history of mankind we may have become lazy in our discernment. 

Whatever the reason(s), the repeated assault on our culture by motion pictures like Noah, presenting a world view agenda under the guise, in this case, of scripture creates more misinformation by presenting entertainment as factual in its various themes.  

Some Christians and many non Christians will accept the fanaticized depiction of the story of the Flood in Noah the movie.

As a Christian, one has to ask them self “Do I want to economically support a blasphemous interpretation of scripture, for the sake of being entertained.”

The initial returns don’t look promising.  

Under the headline of Noah Winning Over Faith Based Moviegoers of The Hollywood Reporter -  Darren Aronofsky's controversial biblical epic Noah is winning over faith-based moviegoers at the Friday box office, ending weeks of speculation as to whether the filmmaker's darker take on the story of Noah and his Ark would be a turnoff, according to early returns.

The Paramount and New Regency movie is also doing pleasing business among mainstream audiences. And now that Christian consumers are turning out in force, Noah should gross north of $41 million in its domestic launch, if not $45 million or more. The big question is how it holds up on Saturday after a $15.5 million Friday.