Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

William D. Romanowski (PhD, Bowling Green State University) is professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College and is a widely respected speaker on subjects dealing with American culture and the entertainment industry. He is the author of Reforming Hollywood and Pop Culture Wars: Religion and the Role of Entertainment in American Life, and coauthor of Risky Business: Rock in Film.

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"This revised and expanded edition of Eyes Wide Open, already a standard on the topic, widens and deepens the discourse on the popular entertainment arts. Readers will find in William Romanowski's imaginative and down-to-earth approach to popular art as art a manifesto of Christian involvement and a matrix assessment of the sights and sounds that inescapably shape our everyday life."
--Scott Young, University of Southern California

Praise for the first edition:

"This is a lively and much needed Christian perspective on the popular arts--helping the reader to move beyond a mindless acquiescence to popular culture, on the one hand, and blanket condemnation, on the other. The style is direct and accessible, giving it a natural appeal to a wide audience."
--Jeremy Begbie, Duke Divinity School

"William Romanowski confronts the culture with his eyes wide open to the negative effects it can have upon us. He also informs us of ways we can increase our understanding of the world in which we live and thus be aided in the task of addressing our culture in a relevant way. His commentary on contemporary music and films will get the Christian reader to discern things that otherwise would go unnoticed in the world around us."
--Tony Campolo, Eastern University

"In the tradition of C. S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer, William Romanowski has articulated a deep theological perspective on culture and the popular arts. He urges Christians to love music and the movies as God would have us love them--not as passive consumers but as thoughtful critics who are wide awake and enthusiastically enjoying the whole of God's creation."
--Scott Derrickson, screenwriter and director, The Exorcism of Emily Rose

"Provides a unique, evangelical perspective on the relationship between religion and popular culture that is meant to serve as a practical theological framework for laypeople. . . . Romanowski provides a change of pace from the academic perspectives dominating this field of study and offers a unique point of view that merits attention."
--Christopher Daryl Healea, Religious Studies Review

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Eyes Wide Open, REV. and Exp. Ed.

Brazos Press

Chapter One

CHRISTIANS WHO DRINK BEER

Legions of Christian consumers who claim to want uplifting dramas about missionaries may, in reality, prefer to watch Friends, Disney, MTV and the Atlanta Braves with everyone else.
Terry Mattingly, Scripps Howard News Service

Syndicated columnist Cal Thomas wrote a story in 1999 about aSouth Carolina movie exhibitor who decided to stop showing R-ratedmovies at his theater and offer only family-oriented pictures. Withina month, however, ticket sales dropped from 2,000 to 1,200. Duringthe holiday season, when families usually turn out for Hollywoodspectacles, profits were off 50 percent in November and 32 percentin December. The exhibitor became "rather cynical" and booked R-ratedfilms again: "You can't make people want something they don'twant," he concluded.

    The owner of a major Hollywood studio reached the same conclusionas early as 1916. He polled theater owners and reported that"instead of finding that 95 per cent favored clean pictures, I discoveredat least half, and maybe 60 per cent, want the pictures to be`risque.'... They found their patrons were more willing to pay moneyto see an off-color than a decent one." Religious reformers in the firsthalf of this century would not have been the least bit surprised. Theybelieved that human nature is sinful, so people will always demandthe explicit and sensational. And they reasoned that if mass entertainerswere to be profitable, they would have to cater to the public'sdesire for the lurid and salacious.

    Beginning in the 1980s, however, Christian reformers began toassert the opposite of their historical counterparts?they said themajority of people want clean and decent entertainment. (The SouthCarolina movie exhibitor apparently believed them, at least for awhile.) The problem, according to these critics, is that the entertainmentindustry lost touch with the hopes and attitudes of this "familyvalues" audience. An increase in family-oriented programming, theymaintain, will send profits up and controversial elements like profanity,sex, and violence down and out. Moreover, citing surveysshowing that a majority of Americans identify themselves as Christians,they argue for popular art that reflects "the biblical perspectiveshared by most Americans."

    To explain the strategy behind Christian music's crossover into themainstream market, a Word Records executive in 1984 cited statisticsshowing that just under half of all Americans were in some way involvedin church, roughly 100 million people at that time. But only 10 percentshopped at Christian book and record stores, where most Christianrecordings were sold. "That means we still have a huge untapped marketin that 90 million," he said. "It is for all intents and purposes a secularmarket that's not going to be offended by our message. That'swhere our next thrust is going to be." The crossover projects of artistslike Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, and others are designed to appealto that broader Christian community?not the unsaved listeners ofBillboard's Top 200 Albums. Two decades later, industry insiders arestill trying to make inroads with the churchgoing audience.

    Right from the start, contemporary Christian music was includedin the programming on the family-friendly network PAX TV. "We'rereally going after a mainstream audience [so we can] introduce therest of the TV world to contemporary Christian music," a network executivesaid. According to one report, founder Lowell "Bud" Paxson'sdecision to establish an alternative to "the 'violence, sex and obscenity'on network television," was a result of his Christian faith. "I don'tthink we're here to replace the church," he explained, but evangelismis still a driving force. The greatest challenge for Christian broadcasters,he said, is "Getting the message of Jesus Christ and the Bible,God's Word, to these people?the churched and unchurched?insuch a fashion that it gets ratings." By all appearances, PAX TV is countingon the large population of people who claim to be Christians totune in for family-oriented syndicated shows like Touched by anAngel; Christy; I'll Fly Away; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; DiagnosisMurder; Promised Land; and Highway to Heaven.

    Likewise, family-friendly film critic Ted Baehr wants to clean upHollywood by persuading studio executives to market to "the vastmajority of moral Americans." Baehr points out that "all the researchI've seen confirms that Christian families watch movies just as muchas unchurched families." And noting a 1991 poll showing that "86.5percent of all Americans are believing Christians and another 2.5 percentare Jewish," he writes, "it is financially prudent for Hollywoodexecutives to understand and target this vast audience if they wantto survive and prosper."

    The Dove Foundation, a nonprofit, pro-family group, employs thesame rationale. Dove President Dick Rolfe petitions Hollywood formore "wholesome family entertainment" based on the existence of"the huge untapped market of consumers who want exciting movies,but without explicit portrayals of sex, violence and profanity." Evenif Hollywood is making more family-oriented films, he contends, "itwill take years to get the supply anywhere near the demand."

    For these and other entrepreneurs, that "untapped market," that "vastaudience" of Christians is the winning ticket?a huge audience not onlyfor Christian and family-friendly popular art and criticism but also foradvertisers and merchandisers. In a typical week, around one-quarterof all adults has some contact with Christian media through television,radio, books, or magazines. (Of course, some individuals consideredThe Paul Harvey Report and Rush Limbaugh?Live! to be Christianradio programs.) But so far, media experts have been largely unable tosuccessfully exploit that market. Producers have not been able to galvanizethe family audience into a consistent and driving force in filmor television. The vast majority of people in the United States who claimto be Christians listen to very little contemporary Christian music. Thismust be frustrating for Christian media critics whose stern warningsagainst "secular" productions are apparently ignored.

    Baehr's Movieguide, for example, gave the blockbuster film Titanican "Extreme Caution" rating and concluded:

While everyone can enjoy the beauty of the set and appreciate the tragedy, moral Americans may be offended at the foul language, brief upper female nudity, implied fornication, and some scary scenes. On the other hand, families protect families, a Christian church service is held and a priest recites prayers and the Bible. Titanic is not for children, but those who are not offended by the foul language, nudity and fornication may be moved by this tragic tale.

   Obviously there are some people who value this kind of criticism.One reader "found it offensive" that a film reviewer for a Christianmagazine would promote Titanic, "a movie he admits has nudityand strong language," and there are others who think that immoralelements nullify the overall value of a film. "We can find a few moviesthat perhaps have some positive values but those are negated bythrowing in partial nudity, sexual references, and profanity," BillJohnson of the Michigan American Family Association said. "TrueChristians don't want the negatives, regardless of how small theamount." However, considering Titanic's record-shattering box-officeperformance worldwide, there must be an incredible numberof people (including "moral Americans" and even "true Christians")who, despite warnings about offensive elements, were not disturbedenough to stay away.

    Then who is this "vast audience" of Christians who show up in surveyafter survey? What bearing does their Christian faith have on theirlives and, in particular, their understanding of popular art and culture?And why have "Christian" productions been able to do no morethan scratch the surface of this potential audience?

WHAT THEY BELIEVE

    Survey after survey shows that most Americans are religious, andthat among the religious, most see themselves as Christians. But thesame surveys reveal a wide range of opinions about what it means tobe a Christian. Sixty-seven percent of the adult population in theUnited States?that's two out of every three adults?say they havemade a "personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still importantin their life today." But only 41 percent of these same people say theyare "absolutely committed," while another 44 percent say they are"moderately committed" to the faith. Moreover, only one-third of theadult public identifies themselves as a "born-again Christian"; two-thirdsof all Americans had no idea what the term "evangelical" means.

    Americans swear by the Bible; over 80 percent believe the Bible isthe inspired Word of God. But apparently they don't read it. Onlytwenty percent of Americans have read the whole Bible, 17 percentread it daily, and nearly 50 percent of those surveyed rarely or neverread the Bible. Fifty-nine percent said they didn't have time, and 40percent said the Bible was too hard to understand. Americans believein the power of prayer (82 percent), but 53 percent agree that "all peoplepray to the same god or spirit, no matter what name they use forthat spiritual being."

    What about the Great Commission, the command Jesus gave tohis followers to "make disciples of the nations"? Eighty-four percentof adults "could not even hazard a guess" as to what the term meant.And John 3:16? Sixty-three percent of the population had no clue whatit refers to, and only half of those who said they were born-again Christiansknew it as a verse from the Bible addressing salvation.

    Nevertheless, 81 percent of Americans believe in the existence ofheaven and 61 percent think that is where they will go immediatelyafter death (another 15 percent said purgatory). Sixty-three percentbelieve in hell, but only 1 percent believe that will be their final destination.No surprise there. When asked, "Which of the following doyou believe are in heaven?" along with angels and Saint Peter, 43 percentsaid harps, and 36 percent halos. All things considered, it is easyto see why George Gallup Jr. concludes, "The stark fact is, most Americansdon't know what they believe or why."

CHRISTIANS WHO DRINK BEER

    Based on extensive polling, George Barna identifies seven faithgroups in America. The four Christian categories are:

1. Biblical Christianity: full acceptance of the authority of the Bible, total trust in Christ for salvation, involvement in evangelism, active participation in the life of a church, desire for intense spiritual development, life informed by faith principles, moral absolutes exist.
2. Conventional Christianity: total trust in Christ for salvation, involvement in church life, appreciation for the Bible, general privatization of faith, life only vaguely influenced by faith views, morality is relative.
3. Cultural Christianity: universalism and works-based theology, nominal church involvement ("Christmas Christians"), nonpracticing, Christian in name and (perhaps) heritage only, morality is relative.
4. New Age Practitioner: faith as a private matter, religious principles from variety of sources, no centralized religious authority, deity intermingled with self, more focused upon religious consciousness than religious practice.

    Within the first two categories at least, there is a sizeable, if somewhatnebulous, group composed of evangelicals, mainline Protestants,and Catholics, who are more or less affirming of contemporaryculture. Earlier generations might have rejected many of the valuesand practices of the dominant culture. Today, however, drinking,dancing, movies, popular music, and television are commonplace,even among evangelicals, who "are becoming more like their fellowAmericans in their comfort with popular culture," as one scholarobserves. I've heard that one Christian entertainment executive callsthem "Christians who drink beer."

    That they generally accept established practices and standards insociety puts them, to one degree or another, in harmony with theprevalent cultural attitudes and values. Like most Americans, theytend to privatize their faith, confining religion to family and local congregation,while conducting their affairs in business, politics, education,social life, and the arts much like everyone else. While they maywork hard (and even in excess), they do so primarily for personal gainand fulfillment and probably do not think very much about their vocationas a calling from God. They tend variously to value personal spiritualityover organized religion, individual over ecclesiastical authority,and to be tolerant of other faiths.

    These Christians know the joys, the trials, and the temptations oflife; they are not immune to problems, and their lives are not freefrom tensions and struggles. A level of uncertainty colors their world,which is propelled by continual change, new technologies, an increasinglyglobal economy, and shifting political ideologies. They searchfor meaning?to be certain about how to live and to understand whythings happen as they do?and the popular arts help them navigatethrough life. These Christians do not think of pleasure, passion, andpersonal gratification as sinful, but value leisure and do not disapproveof entertainment. According to a 1993 survey, over 80 percentof those evangelicals, mainline Protestants, and Roman Catholicswho attend church almost weekly or more also go to the movies. Ifthey are parents, they want to establish and maintain good mediaviewing habits for themselves and their children. They have someconcern about the effect the media might be having on families andsociety.

    In sum, these Christians are not hostile to the mainstream culture,but are familiar enough with it to recognize Christianized versionsfor what they are?sanitized and usually inferior imitations, so mostChristian popular art has limited appeal among this group. VeggieTalesmight entertain their children, and they probably listen to somecontemporary Christian music and spot evangelical programs whilechannel surfing, but Christian productions represent a small part oftheir pop-culture diet.

    This has puzzled Christian record executives for some time now.As one put it, "Why is our served market so small in proportion to thenumber of Christians?" There was speculation for a time that it wasinferior production quality, a lack of exposure for the music, or poorand limited distribution, but the industry has largely overcome theseproblems and is still only reaching a small percentage of people whoprofess to be Christians. A Christian record executive once admitted,"Even if the music product measures up on so many levels?creatively,artistically, commercially?there's still the spiritual dimension, andsometimes at least, our Christian agenda continues to be an obstacle."Mainstream record executives have told Christian bands thattheir explicit Christian content limits their crossover success.

    Some will argue that many people don't listen to Christian musicbecause they are hostile to hearing about God, but even those whomake a claim to the faith are not avid listeners. There is a more persuasiveexplanation. If you listen to most contemporary Christianmusic, you would think that all Christians do is worship and evangelize;of course, if you listen to Top 40 radio, you would think thatall people do is fall in and out of love. But it seems that one reasonwhy so many Christians pay little attention to Christian music is thatthey are already firm in the faith and don't need to be evangelized.They don't want to be preached at, but instead want popular musicand stories that are fun and entertaining, artistically good and sometimesinnovative, but that are also concerned with addressing theissues of life with artistic flair. And wouldn't it be great if there werepopular artworks that were stylistically innovative, thematicallyinteresting, and that brought a Christian perspective to bear on importantissues? But since they don't find much of that at Christian book andrecord stores, they shop at the mainstream outlets. In this sense, theyare like what one observer of British culture called the "post-evangelical,"in that they "look at culture more positively and testifyto feeling more stimulation?even spiritual stimulation?from `secular'sources than they do from sources within the evangelical subculture."If you talk with Christian young people, for example, youwill find that in many thoughtful ways they are truly inspired by non-Christianrecording artists like the Dave Matthews Band and CountingCrows. Clearly the music these groups produce captures a senseof religious longing and daily struggle that resonates with youngbelievers. Likewise, it is not surprising that the gritty issues of liferaised in popular films like Good Will Hunting or The Matrix speakmeaningfully to many devoted Christians.

CHRISTIANS CONSUMING POPULAR ART

    There is little doubt that despite the admonishment of ministersand media critics, Christians consume their share of mainstream popularculture. They go to movies (even R-rated ones), rent videos (eventhe director's cut), watch Must See TV, and purchase CDS that top theBillboard charts. Considering all the warnings we get about the potentialdangers of the popular arts, if Christians are not going to completelyabstain, then you might think they would want to be "asshrewd as snakes" in discerning today's entertainment.

    But people apparently are often willing to pay for what they disapproveof. For example, in one survey, three-fourths of single Christianadults thought "movies containing vulgarities, explicit sex,nudity, and antibiblical messages had an adverse effect on their moraland spiritual condition," but at least half of these same peopleapproved of films that included these very ingredients. People mightshare attitudes about the popular arts?that television is having anegative effect on individuals and society, that most movies aren'tworth the price of the popcorn, that pop singers and Hollywoodcelebrities have too much influence with young people?but theseattitudes do not necessarily reflect their behavior. These same peoplestill go to the movies, have more than one television set in theirhomes, and purchase videos and CDS.

    I think there are two issues at work here. Despite fears and warningsabout the potential dangers of the entertainment media, mostpeople believe that they are personally immune. Other people mightbe negatively affected, but they are not. Those who are convincedthat the "worldly amusements" do indeed threaten their own moraland spiritual purity usually avoid mainstream productions as muchas possible and limit themselves to Christianized versions.

    Also, like most people, Christians generally think of the populararts as entertainment, downtime after a long day, or a social activityto be enjoyed with friends. They don't think too much about the filmsand videos they watch or the music they listen to. When it comes tomovies and television shows, a lot of people don't get much beyonda thumbs-up, thumbs-down approach. The old American Bandstandstandard?"It's got a good beat and you can dance to it"?suffices fordetermining musical quality.

    I have met many Christians who told me that they don't really knowhow to discuss a movie or television show very deeply or talk aboutthe latest CD. They think theft faith should matter when it comes topopular art, but in the absence of distinctly Christian critical tools,they simply defer to vague personal tastes and preferences. Peoplelike or dislike particular movies, concerts, or TV shows, but are notalways sure why and sometimes even seem to feel guilty about theirenjoyment. As we would expect, many people are uncertain aboutwhat they are experiencing and what effect it might be having.

    There is no doubt that the popular arts have some kind of effect.But what is the nature of that effect? The persuasive power of the populararts comes from their roles and capacities as art. As representationsof life, the popular arts can influence behavior, shape attitudesand opinions, and inform perspectives.

    Social science research shows that whatever impact the populararts have is not universal but particular to individuals and, in somesense, communities, and is mediated by a host of variables. We mighthave very different reactions to popular artworks based on age, personaltemperament, viewing skills, gender, sexual orientation, raceand ethnicity, family and neighborhood, education, community standards,political perspective, or social and economic status.

     Also, it is not an isolated movie, song, or television program thathas an effect on viewers. It is the cumulative effect of viewing theworld portrayed in the popular arts that has the power to persuade?overtime and with the influence of many, many films, TV shows, andCDS. This leads us to one of the most frequently debated questionsabout popular art: Does the entertainment media reflect or shapesociety?

    To argue that popular art reflects society is to oversimplify what isreally a complex process. Popular artworks are a reflection of societyinsofar as they address contemporary issues and treat them in waysconsistent with current perspectives, but the popular arts are nevermerely a reflection. In the course of representing or portraying ourlives and culture, the popular arts popularize and glamorize the ideals,values, attitudes, and beliefs that exist within our culture. In this way,the popular arts contribute to the power of culture to shape lives. Thepopular arts reflect a culture they help to create.

    It is important, then, for Christians to be able to understand andcritique the dominant worldview in the mainstream popular arts. Oneway we can make progress in this is by establishing communitiescapable of discernment and active interpretation. Scholars call sucha community an interpretive community. An interpretive communityis made up of a group of people?friends, teachers, pastors, churchmembers, reviewers who write for publications or websites, and otherswho share a common vision for engaging popular art. We read inProverbs, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another"(Prov. 27:17). This kind of community can mitigate the influence ofthe popular arts by helping people learn how to recognize and evaluatethe perspectives they encounter. It can also demonstrate thatthe popular audience is actually structured into different taste groupsthat represent various worldviews and different strategies for interpretingpopular art.

    Before we can get into the ins and outs of popular art, we have toconsider the relationship between faith and culture. This issue is ascentral to a Christian approach to popular art as it can be contentiousand confusing. In Clueless, a movie about high-school life, Chef (AliciaSilverstone) is asked, "What's a Monet?" She responds: "It's like apainting, see? From far away, it's OK, but up close, it's a big old mess."Trying to understand the dynamics of faith, worldview, and culturecan be a lot like that?the closer you get, the more it seems to be a bigold mess. Nevertheless, a perspective, that vision of life an individualor interpretative community holds, is fashioned through a complexprocess involving faith, culture, and worldview. Ideas about culturenot only set parameters for Christian involvement but also shape thecharacter of "Christian" popular art and criticism and determine whatthe legitimate roles are for popular art to serve. Insofar as all popularartworks are embedded in cultural perspectives, the distinct featuresof a Christian perspective provide a standpoint and framework forinterpretation, reflection, and criticism.

    How do we go about cultivating Christian interpretive communities?We begin by understanding that the whole world?and all thatis true and beautiful in it?belongs to God.

Continues...

Excerpted from Eyes Wide Open, REV. and Exp. Ed.by William D. Romanowski Copyright © 2007 by William D. Romanowski. Excerpted by permission.
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