Salvation in Film: The Apostle, Tender Mercies, Amistad, and Sergeant York

There is a popular line of youth's paraphernalia in our culture known as "WWJD" or "What Would Jesus Do?" Film is also extremely popular in our culture . Those who keep up with film as a business will note that the top grossing movies can be found in the newspapers on a weekly basis much as sports standings are listed. Each year Hollywood augments itself by churning out more films than the previous year. So in a world in which our Christian youth are asking/ "What Would Jesus Do?" we can ask/ would Jesus have gone to the movies? Most Christians today might be quick to say "No!" to this question.
Contemporary society sees movies churned out each weekend as regularly as donuts from a bakery. Like the donuts, movies come in various forms, textures, styles, and tastes. Sadly, movies are often less satisfying than donuts. After viewing a majority of what is produced these days/ audiences are left with a sour taste in their collective mouth. Hollywood deals with various onslaughts from groups who claim that film plays a prominent role in what many believe to be a moral decay in our world. Movies contain violence, sex, greed, jealousy, and foul language all in an attempt for the producers to rake in millions of dollars. Many filmmakers consider their movies to be works of art (although this is a debatable issue with many films). Like art, movies seek to entertain, provide therapy, and/or make a statement about society. Yet there are some members of society who do not always agree with the means filmmakers use to achieve their goal.