I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Douglas Beaumont, about his book The Message Behind the Movie—Reboot: Engaging Film without Disengaging Faith (Ignatius Press, 2022).
Douglas earned a Ph.D. in theology from North-West University and an M.A. in apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary, where he taught for several years before coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. He has since appeared on The Journey Home and Catholic Answers Live, and has been interviewed by The National Catholic Register, EWTN, and Relevant Radio, among other outlets. He is also the author of Evangelical Exodus, and has contributed to Mind, Heart, and Soul: Intellectuals and the Path to Rome, Bumper Sticker Catholicism, The Best Catholic Writing, and The Apologetics Study Bible for Students. He has also written for Catholic Answers Magazine, The National Catholic Register, Catholic World Report, and can be found online at douglasbeaumont.com.
In my Foreword to the book I wrote:
I wish I had this five-star book thirty years ago! It’s wonderful for all ages, but I see it as the message behind the movie—reboot especially helpful for young people who are trying to navigate a world sinking in screens. Beaumont covers so much ground with such engaging ease, adroitly handling the art of movie making and movie watching, theology, philosophy, apologetics, and evangelization. He handles all of the varied topics and themes like a masterful film director. The sections on story and storytelling are worth the price of admission alone. The world is hungry for good stories, but people too often settle for dull, shallow, or sensational rot. Christians, who know The Greatest Story Ever Told and who are disciples of the Greatest Storyteller of All, should better understand the ins-and-outs of stories and how their cinematic expression impacts and influences viewers. There’s more to the story, as the saying goes, and Beaumont presents it without ever resorting to special effects or Al Pacino-like yelling.
You can also listen to and download this interview at Ignatius Press Podcast site.
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I have reached the conclusion in my dotage that paying for and spending time watching a film that does not clearly edify my faith and the living out of my religion is clearly not worth it.
Not yet in a dotage, still I agree. Have you seen “Alive”? My review and praise are in a comment under one of CWR’s several articles about it.
“Can anything good come out of Hollywood?” I would say not in any significant percentage. I am struck by all the glowing reviews in Catholic publications of the new movie, FATHER STU. I have not seen it, but have read transcripts of dialogue in the movie. Society at large has not only become a crude culture, but apparently Catholics as well. This movie is currently rated AIII, for adults, while the movie industry rates it R. I have been around long enough to know that in the 1950’s the Catholic rating would have been “C” for condemned.
When adults say they are not affected by crude entertainment, I remind them that P&G spends well over a billion dollars a year in the firm belief that words and images affect peoples conduct. Are they wasting their advertising money? I doubt it.