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COMMUNISM IN HOLLYWOOD Yes, Hollywood is a tarnished lady and has sold us out, but is she unredeemable? When I listened to Geoff Botkin's "Hollywood's Most Despised Villain," I was not convinced that Hollywood had ever been a target of Communist strategists. I had been studying Hollywood for almost thirty years, and knew of very few films besides Warren Beatty's Reds that I would say was sympathetic to Communism. I felt Mr. Bodkin was preaching from fanaticism due to his own conversion from Communism, much as my dad used to preach relentlessly against the evils of smoking after he had given up cigarettes. People who have been converted from something tend to be the biggest opponents to it, even to the point of fanaticism, sometimes even to the point of going on a witch hunt against those who still practice it. So, I was skeptical. When you read about McCarthyism and the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings back in the 50's, the evidence is pretty much divided. Neither side seems particularly convincing. The most convincing evidence I know of is the fact that Ronald Reagan said there were a lot of communists in his profession. I believe Ronald Reagan. But I came across another piece of evidence recently that I believe helps support Mr. Bodkin's position. It's a film called Man On A String from 1960. It stars Ernest Borgnine who plays a double agent posing as a film director in Hollywood, and is based on the book by Boris Morros in which he describes his own real-life adventures as a double agent in Hollywood. It's an interesting little film, and adds credence to the notion that, at one time, Hollywood did play footsie with the reds. It was shot on location in both East and West Berlin, which alone makes the film worth watching. In spite of this, there was still a strong pro-American contingency in Hollywood during the studio era, headed up by director John Ford, his producer Merian C. Cooper, and actor John Wayne. Ford and Cooper, along with Wayne and others in their troop, believed in America and the values that made her great, including Christianity. They weren't afraid to speak up about them, and you can see the evidence of their convictions in their body of work, which includes close to two hundred films. I seriously doubt if all the films made by all the Communist sympathizers in Hollywood would measure up to that list in quantity or quality. And that's just one group. There were others who felt the same way. So, yes, Hollywood is a tarnished lady; but is she unredeemable? My pastor recently taught a series on the book of Daniel called "Standing Up in a Sit Down World." His first teaching in the series is called, "A Tale of Two Cities," in which he contrasts the two prominent cities talked about in Scripture: Zion, the city of God, and Babylon, the city of Man. You can listen to the series by going to http://perimeter-worship.followers.net/Sound_Resources.Listen_to_messages In that first message he talks about how God is God, not only of Zion, but also of Babylon. Scripture is clear that it ticks God off when people limit Him by saying that He is God of this or that, but not of some other things. God's sovereignty is over all creation, not just parts of it. So, to say that God is not the God of Hollywood and that Hollywood is unredeemable is almost blasphemy. Hollywood belongs to God, just as Zion does, and both exist for His people's use and for His glory. I know that those who believe in the idea of "Outside Hollywood" aren't saying, specifically, that Hollywood doesn't belong to God and is unredeemable; but it is implied. We are all against the World's systems, and can see how Hollywood fits into those systems; but that is no reason to write it off because, at one time, we were all part of the World and its systems. Yet, we weren't written off. Someone believed that we could be redeemed, and Someone did redeem us. I know it's easier to think about redeeming people than systems, governments, institutions and companies. But I believe God wants us to redeem everything our hands touch and our eyes see. All things should be for His glory, not just some. In his ground-breaking book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn says that one day all things that glorify God will be resurrected - not just people, but books, movies, buildings, etc. What we are doing now is storing up for that resurrection day. We are saving as much as possible from this present, imperfect world to be carried over into that future, perfect world. I know it seems easier to go off and start a new city rather than stay and try to change a present one. You could almost say that is a form of running away from a problem rather than staying and facing it. And isn't that what Christians are most guilty of? Isn't that where all the denominations and church splits have come from? Rather than working through our problems and seeking unity in our particular church, we find it easier to go off and start a new one. That way, our pride can remain intact. You see the same thing in companies that split, nations that split, marriages that split. It is almost always sin that causes it, and usually pride, if not greed and lust as well. Couldn't you say the same thing about an industry that splits? Do we really want two Hollywoods - one inside and one outside? Or, if you don't like that analogy, two film industries - one Christian and one non-Christian? I don't, because God didn't put me here to make movies. He put me here to save the lost. I'm not going to find too many lost souls in an all-Christian industry. As my pastor says, go out and mix things up with the unbelievers. You can't do that by hiding behind the walls of Christendom. You've got to go out into the streets of Babylon to find the lost. Oh, I know, there are people within the Church that need to be redeemed. I think those are goats. I don't think God put us here to spend our lives trying to convert goats to sheep. There are true, lost sheep out in the streets. Let God take care of the goats. My pastor is not just a man of words, he has followed his words with action. His own son, a graduate of film school, is out in Hollywood right now making a difference for the Kingdom. He's working inside Hollywood. I'm not saying that is for everyone. As a matter of fact, my pastor says, if you don't think you can handle it out there in Babylon without becoming a Babylonian yourself, don't go out. But that is where the greatest opportunities to impact the Kingdom are. So you should want to go out. I don't believe Hollywood is unredeemable, and I believe there are opportunities out there right now for young Christian filmmakers that have never existed before. The new trend in Christian films has caused many established film companies to form divisions devoted to making what they see as Christian films. They need Christians that know what a real Christian film is to fill the positions in those new divisions. I'm not saying it would be easy; but if Daniel and his friends could do what they did in ancient Babylon, couldn't we do as much in Hollywood? You don't have to bow in Babylon - those guys proved that. God is still sovereign, even in Hollywood. |
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