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| Received
December 1st, 2006:
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| MARKETING ROCKY
BALBOA AS "THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST 2" |
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Have
you heard the recent joke that Hollywood was so amazed by the
popularity of The Passion of the Christ that they’ve
been working on a sequel? Well, it may not be a joke after
all. Motive Entertainment, the marketing firm that helped
make The Passion the most profitable film about Jesus
since E.T. the Extraterrestial, is trying desperately to repeat their
success by promoting Rocky Balboa as a faith-based film
that all Christians should see when it opens in theaters on
December 22nd. Yes, Rocky, that lovable down-and-out boxer who
defies the odds in life and in the ring, has been resurrected
for his sixth and (hopefully) last movie. This time, according
to Motive, Rocky’s latest “spiritual journey” will help
Christians learn about faith, courage, victory, and redemption
as they watch his face get pummeled into ground chuck one more
time. Apparently, Jim Caviezel ain’t got nothing on Rocky.
Earlier in November, Motive sent an email to thousands of
church leaders around the country to promote Rocky Balboa
as the perfect Christian entertainment and evangelism
vehicle, and then directed them to their marketing site,
www.rockyresources.com.
Once you go to the website, you will find a treasure trove of
resources for churches to tie themselves into the movie. There
are Rocky Balboa outreach materials and discussion
guides (with scriptural references) available for church
groups, plus plenty of quotes from prominent Christian leaders
praising the film for it’s powerful Christian themes. As
Sister Rose Picatte says, "I guess if there's one theme that
stood out for me it was the whole idea of self esteem."
Oh, yeah, Jesus was all about self-esteem.
Of course, the most compelling argument for Christians
seeing the film comes from Sylvester Stallone himself. In an
online
audio interview
on the website, Sly explains how the character of Rocky, from
the very first movie, has been some sort of Christ figure who
is “chosen” by God to suffer on the road to redemption and be
“elevated.” According to Stallone, at the end of Rocky
Balboa, Rocky will be seen walking away, fading from view,
and disappearing, as if he “ascended.” The viewer is left to
ponder if Rocky is now sitting at the right hand of Don King
in that big boxing ring in the sky.
And just so you know, Stallone says he’s a Christian, a
Catholic to be exact, so don’t cast aspersions on his motives.
This isn’t about some calculated marketing campaign to compel
Christians into spending millions of dollars to see his
re-imagined passion play. How could it be? Then again, how do
we know? After listening to Sly talk about how important Jesus
is to his moral living, physical fitness, and his success as a
movie star, I just pray that his faith is grounded in
something a lot deeper than a Hollywood version of "Your Best
Life Now."
Personally, I’m not holding out much hope that
Christians will flock to this film for biblical edification
and evangelical opportunities anyway. For entertainment,
maybe; but for inspirational teaching, no. If Christians
really want to learn more about faith and redemption, they
should probably stay home and study their Bibles or help out
at a local outreach center to witness for Christ.
As far as being a marketing tool for Christianity, I think Rocky
is down for the count. Jesus and His Gospel? Now there's a
compelling story that isn't a work of Hollywood fiction, and
never will be. |
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