Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 10/27/23

Here’s a look at what’s happening media-wise as we move into the holiday season.

Don McLean’s Christmas Memories. The music legend has just released his latest album. Arriving today, Christmas Memories: Remixed & Remastered boasts twelve tracks and features such classic yuletide numbers as Blue Christmas, Let It Snow, White Christmas, Oh Little Town of Bethlehem and, of course, Silent Night. The man who served up American Pie has soft spot for the holiday, sharing “I remember as a kid sitting around the record player and listening to music with my family. We all had our favorites, which we played over and over again. All the greats from Bing Crosby to Gene Autry influenced me.”

Netflix’ Light shines in Nashville. Bestselling author Jessica Turner (Stretched Too Thin), fashion and lifestyle expert Hunter Premo and singer Natalie Grant co-hosted a Music City screening and discussion about Netflix’s nonmusical All the Light We Cannot See. The tense World War II drama with a theme of light overcoming darkness is based on Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. The much-anticipated four-part epic stars Louis Hoffman (of the German sci-fi series Dark), Hugh Laurie, Mark Ruffalo and newcomer Aria Maria Loberti, who is herself legally blind, as a young blind woman being pursued by the Nazis. After seeing the film, Turner (who remembers reading the book nine years ago) gave what may be the ultimate praise for a film based on a beloved book when she remarked that it “made me feel the exact same way I felt when I read the book. So powerful!”

All the Light We Cannot See premieres  on Netflix next Thursday (11/2).
_____

A biblical Smallville. That’s how you might describe Young David. The five-episode animated adventure series follows the fictional adventures of the slingshot-wielding boy who would grow up to defeat a giant and become King David. Young David will be available on the Minno Kids and Angel Studios streaming platforms beginning November 10.

Minno CEO Erick Goss declares “Young David is a groundbreaking endeavor that blends state-of-the-art animation with timeless tales of faith and virtue cherished by God’s people globally. We’ve taken great care to ensure this series speaks to the heart, offering not just entertainment but also a celebration of shared values and lessons that transcend time. We’re excited to partner with Angel Studios and Slingshot Productions to offer a series that can delight families around the world.”

Executive Producer Phil Cunningham has high hopes for the show, saying “We believe that Young David will ignite and inspire children to trust and explore, through relationship, the incredible character and heart of God. Animation is a wonderful medium to connect across race, cultural, age and gender barriers and we have produced Young David to the highest quality possible, leaving no stone unturned and working with the world’s best artists.”

Those artists include creative talent whose resumes include creating family-friendly fare at major studios such as  DreamWorks, Pixar, Sony, Disney, Lucas Films, Sesame Workshop, PBS, Scholastic, Discovery Kids, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and The Jim Henson Company.

The series also serves as a prequel to the full-length animated feature film David which is set to be released in 2025. In the meantime, check out the trailer for Young David below.

_____

Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings) and John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones) to headline the scripted podcast Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. The four-part  audio version of Charles Dickens holiday classic, presented by Hope Media Group and Compassion International in partnership with KSBJ and WayFM will leave everything to the listener’s imagination and will be available wherever you find your podcasts on November 16th.
_____

Three examples of how TV and movie critics are out of touch with audiences.

1. From The Hollywood Reporter: Bill Burr’s Netflix movie Old Dads sharply divides critics (and) audiences. The comedian co-wrote, directed and stars in the movie about a middle-aged guy (and new father) warring against a culture he sees as heavy on sensitivity and light on common sense. The film debuted at No. 1 on the streamer’s weekly Top 10 Movies list – perhaps indicating a latent audience out there for content that lampoons the judgmental and humorless idiocy of our age. That’s why I tuned in. More after the trailer.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, “the comedy currently has an abysmal 17 percent score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, yet an impressive 90 percent positive rating for its audience score.” Such audience-critic divisions are, of course, nothing new. I’m among those people who tend to be leery about movies and TV shows the critics are gushing over and am apt to think there might be something to like about productions they single out for special derision. For example, an AP critic deriding the movie as “a meandering, unfunny assault on PC culture that would seem perfectly in place in the 1990s alongside Illiberal Education by Dinesh D’Souza and the rantings of Pat Buchanan” really tends to pique my interest.

However, in the case of Old Dads, while I really like the fact that the critics by-and-large hated it, unfortunately, IMHO the execution was a bit off. Burr’s character’s inability to control his anger ended up making him come off as the problem rather than the ripe-for-picking Woke absurdities he’s standing up against. Still, the fact that so many people tuned in (and many apparently liked the movie more than I ended up liking it) demonstrates to me that smart content providers should really be in the market for more concepts that prick the pretensions of Woke virtue signalers.

Speaking of virtue signaling…

2. Variety’s Senior TV Features Editor Emily Longeretta obsesses over the supposed backlash over Great American Media not featuring LGBTQ+ storylines in its programming. In an interview with company CEO Bill Abbott she really pressed him on the issue to which he responded “The first thing we think about is a great storyline or great characters or an emotional journey. We’re not seeking to do anything or not do anything and we take every day as it comes.” As they say on Family Feud, “Good answer.”

IMHO, it would be one thing if Great American Media was out there bashing LGBTQ+ people. That would be mean and wrong – and it’s certainly not what they’re doing. What they are doing is serving their traditional family-oriented viewers by offering programming that speaks to them. Attempting to bully the company into doing otherwise would be like trying to pressure Logo to feature more Christian programming. It’s just not their audience. So, leave them alone. Let everybody be who they are.

3. TV Line Senior Editor Ryan Schwartz thinks it important that George Sr. (Lance Barber) be unfaithful to his wife on Young Sheldon.The idea being that the older Sheldon (Jim Parsons) alluded to such an affair on Young Sheldon‘s parent series The Big Bang Theory. Talk about not knowing the audience. The essential decency of the everyman character of George Sr. is an essential part of the show’s appeal. Yes, he’s imperfect but he has consistently sacrificed for his family and would do nothing to hurt any of them – including his wife. Add to that the fact that the elder Sheldon’s recollection of an incident (which he caught only a glimpse of) could very plausibly be shown be a misperception on the part of his younger self. Yes, the show will have to deal with George Sr.’s coming death (which is an inescapable part of Sheldon’s revealed backstory) but there is no need to depict him as being unfaithful. The fans of the show (of which I am one) simply don’t want it.

_____

Two more reasons to love baseball.

1. Team spirit. As the World Series kicks off tonight Texas Rangers Pitcher Chris Stratton and Arizona Diamondbacks Outfielder Pavin Smith will be competing against each other on   on the baseball field. Off field, however, they have come together in support of The Fight for First which helps impoverished mothers and infants around the world struggling with a lack of resources, delivery complications, malnutrition and preventable diseases.

It’s a tragic reality that thousands of babies around the world won’t make it to their first birthday. Every year, 2.6 million babies in poverty don’t survive their first 28 days and most of those die within the first week of life due to preterm birth or delivery complications. Approximately 830 women die each day from pregnancy or childbirth complications.

To address this ongoing crisis, Compassion International launched the The Fight for First global initiative to raise $7.5 million to fund 500 Compassion Survival Centers to help mothers and babies in the developing world and help these children reach their first year. The centers provide prenatal care, a birth attendant to assist during childbirth, nutritious food, clean water, medical care and child development education, as well as spiritual and emotional support. In communities with Compassion Survival Centers in Ethiopia, for example, infant mortality rates dropped from 31 out of 1,000 to almost zero. Similarly in Togo, attended birth and immunization rates improved from 48% to 98%.

The cause feels personal for Stratton who says “The Fight for First is helping pregnant moms not only safely deliver their children, but get those children to their first birthdays…As a father of young children myself, I have seen how babies are incredibly vulnerable when they are born. If we can get these children through their first year, the odds of their survival increase dramatically.”

2. Miracles happen. As she gets ready to watch Game One of the World Series tonight, Atlanta resident Stephanie Davis tells me she was rooting for the Braves to go all the way. Though that didn’t quite pan out this year, she’s still a baseball fan. No matter who’s in the Series though, her heart really belongs to to players of The Miracle League. As the Conyers, Georgia-based organization’s national program director she has seen its team members utilize the game of baseball to overcome their disabilities and go on to become contributors to society. Serving about 50,000 children and some adults in 320 local leagues in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, The Miracle League allows children with physical and mental handicaps to play baseball “no matter their ability.” Davis says The Miracle League is important because it serves a population that has never had an opportunity be part of a team and to make friends. She says “the social aspect of it has been the real success of our program.”

Go baseball!

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.