Please see my comment above addressed to “Job.”

awesome work guys! keep it up!

Even with the film being low budget they most definately got their main objective out which i believe was to keep positive and keep reaching for your dreams, doing so in a good wholesome way while keeping your christian values at the forefront.

I for one enjoyed it and will share the movie with others to also enjoy.

Anyway, is there a SOUNDTRACK to this movie? If not, please look into publishing a soundtrack- the music is amazing and I’ve spent the last hour trying to find it online.

At New Breed of Advertisers, I posted a brief note of complaint to Christian Book Distributor for carrying the movie. You can read my rant and reflection at Sunday School Musical: A rebuttal.

More info about The Asylum on Wikipedia.

Sam Van Emans last blog post..Sunday School Musical: A rebuttal

… Ok, maybe a few, but the majority do not.

Fail.

Let me address the two primary responses you offered to Carissa’s post: 1. “Sunday School Musical,” while flawed, is still better than secular TV shows and “prominently depicts and promotes” godly values. 2. Instead of criticizing the film, Carissa should make her own.

In response to your first point, the quality of a work should not be measured by its comparative value. In other words, just because other shows are worse does not necessarily make “Sunday School Musical” worthwhile. It merely means that it is better than other works.

Secondly, the fact that a film contains or promotes godly values also does not mean that it is good or worthwhile. Those values could be distorted, undermined, or trivialized by the way they are presented and the quality of their presentation.

In other words, the quality and worth of a work is not determined by how well its content reflects some basic Christian values, although that can be one criteria.

In response to your second challenge, that Carissa, “get involved” herself, I would say that she is. You seem to have constructed a false dichotomy between criticism and contributing to the production of good works. This false dichotomy is extremely dangerous and counterproductive.

It reflects a modern conception of criticism that is prominent in the Church which views all criticism as inherently destructive and useless. As long as a work does not cross certain doctrinal lines and it promotes Christian values, than no Christian has the right to criticize it, according to this ideology. This view has lead, in part at least, to decades of mediocre-to-awful work being produced by the Church. We are called to sharpen each other and speak the Truth in love. This film, “Sunday School Musical” has serious flaws which, in light of a desire to edify the Body, must be addressed. If we choose not to address them, because it does have some Christian values, then we are not loving our neighbor or the artist.

Secondly, this view assumes that we are all gifted in ways that allow us to honor God by creating art. If God has given us talents that allow us to understand and criticize the culture around us (which includes our own, Christian culture), why should we note use that talent?

Thirdly, the view of criticism you present is problematic at best. By your logic, we should never praise good works. For what is praise but positive criticism? And, as you so forcefully point out, criticism is a waste of time. We should be making good art instead of critiquing (even praising) what is made. Also by your logic you should not have commented on this post, since your comment was a critique of the article. Instead, you should have just written your own post on about “Sunday School Musical.”

So, Job, why did you post this comment? Might I suggest that you posted this comment for the very same reason Carissa wrote her article, to edify the Body? Because you both recognize that in the act of critiquing we are contributing to the production of good works.

I hope that you see that our goal here is not to wag our finger at bad Christian art or cultural works, but rather to help believers think critically and biblically (they are not separate although I have listed them separately for emphasis) about popular culture and to encourage them to support and praise what is good.

If you have any more comments on this, I would ask that you read our FAQ which addresses some of your concerns.

-Alan

For all its flaws – which I will not recount here as you have already done an excellent job of enumerating its faults – Sunday School Musical is a product that prominently depicts and promotes worshiping Jesus Christ, studying the Bible, fellowshipping with other Christians, and turning to God and following Biblical principles in times of trouble and conflict.

If you think that things like this should be done better, why not get involved in it yourself? Take a couple of screenwriting courses and produce a script. Learn Adobe flash animation (or cinematography with digital cameras) and also how to do sound and editing. Many community colleges, vocational/trade schools, and online courses offer these, and you would know all you need to know in order to get your own project off the ground in 18 months; more than Phil Vischer did when he started VeggieTales, and not much less than the Kendrick brothers did when they produced “Flywheel” (the predecessor to “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof.”) After that, seek funding and workers for your project from church groups, local small time theater and film school types, and arts councils (the Arts Alliance America assisted with Sunday School Musical) and then either seek a distribution channel, or distribute it yourself over the Internet (which is what Phil Vischer, having lost his Big Idea company and not seeing a future in the declining Christian direct video market, is now doing).

But hey, who wants to spend the next 2-4 years of their lives putting in all that hard work and taking that great financial risk (as even if you succeed in getting your project into Christian bookstores and carried by Christian catalogs, there is a great chance that it will wind up ignored, first in the 99 cent clearance bin and then shipped back to the manufacturer, which is what happens to the vast majority of such endeavors)? Nah, it is much easier to spend 30 minutes criticizing people who actually have put in the work, learned the skills, and taken the personal risks required to put out something that may actually help – or at least won’t harm – kids and young adults.

Seriously, the average Christian only needs a personal computer, a little inexpensive software and hardware, and a few hours of “free online tutorial” type of self – training in order to be able to create little 10 minute videos that can teach kids – and those slightly older than kids – about Jesus Christ for their Youtube channel in their spare time. Yet virtually none of us are doing it. The world is more motivated to put in the time and effort to do evil than Christians are to produce good. That is the real problem, not the existence of “Sunday School Musical.”

Jobs last blog post..Christians Please Pray And Intercede For Children

We will continue to promote what’s real and relevant according to our faith in Christ. I hope you continue to question. It’s good for all of us.

Gos Bless you.

Ahh, interwebs. What are we going to do with you?

Alan Nobles last blog post..What Would Rush Do? Now Do the Opposite.

Enjoy the scenes and be blessed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VkvSiuxvBQ