The Invisible Christian Movie Line Makes the "Cosmopolitan" Cities the True Parochial Backwaters.

The most interesting production story about movies at the moment is about "Facing the Giants." Made by amateurs from Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, the film is about a high school football team that enjoys divine help after committing to God. To almost everyone's surprise, it has been released in 400 theaters and is doing pretty well.

The Washington Post reported the story. But, of course, the film is not actually playing in Washington. What I found most interesting was the explanation of where the movie was and was not playing. Reporter Peter Whoriskey lets the distributor tell why:

According to Julie Fairchild, a spokeswoman for Provident Films, "There's a sort of imaginary line where Christian films don't play." Where it is showing, she says, is the "flyover country that Hollywood has been ignoring."

I wish Provident films well in serving this ignored market.

The real loss is to Washington, DC, and all the other blue-state metropolises that shield themselves from the discomfort of films that don't fit their worldview. A similar cultural censorship is not so common in flyover country. The little town I live in showed both "The Passion of the Christ" and "Fahrenheit 9/11." I expect that "Facing the Giants" may get to us, too. Which is more than can been said for our "greatest cultural centers." This is a pity, as we could all benefit from balance in our culture, as well as in our politics.