July 4, 2022
There’s no doubting it—Christian men love their movies. But what films are they really drawn to? What is it about these movies that speak to them on such a deep level? Here are 5 films Christian men love (and why).
Braveheart
This has to be at the top of any list for movies beloved by Evangelical men.
Braveheart is the fictionalized story of William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who leads the Scots in a war for independence against King Edward. Throughout the film, protagonist William Wallace stands up for what he believes in, even in the face of certain death. He’s a leader and a warrior, and his passion is evident in every frame. It’s no wonder that men are inspired by this film; it speaks to everything they long to be.
Despite the alterations made to the actual historical events and people, Christian men still flock to this film. In their opinion, the creative licenses taken by Mel Gibson improve upon the actual historical narrative. And I actually agree with them—Braveheart is a pretty great movie, and like all Hollywood blockbusters, the goal is to make a shitload of money, not to be historically accurate. Of the historical inaccuracies, Mel Gibson had this to say:
“I’m in the business of cinema. I’m not a fucking historian.”
Well said.
I still remember the moment I realized just how much Christian men idolize this movie. I was reading about one of Mark Driscoll’s earliest scandals in which he posted on a message board under the username “William Wallace II” and griped about how America had become a “pussified nation.” He also called for “real men” to rise up and emulate William Wallace from the film. The posts were made in the year 2000 and were revealed to have been written by Driscoll in 2014. If you’ve been keeping up with Driscoll since then, you’ll know he hasn’t changed much.
Why Do Christian Men Love Braveheart So Much?
It mixes together a perfect blend of traits and ideals that are dripping with masculine energy. As I’ve written about before, modern Christian men are hardly living a masculine lifestyle, so they need to get their dose of masculinity elsewhere. One popular source is film and television.
Remember the Titans
Whenever my youth group was piled onto a large bus and shipped to church camp, there was one film that was guaranteed to make an appearance on the small TVs bolted to the bus roof: Remember the Titans.
This movie tells the true story of a black football coach played by Denzel Washington who tries to ease the racial tensions among a high school football team in 1971 and to bring the team together win their season.
Of course he’s successful.
Why Do Christian Men Love Remember the Titans So Much?
Yes, because it’s a movie about sports, but there’s a deeper reason here.
Remember the Titans is actually a film about the harms of racism and the insanity of using race as a division for anything. These themes are still very much present in the real world in the modern era.
It does what every good film does: it gets the audience to put themselves in the shoes of the protagonist and take the journey with them. At the end, the audience feels like they’ve succeeded along with the protagonist. For that reason, Christian men emerge from the experience feeling as if they’ve “done their part” to combat racism and discrimination, mistakenly believing that just because they rooted for Denzel in the film, that they themselves could not possibly be racist. They then go forth into their churches and the real world and don’t lift a finger to address any of the real-world race issues that are still so prevalent—particularly in the modern Evangelical church.
Using films like Remember the Titans to get their boost of “I’ve done my part” is a key way of these folks avoid responsibility.
300
300 is the story of a war.
But not just any war. It’s the story of how 300 Spartans stood against an invading Persian army of 300,000. It’s a hopeless battle, and the 300 are marching off to certain death for the protection of their families and country. Sure enough, after a thrilling series of skirmishes in which the 300 are successful, our brave heroes are eventually overcome by the Persians due to the sheer number differential.
Why Do Christian Men Love 300 So Much?
I’ve written before about the self-sacrifice tendencies of men, and how I ultimately think this is a positive thing (unless, of course, it’s taken too far and is manipulated and taken advantage of, which happens quite often). This film hits that primal need of Christian men. Their entire religious belief is predicated on the idea of being a servant like Jesus and then, if need be, sacrifice their own lives for the good of others, just as Jesus did.
Left Behind
Left Behind is a film based off the best-selling Christian book series which tells a fictional account of the Book of Revelation and the second coming of Jesus. And of course, the Antichrist.
Why Do Christian Men Love Left Behind So Much?
Because, in general, they love any Hollywood film that includes their religious beliefs. It gives them a brief hope that perhaps the ever-influential Hollywood will finally start regularly producing films and content that include a “positive message” for all to hear. (Spoiler alert: it never will. Hollywood will only produce what it thinks will make the most money, and in regards to Left Behind, they were wrong).
In the minds of Christian men, Left Behind is a positive piece of work that they hope a non-believer will watch and then realize they need to get right with Jesus before all the things unfolding on the screen begin in real life.
The Passion of the Christ
No list like this would be complete without this movie. It is, of course, a brutal and focused portrayal of Jesus’s crucifixion.
Why Do Christian Men Love The Passion of the Christ So Much?
Because it is the most accurate portrayal of Jesus’s crucifixion that has ever been put on film.
It also raised a little buzz at the time for its R-rating due to violence. For the viewers of this movie, the more violence there was, the better. All that blood and brutality is meant to hammer home what Jesus went through on the cross for all the sinners of the world.
Conclusion
Christian men love these films because they tap into primal aspects that are deeply embedded within the psyches of most men, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
But as I said in the article I linked to above, life for a Christian man is not very masculine. They go to church, sit in a pew, and sing songs about love and service. They go to work where they likely spend most of their time in an office. They are followers.
Therefore, when there’s an opportunity for them to get sucked into a more masculine lifestyle through the movie screen, they’ll leap at it. These stories and characters sink their hooks into these men so deeply that sometimes they over-identify with them and prop them up as examples for how to live the life of a good Christian man.