Here’s an excerpt from a recent email . . .
- What can we as Christians do in response to the release of this movie? I’m going to offer you the usual choices—and a new one.
Here are the usual suspects:
A) We can ignore the movie
The problem with this option: The box office is a ballot box. The only people whose votes are counted are those who buy tickets. And the ballot box closes on the Sunday of opening weekend. If you stay home, you have lost your chance to make your vote heard. You have thrown your vote away, and from Hollywood’s point of view, you don’t count. By staying home, you do nothing to shape the decision-making process regarding what movies will make it to the big screen.
B) We can protest
The problem with this option: It doesn’t work. Any publicity is good publicity. Protests not only fuel the box office, they make all Christians look like idiots. And again, protests and boycotts do nothing to help shape the decisions being made right now about what movies Hollywood will make in the next few years. (Or they convince Hollywood to make more movies that will provoke Christians to protest, which will drive the box office up.)
C) But there’s a third choice.
On May 19th, you should go to the movies. Just go to another movie.
Save the date now. May 19th, or May 20th. No later than Sunday, May 21st—that’s the day the ballot box closes. You’ll get a vote, the only vote Hollywood recognizes: The power of cold hard cash laid down on a box office window on opening weekend.
Use your vote. Don’t throw it away. Vote for a movie other than DVC. If enough people do it, the powers that be will notice. They won’t have a choice…
Let’s rock the box office in a way no one expects—without protests, without boycotts, without arguments, without rancor. Let’s show up at the box office ballot box and cast our votes. And buy some popcorn, too.
May 19th. Mark your calendars now!
Ingenious!
