In recent years, religious films, particularly ones revolving around Christianity have become increasingly popular, with studios such as Pure Flix and Affirm Films leading the way. Many of these films feature a main character who is heavily religious, and their faith in God somehow empowers them to get through whatever obstacle they encounter.
While there's nothing wrong with using faith to get through life's struggles, some of these films take things a little too far. Their messages seem to go beyond the importance of having faith, and into encouraging or apologizing for disturbing behaviors.
One very recent example being the film "War Room," released in August 2015 and produced by FaithStep Films.
The film focuses on Elizabeth Jordan (played by Priscilla C. Shirer), and her husband Tony Jordan (T.C. Stallings), and their marital problems. One of the first scenes in the film shows Elizabeth doing chores as she talks to a friend about how she just doesn't know how to "submit" to her husband anymore. Yes, she uses the word submit. The film goes onto show how Tony verbally and emotionally abuses Elizabeth. At one point, he angrily confronts Elizabeth, yelling at her for loaning money to her sister without asking him. Elizabeth points out that Tony has previously lent some money to one of his own family members, to which Tony replies that he makes more money than Elizabeth, and thus only his opinion matters when it comes to their finances.
Throughout the film, Elizabeth, a real estate agent, receives advice from one of her clients, an older woman named Clara (Karen Abercrombie). Elizabeth tells Clara about her problems in her marriage, and Clara instructs Elizabeth to empty out a closet in her house which she can use exclusively as a prayer shrine, a.k.a. her "War Room." A lot of ill-thought out and cheesy war analogies ensue, but that is the least of the films issues.
Basically, Elizabeth is told that all of the problems in her marriage are her fault because she doesn't pray enough, and therefore God isn't protecting her marriage. Yep. That's right. It's all her fault. At one point, Tony begins an affair with a woman from their church. Whose fault is it? Elizabeth's. Tony begins illegally selling prescription drugs that he rips off from the pharmaceutical company he works for. Whose fault is it? Elizabeth's, for not praying enough to begin with. Tony isn't attentive to their daughter. Whose fault is it? You guessed it.
There's a scene in the film, which is probably one of the most disturbing of the whole two and a half hour ordeal, where Tony is working out with his friend Michael. Michael, who is a Christian paramedic (we know this, because he calls himself a Christian paramedic more than three times, just in case we didn't catch it), tells Tony that he won't sit by and watch his marriage die when it clearly needs "CPR." Tony then heavily implies that if his wife Elizabeth was lying on the ground in front of him dying, he would consider not trying to save her. He literally says that he would at least entertain the thought of basically killing his wife.
Quite frankly, this movie should end with this couple getting a divorce, and Elizabeth moving on to find a man who isn't an abusive, cheating, criminal, jerk. But nope. Instead, Elizabeth prays every day and night in her "War Room," and learns to "submit" to her husband again. Through the "Grace of God" Tony sees the error of his ways, and straightens out.
Not only is this happy ending completely unrealistic, but it sends a dangerous message to women: If your husband is an abusive jerk, who's cheating on you with a girl from church and doing criminal activities, it's really all your fault because you're not praying enough. Really, you should be trying harder. Nevermind marriage counseling, divorce or confronting your husband over his unacceptable behavior. No. It's all on you.
