SPONSORED: Just Say the Word: Did I read it in the Bible or see it in a movie?

If you know anything about theater, actors always want to know “What’s my motivation? Why am I doing that? I have the script, now tell me why my character is saying or doing this?”

That is when the teacher in me would come out. I could give them some background on what has happened up to this point, and help them discover the emotions they should be feeling and how to convey those through speaking their lines.

Then suddenly it’s not a teenager reciting from memory, but a fleshed-out character speaking to another character, not simply two classmates talking on a stage. The truly gifted actor makes it easy for the person in the audience to suspend disbelief. Theater imitates life, they say, and in real life there is conflict.

Theater is conflict

Nobody would watch anything unless there is a situation that needs to be resolved. A scene where everyone is getting along has no dramatic element, and would therefore be unwatchable. Unless, of course, you are watching a documentary, in which different rules apply. There is a different level of expectation. But imagine going to watch a war movie that has no battle scene or an action movie with nothing blowing up.

It is conflict that drives the story and the good guys trying to stop the bad guys story arc has easily recognizable plot points and predictable outcomes. That I have no problem with. Here’s what bothers me:

The time frame

On television, it takes exactly half an hour or a full hour, including commercials, to resolve said conflict. In the movies, it takes two to three hours to do this. And the good guys always come out on top. Sure, there are moments when the outcome is in question but we never go out for popcorn thinking the good guy is going to die while we are in the lobby.

And in a thirty minute situation comedy, a sitcom, somebody is given the opportunity to see the error in their ways, and by the end of the episode, he or she vows to never do that thing again, whatever it is that caused a conflict in the first five minutes of air time.

This is absolutely contrary to how things are in real life. True conflict resolution never fits that time frame.

Character portrayal

Why is it that the hero of the story has to be reckless and disobedient? The one who refuses to listen to authority figures? The thoughtless and selfish  type who puts others in danger through their actions, yet ultimately comes out smelling like a rose?

Just within the portrayal of law enforcement on TV, I can think of a few examples.

“Wait for backup” for instance, must not mean what we think it does. It apparently is code for “Go in alone, even though you know this is a trap.”

And once you crack the code, you are able to understand the actions of the shows stars. “Clear the area, the bomb is set to explode any second” actually must mean “Go up to the bomb and try to decide which wire to cut as you watch the timer tick down toward zero.”

And because you, the episode’s hero, understand the code, when your superiors call you on the carpet just before the credits roll, they let you off with a dressing down, and you promise not to act so recklessly in the future. At least not for the next two episodes.

There is no place in the NYPD or the FBI, or even in our local sheriff or police departments, for someone who cannot, or will not, follow orders.

Bad guys aim

When you square off against the bad guys with a handgun and no extra clip, you, our hero, can take on five bad guys with Uzis. They can’t hit the broad side of a barn but you pluck them off one at a time on your way to rescuing the girl.

Out in the real world, ducking behind a trash can in the alley will not protect you long from a hail of bullets!

So, what has any of this got to do with the Bible?

Nothing, really, I just wanted to rant. What it has to do with is reality. Nobody reading this would say what we see on TV or on the big screen is real. It’s escapism, in it’s purest form. For entertainment purposes only.

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But if you want stories to rival any movie plot, pick up the Bible. Within its pages you will find stories of intrigue, of peril, of love and hatred. Real people who lived, and sometimes died, due to the result of their actions or inactions. Men and women dealing with raw emotions and their consequences. Heroism, cowardice, failure and loss; they can all be found in the Word.

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As such, the Bible is bound to have a lot of entertainment value. How could it not? But like all the best entertainment, it does more than entertain. It also moves, informs, provokes thought and questions, and teaches.

Darth Vader and the dark side of the force have got nothing on the pure evil you can read about in the Bible. Superman’s quest for truth, justice and the American way is all fine and good, until you walk out of the theater into the real world.

In combining theater and scripture, you should check out “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” This movie is generally considered to be biblically accurate. Find it, and watch it, the best of both worlds.