is The Diary of a Mad Black Woman. If you haven't heard of it, you may be thinking to yourself, "What kind of movie is this? Is it a captivating thriller about the life of a slave/Christian missionary adapted from a diary found 100 years after her untimely death?" Umm... no. "Is it an informative documentary outlining some serious matter facing our society?" Yeah... not exactly. Actually its a pretty raunchy comedy complete with drugs, sex, and a more than a fair amount of profanity... and that is part of what makes it the most powerful and moving movie I have ever watched.
Like a lot of good movies, a lot of Christians will never watch it. Though it got a PG-13 rating (I have no idea how) it is pretty salty. It starts out like a lot like Friday, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, or any number of other raunchy Black comedies, but carefully woven through the first part of the movie is a thread of faith and Christian virtue. As the movie progresses it gives a very real, authentic look into the broken lives of the characters in the story and the honest struggle one woman has to stay pure in the midst of real temptation that everyday people face, as well as the same woman's struggle with anger over great wrong done to her. By the end of the movie, the raunchiness and even the comedy aspect of the movie stop and it is an all-out story of redemption, forgiveness, and hope. It makes no bones about it. It's not even subtle.
I watched it in the theatre, and at the end of the movie I witnessed something I had never experienced before. When the movie was over, nobody got up. Nobody budged. Not a single person. NOBODY. Not ONE person... for 2 or 3 minutes. They were actually moved. People were weeping. Other's probably weren't quite sure what to think. I truly believe lives were touched for eternity because a Christian man in the movie industry got it and actually made an evangelical movie that people who need to be the focus of evangelism would watch.
If Christians want to get serious about reaching people who need Christ, they need to change their approach and get their hands dirty... kind of like a guy named Jesus did, leaving the perfect glory of Heaven to mix it up with the everyday, broken people of earth. He spoke our language and taught in ways people could understand. He lived as a real person in the world, not separating himself out of it for fear of losing his purity and holiness. The "church" people hated him for it. They tried to discredit him. They thought he was worldly and of the devil. They devised plans against him. They spoke evil about him. They ultimately crucified him. But if we in the church could just catch a glimpse of what he was really all about, the rest of the world would look a whole lot different.
Peace,
Geoff
15 comments:
today at chapel, Craig Gross, the cofounder of XXXchurch.com spoke on this same topic--getting dirty---not diary of a mad black woman.
the guys at xxxchurch.com go to pornography conventions and are actually friends with several porn stars and directors. craig gross actually travels to universities with ron jeremy educating people about the effects of pornography on our culture though friendly debate---not hateful debate...they are friends..craig's hope is that through this love, Jesus will break through and change lives...i hope so too
he talked about who Jesus spent his time with....the "sinners"...ouch....i look at my life and i cant name very many friends who dont share my worldview...that hurts me....
and it hurts others...
good stuff man....good stuff
i responded to your comment on my blog...read it now
I have been wanting to see some of the other films in the series, but I haven't yet. Thanks for the recommendation, Cathy.
Well darn it. You talked about getting dirty. Why'd ya go and do that? =) I wrote a post awhile back about getting dirty, but never published it because I didn't feel worthy to say what I was saying. But, I might have to post it now. Good job...
I just watched it tonight...and literally sobbed through the last 20 minutes or so. I needed to hear that story of redemption, forgiveness and (mostly) hope for myself tonight.
Sometimes we all just need the reminder that God IS in control, no matter how bleak the circumstances seem. Tonight, I'm just one of those "everyday, broken people of earth" who needed to hear His voice...and I did.
Ok, I watched it. I agree with you....it has a great message.
i watched "madea's family reunion" and whilei laughed occasionally i wasnt blwon away....but thats also not the same movie you mentioned, so i have nothing of value to say about it;)
also, i updated...
Twice now I have heard mention of these films..I guess I'll bump them up to the top of my Netflix queue.
Very good stuff.
you drive on a parkway and park on a driveway: discuss.
one of the best movies I've ever seen, too
nice try hersch.
Oh what the heck...I'm game.
The terminology "parkway" to define a type of road was coined by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted, designers of New York City's Central Park, in their proposal to link the city's parks with pleasure roads. Thus, the first "parkways" were in and around the greater New York City area. Construction on the Bronx River Parkway began in 1907, and on the Long Island Parkway (also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway) in 1908.
simply stunning...
:)
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