As soon as the trailer for Netflix’s “Mary” was released online, I immediately knew this was going to be a masterclass in blasphemy and I was not at all disappointed. As a Catholic, the Blessed Mother is very, very important to me. If not for her submission to God and agreeing to give birth to and raise the Messiah, to literally allow her DNA to make up the flesh of the God-Man, there would be no possibility of salvation. She had the freedom to say no. But she submitted to God’s will out of faith. That’s a big deal.
So anytime that Hollywood tries to take a crack at telling the Greatest Story Ever Told, well, we Catholics — and really all Christians — get super nervous. Especially with today’s woke climate. The first sign of trouble, says Daily Wire’s Lauren DeBellis Appell, was when screenwriter Timothy Michael Hayes stated, “One challenge was that they wanted the film to appeal to all denominations and all dogmas.”
If I could get the word, “Inclusion” to flash on your screen in red as a warning, that’s precisely what I’d do right now. They wanted to give us a watered-down “inclusive” story about Mary and Jesus.
After all, they consulted Christian, Jewish, and Muslim leaders when writing the screenplay. Yes, Muslim leaders. Show of hands if you think Hollywood would consult Christians on a film about Mohammed. Me neither. Bible-believing Christians are naturally upset about the liberties taken to recreate Mary. Director of “Mary,” D.J. Caruso, said he wanted to give the world a portrayal of the real, human Mary even though the Bible doesn’t have much to say about her. And the anti-Israel crowd is coming in hot because an Israeli Jewish woman, Noa Cohen, was cast as Mary, the Jewish mother of Jesus. The calls for boycotts quickly went out on social media.
Let’s just be real: If you are in the habit of spewing anti-Semitism online, then you are probably never going to watch a movie about the mother of Jesus.
Appell then points out that Cohen doesn’t seem to understand who Mary is, noting that she said, “Mary’s being portrayed in a whole new light in my opinion. It’s giving her her voice back. She’s not just a vessel for something greater than herself.”
Actually, that’s exactly who the mother of Jesus was. Saying she’s “not just a vessel” is an ignorant statement — as if it’s not enough to be chosen by God as a key instrument in His perfect plan to bring His son to earth so that He may be the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation, as Christians believe. This production brings an obvious feminist twist and an attempt to modernize Mary with an actress who doesn’t understand her story or purpose.
I get that making a faith-based film is difficult. They usually pop out of the oven undercooked and cringe-worthy or not resembling the original source material, the Bible, at all. But to tell a good story involving these historical figures you need to tell the truth and be accurate. These are two things Hollywood sucks at. Big Time.
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When I heard that prosperity gospel megachurch pastor Joel Osteen was an executive producer of Mary, I was fairly confident this movie would plant itself in the second camp, landing short of the biblical target. Gaining health and wealth is at the center of the prosperity gospel, and generally absent of sound biblical theology.
Well, the fact Osteen was the executive producer on this explains a whole heck of a lot, doesn’t it? Osteen, a false teacher and heretic even among Protestants, should never be given carte blanche to remake the Mother of God in his own image.
It should also be noted that you should never, ever get your theology from Hollywood or novels. Priests and pastors exist for that reason.
It’s bad enough Disney is tragically “reimagining” their classics — one painful reboot at a time. Their second attempt at reimagining “Snow White” comes out next year, and includes seven computer-generated “magical creatures” instead of dwarfs and a Latina Snow White who publicly trashed the original “Snow White.” In spite of the politically correct ring kissing having no floor or ceiling — you can never bend the woke knee enough, even for magical creatures — everyone understands animated fairytales are fiction. That doesn’t change the fact that liberties taken with Dopey and Sneezy are still dumb. For a majority of Americans, however, the Bible is not fiction. Adherence to its original context without ad libbing an agenda is something many of us take very seriously.
“While, no doubt, young girls today have serious struggles and make sacrifices, none will ever be able to relate to being chosen to carry the Savior of the world through an immaculate conception and the potential earthly consequences she may have faced. The most they can do is respect her faithfulness,” Appell said in her well written piece on the film.
The actual story of Mary is the most empowering tale for women and young women you can possibly tell. A young woman, likely a teenager, who is a virgin, is asked by God to miraculously give birth to God in human flesh and raise him. The kind of faith that takes in the face of potentially deadly and dangerous challenges is mind-blowing. What better lessons could one give to women in our generation than those told in that story?
None.
Maybe one day a film or series will be made that actually captures those themes and accurately depicts them. I won’t hold my breath.