Angels and Demons and Hollywood

So not gonna lie, I didn't really exactly read the entire article...I know I know, give me a break, here! I have like 10 chapters of Frankenstein to go through still!

ANYWAYS I think I pretty much got the jist of the article, and here's my thoughts, plain and simple.

Way way way back in the day (the good ol day, that is) biblical epics (like the ones that I talked about in my ISP presentation) did really, really well. Why? Because more people were religious and open about where their faith lay. So if your movie in some way or another portrayed faith in a good light, there was little you could do to stop if from doing well financially.

Skip a few decades to today. More and more people are claiming that they're atheists or agnostics (damn fence sitters) that there used to be. Now, I'm not saying that the non-believers outweigh those who do believe, but its more socially acceptable now to be able to say 'I don't believe in a god' than it was when our parents were growing up (those people who did, were considered radical liberal hippies.... or communists, depending on where you lived).

So what does this mean for the movie industry? Pretty much, if you want your movie to be a success, you have to pander to both crowds. How, you may ask? Well its simple. You're pretty much allowed to have one or two characters that are either

a) undecided on faith (aka agnostics)

b) atheists, but subtle atheists, no Richard Dawkins' allowed

and these characters are the ones that represent one side of the religious spectrum: the side that isn't religious, that is. They are the only ones that are allowed to question faith or be cynical about it, etc etc.

For the rest of the movie, you have to have more people who are of faith than there are not of faith. Aka Tom Hanks (one character) vs VATICAN CITY. See what I'm saying here? The religious people are happy because over all, they win, but the atheists and agnostics are happy that their view of things is still represented.

This is exactly what Angels and Demons manages to do: bring up a little bit of watered down controversy while still managing to win over the Catholics with its over all message of 'Faith is good'. When tackling subject matter like this, this is the only way you can win, aka your 'no fail, idiot proof movie making' plan.

Don't believe me? Well, numbers don't lie, my friend: Angels and Demons has made the most money of any movie thus far this year. It has made (worldwide) $414, 171, 118 (according to Box Office Mojo.com). As it seems, all you need is a little faith.