"Sinners" in the Hand...

Popular culture has this propensity, unfortunately, to define Christianity on its own terms, and its not necessarily accurate, or even good.  And, you have those who want to redefine Jesus and, as it's been suggested, make Him into their image rather than allow Him to make them into His.  And, the rejection of the gospel, which is an incredible sense of hope, enables people to be the losers in a high-stakes spiritual grudge match.  We have to passionately hold on to the truth of Scripture.   1st Corinthians 15 (ESV) states:
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures...

The movie industry rewarded itself in the recent Academy Awards, which was watched on television by 9% less viewers from the previous year, and the smallest audience since 2022, according to the Hollywood Reporter website.   The two big winners were One Battle After Another, with six awards, including Best Picture and Sinners, which won four, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan.

These two R-rated movies became competitors among voters, but the big loser, I believe, was Christianity, not based on my own watching of the films, but of comments that were posted online.

In Sinners, the main character's music, according to the Plugged In review, conjures up vampires.  And, Christianity, which is a force for good, or at least should be portrayed as such, is largely powerless against these evil forces.  And, even a fellow screenwriter took Ryan Coogler's movie to task in an article at the National Today Chicago website, which related:

...screenwriter Zena Dell Lowe criticizes the Academy Awards favorite film 'Sinners' for borrowing Christian language and imagery while systematically removing Christian truth. Lowe argues the movie, set in 1930s Mississippi, replaces biblical theology with a 'fake gospel' that celebrates sin and music over faith in God.

The piece goes on to say:

Lowe's analysis dissects how 'Sinners' borrows Christian terms like 'sin' and 'salvation' but redefines them to celebrate identity, freedom, and the power of music over traditional faith. The film portrays Christianity as fearful and controlling, while indigenous rituals and vampire mythology are presented as wise and supernatural. Lowe argues the movie's afterlife vision removes judgment and Jesus, promoting a 'heavenly vibe without doctrine'.

Joseph Holmes at Religion Unplugged writes: "In this film, Christianity is either powerless or oppressive, and pagan spirituality is powerful and affirmed."  He notes, "organized religion is better for individuals and society than disorganized spirituality," adding, "there’s no doubt that the house of worship has more power than cloves of garlic to ward off the evils that plague us. But when our movies tell us differently, that’s often hard to see."  He notes a "recent trend in Hollywood films to portray the battle between good and evil not as secularism against faith, but rather pagan spirituality versus organized religion (specifically Christianity)."

The denigration of Christianity is also seen in the Oscar-winning Best Picture, One Battle After Another.  Daniel Blackaby, writing at The Collision, states: "The film’s title perfectly encapsulates its thematic point of view—life is an endless cycle of systemic oppression and revolution. The way characters move in and out of the story, often unceremoniously, further highlights that they are merely interchangeable players in an ever-unfolding game." He states that according to a history teacher in the film, "The story of America according to One Battle After Another (or at least, to Bob Ferguson) is one of corrupting power and those willing to fight back against it."  Blackaby goes on to say:

Notably, churches are presented in a positive light, but serve primarily as forces of social activism, not for worship. In contrast, the more overtly religious organization—the Christmas Adventurers Club—is a source of bigotry and oppression. In the America of One Battle After Another, religion seems valuable only so far as it joins the battle against oppression. Christians can affirm the grim depiction of a broken world and condemn the hypocrisy of those who hijack Christianity for cultural power At the same time, they can recognize that in the absence of a transcendental God or spiritual reality, we are merely left with one battle after another in a endless cycle of hatred and evil.

The common thread that instead of the Church being portrayed as a force for good and the embodiment of the presence of God, it represents an oppressive force in the critical theory matrix dividing members of society into oppressors and the oppressed.  

That's where this Marxist ideology gets us into societal trouble - when we operate according to that framework and people are labeled and typecast, we are no longer walking according to the love of Christ, who died for all, and we view our neighbors, whom we are called to love, with suspicion.  

When we buy into this philosophy, we are left with a nihilism that is devoid of hope.  The gospel, though, is the remedy, the rescue, from a life that is influenced by cynicism and conflict rather than the grace of God.