We need to develop visual literacy by teaching our congregations how to watch films reflectively. Instead of turning off their brains, we want the audience to prepare for an intentional, focused viewing. She says church leaders should encourage their congregations to look for ways in which God and faith are reflected in contemporary American movies. She also has reviewed contemporary fiction for a number of national publications, including The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post Book World, the Nation, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Hungry Mind Review. Films should help create a dialogue among viewers, Postlethwaite says.
Film is a new medium, but it can convey an old, powerful, universal meaning.
Using films effectively in church settings, however, may require a new attitude and new skills. Most churchgoers grew up in a world dominated by print media. Within the last 30 years, however, American culture has turned away from books, newspapers and typewriters in favor of computers, the Internet and television. We are living in a shift of media-culture, and the way that we communicate meaning is changing, Postlethwaite says. She concedes that few contemporary American films center overtly on Christian beliefs, but she contends that many films contain religious subtexts.