Notes on Comic-Con 2014 By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor The first two days of Comic-Con 2014 may go down as a watershed sign of major new trends in American culture. In fact, there were several such signs. First, and perhaps most important, the Christian groups holding signs preaching the Gospel on the street corners here at the San Diego Convention Center have been met with even more pagan signs mocking them, saying things like “Bow down to Zod” and “Zeus is Lord.” Interestingly, the pagan sign-holders seem even younger than the nice young Christian folks preaching the Gospel. As one young Christian lady told me, however, the young pagans holding signs near her (they were gone by the time I talked to her) were just misguided young people who need to be told the Good News. The young people probably don’t really believe the pagan signs they hold. They’ve just grown up in an increasingly secular country where evolutionary humanists, socialists and revenge-minded, hate-filled perverts have doubled down on their attacks against the freeing Grace of the Christian, biblical heritage that made America into the economic powerhouse that defeated Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, but that now seems trapped in impotence in the face of Muslim terrorists, illegal immigrants and the new Russian tsar, Vladimir Putin. Clearly, we need a new Great Awakening in the United States, a new revival based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who sets the captives free from tyranny, corruption, deprivation, and depravity. This brings me to my second important point. Apparently, there’s a new TV series being made where the protagonist is a young female doctor who becomes a zombie cannibal and helps the police solve crimes with her forensics expertise. To survive, she has to feast on the brains of recently deceased crime victims and perpetrators in the morgue. By doing so, she also gets the memories and personalities of these people, which helps her solve the crimes for the police. Thus, since the 1960s, Americans have gone from worshipping Jesus Christ, believing the Bible and turning cowboy stars into heroes to getting rid of Jesus and the Bible in the public schools, allowing abortion, making the southern border with the corrupt Mexican society meaningless, and turning witches, vampires and, now, zombie cannibals into heroes. Concerning television, it’s also important to note that, at this year’s Comic-Con, TV seems to have overtaken movies as the entertainment medium of choice in the United States. With Hollywood blockbusters hitting the financial doldrums at the box office this summer, the movie studious seem to have pulled back a little bit on their Comic-Con presentations while there seem to be more popular TV shows than ever before at the Con. These TV shows are getting much lower ratings, of course, than blockbuster TV programs of the past, like I LOVE LUCY or BONANZA, but there are a lot more of them, and their fan base is just as fanatic. On a lighter, perhaps more hopeful note, there were several interesting, positive revelations so far at this year’s Comic-Con. One of the directors of the new MADAGASCAR movie from DreamWorks, THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR, told Movieguide® they plan to have some uplifting songs with heart in the new movies, just like MADAGASCAR 3 and the Disney hit, FROZEN. As Movieguide® readers know, FROZEN was named the Best 2013 Movie for Families at the 22md Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry. It truly is a great, uplifting movie, which, even better, shows that sacrificial love is the greatest love of all, just like Jesus said it was. Also, MADAGASCAR 3 has been showing up on Cable TV a lot, and it seems to get better each time I watch it. Not only that, but the two songs playing at the climax (“Firework” by Katy Perry and “Love Always Comes as a Surprise” by Paul Asher) are really joyful and inspiring. John Malkovich, who plays a villain in the new MADAGASCAR movie, told the press, including Movieguide®, that, contrary to popular opinion, playing a bad guy is not more fun than playing a hero. He said it depends on how interesting the character is. That said, he added that he truly enjoyed playing the new MADAGASCAR villain, who he called a “lazy psychopath.” The cast and crew of SLEEPY HOLLOW, last year’s runaway hit on Fox TV, said redemption will be a major theme of the show in the second season, which premiers this fall. SLEEPY HOLLOW has some strong Christian, biblical, moral, patriotic, and even conservative content, but it also has some strong occult content featuring villainous demons and scary violence, so it warrants strong caution. Also, a panel featuring several STAR TREK fans who also live out their passion professionally, one of them as an author of a three-volume set on the original STAR TREK series and another as a professional actor playing Captain John T. Kirk on a fan-produced remake of the original series, discussed why the original series was so great. One of the conclusions was that the character of Captain Kirk, as envisioned by William Shatner, is a truly great, iconic hero that strongly inspires viewers. Thus, the original STAR TREK series proves Movieguide®’s aphorism that people want to see uplifting stories with great and good heroes who conquer evil and defeat the monsters within us and beyond us. Also, the cast of the FALLING SKIES science fiction series on television expressed their feelings about the announcement that next season will be their last. They feel they are going out on top and promise to give fans a final season that won’t disappoint them. FALLING SKIES is another show featuring a strong and positive hero, played by Noah Wylie, who played a heroic, compassionate young doctor on the old E.R. series. Finally, one of the things I’ve learned from coming to Comic-Con is that the restaurants nearby are okay, but not great. In fact, a really good restaurant is hard to find. Even the McDonalds I finally found was really sub-par, and it was the only one around for miles! Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer. What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support. You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you. Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible. Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer. What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support. You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you. Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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