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Print By Wendy Scoggins “End of the Spear, a new movie about one of the missionaries killed by the Auca [meaning naked savage] Indians in Ecuador in 1956,” read the e-mail in my inbox, “features a Hollywood homosexual activist in a lead role . . . Every Tribe Entertainment is a new company that was allegedly formed to produce wholesome Christian entertainment, but its choice of Chad Allen, one of the most prominent homosexual activists in Hollywood, to play the role of missionary Nate Saint is unconscionable. Allen founded a company called Mythgarden, which has the objective of creating television programs that show the homosexual lifestyle in ‘a positive light.’ Allen has called for the legalization of homosexual marriages and is at the forefront of pushing the homosexual agenda across America.” I knew as I read the e-mail from my radical Christian friend—the first I’d heard of the controversy—that other Christians with equally strong views would no doubt share her opinions. Call me clueless, but I couldn’t help but wonder why a homosexual portraying a Christian in a movie was such a big deal. It seems to me that a homosexual hanging out with a bunch of evangelical Christians, working for them on their terms and their turf, was a perfect place for him to be. Besides, even if no one succeeded in convincing Allen to high tail it to Exodus International, I figured he’d be more impacted by Christians who chose to work with him more than he would by Christians who discriminated against him. Further investigation revealed that Chad Allen did not reveal his sexual orientation previous to his hiring. When it was discovered by Steve Saint and the rest of the Spear crew, most of whom are conservative Christians, Allen offered to quit, even if it meant he would be held in violation of his contract. According to an article by Christianity Today, Allen “was concerned not only that his homosexuality would be a public relations nightmare for Every Tribe, but also that profits from the film would be used in a culture war against gays and gay rights.” However, Saint decided to keep Allen on board after he had a dream in which God told him that He had a plan for Allen. Saint said that in his dream, God said, “‘Steve, you of all people should know that I love all of my children. With regard to Chad Allen, I went to great lengths to orchestrate an opportunity for him to see what it would be like for him to walk the trail that I marked for him. Why did you mess with my plans for him?’” “I would rather face the anger and even hatred of people who feel I have let them down, than to take any chance of having to stand before my Savior and have to answer for messing up His plans for Chad,” continues Saint. Unfortunately, those who choose to boycott the movie over the issue will also choose to boycott a movie with an overt Christian theme—a rarity in Hollywood that will remain so unless Christians “put their money where their mouths are” when it comes to demanding films with positive content and values. Ultimately, it’s a decision that will be decided by the individual convictions of each believer. End of the Spear—The Movie The film traces the story of Steve Saint, a young boy who idolizes his father, Nate Saint (played by actor Chad Allen), a Christian missionary. Their home is the base of operations for other missionaries who work in the region, and the family becomes very close to four families—the Elliots, the McCullys, the Flemings and the Youderians, most of whom were classmates at Wheaton College years earlier. When Nate Saint hears of a tribe so savage they’ve brought themselves to “the brink of extinction,” he becomes determined to reach them. With the help of a small, yellow airplane and a bucket in which to lower gifts, the initial contact between Saint, his friends and three Waodani is friendly and promising. However, before sunset all five missionaries (Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian), are unexpectedly and brutally murdered. Fifty years ago (this occurred in 1956), the murders stunned the world. America mourned, gripped by the tragedy, as Life magazine ran full coverage and glossy photographs of the dead bodies. However, the most shocking twist of the story took place when the families of the murdered men moved in to live with the tribe, resulting in a story that, at its heart, exemplifies redemption in its rawest and truest form. At that point, it would have been perfectly understandable for the wives and families of the dead missionaries to pack up and head to the States. However, the women left behind—particularly Steve’s aunt, Rachel—are no ordinary women. With the help of a Waodani woman named Dayumae who had escaped the tribe and lived with the “foreigners” for years, several of the widows and children move in with the tribe to live and teach them to walk in the ways of “Waengonggi and His Son.” Young Steve eventually finds a father figure in the man, Mincayani, who killed his real father, beginning a relationship that would touch the hearts of the whole world. Independent studio Every Tribe Entertainment brings Steve’s story to life in typical Hollywood fashion, where the jungle is a bit too lush, the Amazon river a bit too blue, and the Waodani a bit too pretty. Where the film succeeds is in portraying with heartrending accuracy the tragedy of the endless cycle of spearings and revenge spearings that overshadowed the fearful lives of the tribe. Perhaps that’s why the subsequent transformation of the Waodani leaves viewers with a sense of awe at the supernatural power of hope and forgiveness. At its heart, that’s the story told by End of the Spear, a raw and stripped down kind of forgiveness required of all who choose to follow Christ. If there’s a flaw in the storytelling, it’s that the majority of the characters remain little more than cardboard cutouts rather than real, fleshed-out characters. For example, best-selling author Elisabeth Elliot is a well-known Christian in her own right, but here she is little more than a face with a few lines. In addition, I would have liked to know more about the men themselves, their families and the faith that drove them to such a remote area in order to reach such a repellant people. Were those who gave their lives little more than overzealous frat boys with romanticized dreams of glory, or were they men driven by great faith and passion? And why was Rachel Saint so willing to give up her entire life to live among the Waodani? These are questions that, for the most part, go unanswered. Perhaps such gaping holes are there for a reason, tantalizing viewers to dig more deeply into the lives behind the film. Perhaps they’re there in order to not alienate those not of the Christian faith. And finally, perhaps they exist in order to make the tone of the movie less about preaching and more about the kind of principles that inspire all of us to live lives of sacrifice and to seek The Only One who can truly change lives forever. To say that independent studio Every Tribe Entertainment’s retelling of this story doesn’t quite do it justice is not to say that it deals it an injustice. If the book is always better than the movie, then so is the reality, a reality better depicted by Elisabeth Elliot’s Through Gates of Splendor, Bearing Fruit Production’s documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor, or Steve Saint’s personal memoir of the same title as the movie. However, for a movie that depicts Christians in a positive light and makes a tentative first step at telling the world about the values of Christianity, it’s rather remarkable. Those of you addicted to the boiling itchies—I mean, the warm fuzzies—will find plenty of that here. By the bucketload.
ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Wendy Scoggins ------- Wendy Scoggins works as a glorified paper shuffler at a glorified garbage dump. She is a full-time mommy and a part-time writer who previously wrote the blog, Just a Little Bit Odd, for ninetyandnine.com. Her favorite movie buddy is her daughter, which means she is often forced to watch lots of animated films; fortunately, being the low-brow she is, that’s her favorite genre. |
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