Saturday, June 21, 1997

Religious artists promote family values in entertainment industry

By V. Dion Haynes / Chicago Tribune

HOLLYWOOD - The recent protest by the Christian Right over the lesbian plotline in the ABC sitcom "Ellen" pointed out a longstanding, uneasy relationship between the entertainment industry and the religious community.

In a bygone era, the Catholic Church's Legion of Decency wielded considerable power in pressuring the motion picture industry to alter scenes deemed objectionable. Films that the Church felt were immoral often faced an outright boycott.

That type of influence by the religious community has waned since the 1960s, but the confrontation continues. Pro-family groups have targeted a growing list of shows for advertising boycotts, as was the case with "Ellen."

Yet in the midst of this so-called cultural war is a corps of unofficial "moles" - religious people in the film and TV industry who are working quietly behind the scenes, bending a writer's ear about an obscene word here or persuading a director to soften a violent scene there.

In an industry where religion is often viewed as a liability, these actors, writers, directors, photographers and producers are banding together in support groups, encouraging one another to express their values in their work.

Little by little, they feel their voices are being heard and they say they see some signs of improvement.

For instance, 40 percent of the films released last year were family-oriented, compared with 6 percent in 1985, according to Movie Guide, a newsletter that collects data on the film industry for a readership mainly composed of Christian parents. These films included "Harriet, the Spy," "The Preacher's Wife" and "Space Jam."

Twelve years ago, there was one openly Christian executive producer in TV, again according to Movie Guide. Today, says the newsletter, there are 23. The list includes David McFadzean of "Home Improvement," Michael Warren of "Family Matters" and Peter Engel of "Saved By the Bell."

And, according to the Parents Television Council, a watchdog group, Hollywood in 1996 portrayed more TV characters with religious faith than ever before. The audience for so-called "spiritual values" on the small screen is perhaps best evidenced by the success of "Touched By an Angel," a CBS show that consistently ranks in the top 10.

Opinions abound among religious groups on how best to get the message across.

Groups that launch boycotts "will not get anywhere by preaching hell and damnation," says Robert Hanley, who in 1992 founded Entertainment Fellowship, a 2,000-member ecumenical group that promotes Judeo-Christian values in the industry.

The Fellowship is typical of the religious support groups that have multiplied dramatically in Hollywood during the last dozen years. The number has grown from two to 19, says the Movie Guide.

"We have an opportunity to make a difference in the world," added Hanley, 49, a veteran actor who has a recurring role on "Days of Our Lives" and who says he is a devout Catholic. "We're trying to utilize our talents to put out things that are positive and to get the industry to realize its responsibility to people viewing what it produces."

Ray Preziosi, a photography director who did the opening sequence for the movie "Casino" - he agreed to do the violence and profanity-ridden Martin Scorsese movie without having seen the script - exemplifies the angst felt by many artists with religious convictions.

Preziosi, 43, recently debated with himself whether to accept an invitation from a critically acclaimed director who is known for his depictions of violence and casual sex. Though he dislikes the script for the space-age thriller, Preziosi chose to work on the project in the hopes of having a hand in reshaping it.

"It was really a hard call," he said. "Either the picture gets made without you and you have no influence, or you take the job, put your two cents in and make it better."

Longstanding complaints about the increasing content dealing with sex and violence in television shows has prompted the voluntary introduction of a ratings system, similar to the one used for films, designed to protect children. But the ratings system has spawned still more objections from parents, who say it fails to provide specifics of a show's content.

President Clinton has encouraged the industry to develop a so-called V-chip that would give parents the option of blocking shows they deem inappropriate. While the technology is available and presently being used in Canada, the chips will not be made available in the United States until the next generation of digital television sets hit the market in few years.

In the meantime, there is no shortage of hardline voices seeking to curtail television and movie content.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, a fundamentalist minister who led the now-defunct Moral Majority, spoke out against the recent "Ellen" episode in which lead character Ellen Morgan revealed she is a lesbian, derogatorily referring to the show's star, Ellen DeGeneres, as Ellen DeGenerate.

He was joined by the American Family Association, a Tupelo, Mississippi-based organization that launched a boycott of the show's advertisers. "With Hollywood, money is the issue. They only listen when their profits are being affected," said Allen Wildmon, spokesman for the association.

But there are less strident voices.

Ralph Sariego, a longtime production executive who retired from Universal Studios, has chosen to accentuate the positive by presenting awards to productions that highlight values he sees as positive. As a result, Sariego, president of Catholics in Media Association, has been asked by Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks SKG to offer feedback at a prescreening of its soon-to-be-released film on the life of Moses.

"They came to us because we're professional, complimentary and we don't play the negative game," says Sariego.

Other religious artists say they have a different definition of decency than Wildmon and Falwell. They don't view sexual and violent content in stark black-and-white absolutes, saying it can be acceptable if a project has artistic merit.

"I did think 'Ellen' was very well done. It was very funny and done in such a way I can't imagine anyone objecting to it," said Ann Furia, treasurer of the Catholics in Media Association, which has cited such controversial shows as "NYPD Blue" and the canceled "My So-Called Life" as exemplary in depicting the human condition realistically.

"To sugar coat life and to pretend that gays don't exist in the world - that's stupid," she said.

By standing up for their values, many religious artists face tough career choices, often sacrificing further fame and fortune.

Actress and singer Marilyn McCoo, who won numerous gold and platinum records with the Fifth Dimension in the 1960s and '70s and has since become a born-again Christian, said: "There was a time when I wouldn't have had a problem singing songs about adultery. But I can't do that now. I also turned down an infomercial because it was promoting something I didn't believe in."

Hanley, founder of the Entertainment Fellowship group, said he refused to read obscentities from a script during an audition for the movie "Heat," which starred Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Needless to say, he didn't get the part.

"Who wouldn't give anything to be in a movie with De Niro and Pacino?" he said. "But it's up to us to say, 'You know what, this is where I draw the line.' "

(c) 1997, Chicago Tribune.

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