At present, for purposes of consistency and to minimise the likelihood of false messages being expressed, I can only accept essays for those films that I have viewed myself.
Reader votes that accompany submitted essays do not have to be the same as the Editor’s vote, however they cannot contradict it: “Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil” (Roms 14:16), and I take it that the opposite is also true. For this reason, only essays with votes that are identical to, or one step/colour away from, the Editor’s vote will be published.
Therefore, if my vote is currently green and your vote is currently red (or vice versa), the only way the essay will be published is if you provide sufficient information and explanation to persuade me to change my vote closer to, or the same as, your vote.
Essays should adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church, however essays written from Christians of other churches/denominations, will also be published so long as they do not contradict the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Guidelines on writing essays
Before you write anything pray to the Lord for a Spirit of honesty, wisdom and discernment to be with you before, during and after writing your essay. Pray also for protection from all influences that are not from the Lord. If you get stuck at any time, pray to Jesus for help and guidance.
Keep the focus on Jesus and His Church. Do your best to relate your analysis back to Biblical and Church teachings; quote chapter and verse of the Bible (and/or Catechism of the Catholic Church) where applicable. The website Biblegateway may help you in finding verses whose exact reference you cannot remember.
Remember your audience and your aim. Essays are designed primarily to interpret and explain the Christian teachings that can be taken from films; both to Christians and non-Christians alike. The primary audience for essays are people that have already seen the film in question; people that may be aware the film is communicating a message, but are not quite sure what this message is. Many films do communicate truths; often the truth is communicated clearly, other times the truth is mixed with other misleading messages, and sometimes the truth is completely distorted. Do your best to identify both the wheat and the chaff.
Think back to a previous time in your life when you didn’t understand what a particular film was saying to you. Try and identify what you would have liked to have had explained to you about what the true message in the film is.
Be balanced in your writing and acknowledge differing points of view. If a film has received criticism for one reason or another, acknowledge this, but then go on to state whether or not you think this is valid, and if it is, is it really justification for hard treatment of the film. Likewise, if a film has been praised for one reason or another, is this accolade really deserved?
Don’t rush your essay. Let the Lord take His time. If you rush the essay, there is every chance that somebody else will submit an essay that will supersede yours.
Research and reference your essay. Read what other people have said about the film, what messages are other people taking from the film? The IMDB allows you to view readers’ comments sorted by best to worst; take a look at either end of the scale. There are also many other Christian film-review websites on the internet, what are they saying about the film? Acknowledge your sources, reference your statements, and use footnotes where applicable. If you do not do so it will decrease the credibility of your essay.
Pray to Jesus that whoever reads your essay finds the truth in it and whether small or large, that in some way they are able to experience and accept His love for them. We should also pray this for ourselves.
