cinemABOUT

synagogue | syn-a-gogue
a. a house of assembly
b. a place of worship
c. a Jewish congregation

cinema | cin-e-ma
a. movie theatre, a building in which films are shown
b. film, motion pictures or movies
c. cinematography: the art of recording visual images

cinemagogue | cin-e-ma-gogue

a. the exploration of how our culture lives, eats, breathes, communes and effectively worships visual media and narrative entertainment.

b. the recognition that the creative impulse for storytelling and cinematic expression is a reflection of our Creator’s passion and a wrestling with life’s meta-narrative.

c. what Homer Simpson might call a Jewish place of worship (see: “saxa-ma-phone“)

Cinema is a modern day pulpit. Movie theaters are not so different from church assemblies; people flock to their local multiplexes, group together, and find themselves moved by a worldview revealed in story form, allowing themselves to be emotionally led by directors and screenwriters who influence how we feel, think, and even act. Whether a film moves us to tears, chills us to the bone or makes us laugh infectiously, you can notice its influence in repeated phrases, shared platitudes, and lives reflecting the characters that resonate with us.

As cinematic storytelling transcends the multiplex. with television, home theater systems, mail order media, and films online, the engagement of this medium has inundated every corner of our lives, from public gatherings to our living room to our office computer. Literature and comic books become film, movies become immersive, online multiplayer worlds, which in turn generate comics and books until we are surrounded by shared stories.

Cinemagogue believes that we are image-bearers of our Creator. a master storyteller, whose narrative spans all of creation, a story in which we all play a part. Made in the image of our Creator, we have a yearning to both create, and be entertained, by narrative. People immerse themselves in story much like Christians treasure the story of Jesus. It is our hope that people would enjoy and engage cinema and storytelling mediums not just as “diversion” but with discernment, engaging the culture around us and reflecting on how it distorts and reflects the larger narrative of our lives. We place all stories against the controversial gospel of Jesus Christ who claimed not only to be truth incarnate, but in fact the master storyteller who spoke the universe into existence, as well as embodying the central figure and hero of our shared story that is life.

Cinema, meet truth.

Cinemagogue is an expression of Mars Hill Church in Washington, featuring reviews and commentary on this website as well as hosting film and teaching events in Seattle. Mars Hill Church lives for Jesus as a city within the city: knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus.