Lots of movie adaptations have been made on a wide range of topics. Fans of comics, books, and true stories all expect their movie adaptation to be as close to the truth as possible. Now when a movie has been made based on the Biblical story of Noah, believers everywhere are outraged at the huge amount of inaccuracies and freedoms taken by the director.
Most of the controversy and outrage by Christians is directed at the film’s director who is not a theologian and certainly not interested in biblical accuracy. Director Darren Aronofsky blatantly stated to The New Yorker that Noah is “the least biblical, biblical film ever made.”
In response to this statement, Paramount Pictures ran a fierce ad campaign trying to convince Christian audiences to see the movie and decide for themselves. A statement released by Paramount to The New Yorker stated, “While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide.”
After the movie was released, it was discovered that many of the fears the Christians had were warranted. There were great liberties taken with a story that takes up only a few chapters in the Bible. The emotions, back-stories, conversations, and weird rock monsters that were “angels” have no scriptures to back them up. Although the story is spectacular and moving, it’s obviously not the factual story of Noah.
Although most of the facts of Noah’s story were forgotten or distracted by rock monsters and Noah’s supposed homicidal rage towards his son, many of the core lessons to be learned from the story were present. The film expresses biblical themes of good and evil, sin and redemption, and justice and mercy. Its detailed interpretation also leads the audience to consider Noah’s deep spiritual struggles that he wrestled with while he answered God’s call of obedience.
Now that the movie has been released, it stands to question if the benefits of the movie outweigh the gross inaccuracies. In regards to the movie, I can’t say. Each person must watch the movie for him or herself.
But in regards to the controversy, I say “yes.” Despite the criticism and controversy there has been a surge in public interest in Noah’s story. Popular Bible apps and websites have reported a major increase in the reading of the Genesis flood story. According to one such app, You Version, after the film’s March 28 opening, there was a 300% increase in the U.S. of people using the app to access Noah’s story. Other websites reported increases of 223% or more. Also the American Bible Society found that 87% of their Facebook followers were reading the Noah story as well.
At least some good has come from his controversy in a nation where 30% of millennials think that Noah was married to Joan of Arc!