PowerMedia

A Night at the Movies


The United Church of Christ has recently put out a controversial commercial. This commercial is offensive to some people and even some networks have banned the commercial. The commercial begins with two men who look like bouncers from a nightclub in front of a church. They are standing behind a roped off area. As people begin to approach the church they let in whom they see fit to enter. People from minority backgrounds, handicapped, and what appears to be a gay couple are not allowed into the church. The ad then goes to a black screen that says, “Jesus didn’t turn people away. Neither do we.” Following this the ad shows a large gathering of people from a lot of different backgrounds, races, and ages. They all seem to be very happy. The ad’s message is basically that no mater who you are or where you come from, you would be welcomed at the UCC.
Even though such stations as ABC Family, AMC, BET, Discovery, Fox, Hallmark, History, Nick@Night, TBS, TNT, Travel, and TV Land air the commercial, there are two major stations that have decided that the commercial is too controversial to air. These stations are NBC and CBS. The main reason these stations won’t air it is because of the message of gays being allowed into church. These two stations feel this is unacceptable.
The members of the United Church of Christ as well as myself and many other people are kind of shocked by NBC and CBS’ ban of the ad. All the ad was trying to do was gain members for the UCC. Also, if you look at some other commercials on TV today, it makes this commercial look heavenly. There are countless commercials that use violence and sex to sell their products, yet every station shows them.
I believe that depending on where u are located and how you were brought up will determine how you feel about this ad. Myself for example thinks the commercial is not controversial at all. But I believe someone growing up in rural America and who practices a strong religious life might take offence to the ad. They may think the depiction of a church as a nightclub or bar as offensive. Or they may believe that gays should not be allowed to attend church.
Like usual, I wait to the last second to do things. As a result, my essay is similar to others. It simply states the facts. Then I realized I watch a lot of movies, mostly when I should be doing homework. I realized that a couple movies that I have seen in the past can relate to the UCC’s commercial.
The first movie that comes to mind is “Made”. In this movie there is a certain scene where the two main actors (Vince Vaughn & Jon Farvreau) try to enter a nightclub. Although they are well dressed, they are not let into the club mainly because of their “rough” appearance and the fact that the bouncers are not “familiar” of them. This seems to be true in the UCC commercial. Just because the bouncers at the church aren’t “familiar” with lets say Hispanics or gay people, they do not let them in. To make matters worse in the movie, Screech (Saved By the Bell) comes to the front of the line and then let in with no questions asked. Is he let in because he looks less aggressive or fits the “status quo” better? I understand it is just a movie and also deals with different subjects, but I thought they were both good examples of discrimination. Even though I believe that Vince Vaughn and Jon Farvreau should have been let into the club, others might think differently; just as people did with the UCC commercial. Others may see “Made” and agree with the bouncer’s decision.
Another movie that comes to mind is “The Mask”. In this movie Jim Carey tries to enter a nightclub but is denied because he doesn’t fit into the nightclub’s “status quo”. Yet when he returns as “the Mask” he is welcomed with open doors because he is now recognized by the club as being “cool” and part of the “in crowd”. But what exactly is “cool”?
In conclusion, I believe the commercial is not controversial in any way. I believe the UCC just wanted to get their message across that all people are welcome. I believe that it all depends where you come from (Blue or red state), whether you agree or disagree with the commercial.