I was eager to watch Avengers: Endgame. With the previews for upcoming movies and the sponsors came a growing intensity. I shut the curtains, turned up the volume, and quieted everyone in the room. The scent of supersaturated buttered popcorn flowed through the living room. My brother, my dad, and I all sat on our ragged couch made of faux leather that my 2-year-old brother spilled drinks on far too many times, and it was showtime.
At roughly 3:52 Iron Man said “I don’t even know if you’re still…Oh, God. I hope so.” That was one of nine times the movie used “God” in vain, not including the use of “godd**n” twice.
What’s the rating again? What do we accept to feed our minds? These questions and more flooded my mind as I attempted to focus on the “great” movie. So much for superheroes being family-friendly.
Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about Avengers: Infinity War. When Star-Lord encountered Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, and Iron Man for the first time, he was suspicious about which side they were on. As a result, he grabbed Spider-Man hostage and demanded answers concerning the location of Gamora, his girlfriend. Dr. Strange suspected that they were on the same side, so in response, he queried “let me ask you this one time, what master do you serve?” Star-Lord, being the sarcastic person he is, responded “What master do I serve? What am I supposed to say? JESUS?”
At first sight, it may seem like a lighthearted joke amid an intense scene, it goes deeper. It’s obvious he was mocking Christians. His tone is utter disgust toward them and their beliefs.
By using that tone toward Christianity, Star-Lord implied that it’s a “thing of the past” to follow Jesus, and only fools have faith in Jesus. It makes me feel so empty inside. As Christians, we strive to be like Jesus Christ, a sinless man who died for our sins. He was compassionate to the crowds, and he did everything selflessly. Star-Lord’s joke diminishes everything that we live for.
I’ve put great thought into this. I’m not being sensitive. This is an actual issue prevalent in many movies today.
The movie Saved! is a movie centered on criticizing Christianity. In that movie, a girl attending a Christian high school got pregnant, and as a result, all of her former friends shunned, ridiculed, and isolated her. This movie portrayed Christians as if we judge everyone when that isn’t true.
For people to spend time and resources targeting a certain religious group is pointless, rude, and upsetting. Hollywood attacks 70.6% of US citizens who identify as Christian. It makes me feel like I’m not good enough for society’s standards when society itself is corrupt.
Targeting Christians in movies isn’t unusual for Hollywood. A few similar movies are Footloose, The Da Vinci Code, Dogma, and Jesus Camp. The list goes on and on.
We’ve endured mockery long enough. I’m tired of accepting it. Movies present us as insensitive humans, when, in reality, we’re only trying to figure out life like everyone else.

I won’t allow Hollywood to use me, or any Christian, as a punching bag.