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Sunday, February 25, 2007

Wilberforce Inspires Political Activists

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 9:02 AM

I had the pleasure of seeing Amazing Grace the other night, and wanted to give you a few of my thoughts.

First, the movie is inspiring. Those of us in the Pro-Life camp can find common ground with the British Parliamentarian who, for so long, failed to abolish a brutal practice. His perseverance in the face of almost unanimous opposition emboldens us to fight on.

Sadly, I have been unable to track down my favorite line from the movie. Everybody cites this line:

"You found God, sir?" inquires a butler. "I think He found me," replies the reinvigorated Wilberforce.

While that is a fine line, my favorite bit of dialogue (which I'll have to paraphrase), occurs when anti-slave activists are trying to convince Wilberforce to remain an MP, and fight the slave trade (rather than joining the ministry):

"You have to choose between being a political activist or following God. We submit to you that you can do both."

While I definitely think conservatives will appreciate this movie on a certain level, any political activist could probably derive validation from seeing it. In fact, the Colorado Springs Gazette opines:

"But the film shows Wilberforce as more Barack Obama than Jerry Falwell. He’s an animal-rights activist and antiwar advocate. In one early scene, he demands that Britain extricate itself from “the American War,” citing the war’s high human cost. And, when Wilberforce champions abolition during wartime — this time with the French — he’s decried as unpatriotic."

From a marketing perspective, it's not a bad thing to have everybody thinking the movie validates their point of view. At the end of the day, I think we're all better for having seen it, so I'm not to worried about that (on an indivisual basis).

But conservatives should work to make sure Wilberforce's legacy isn't co-opted by the Left.

If you've seen the movie, let us know your thoughts ...

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Micah writes:	Sunday, February, 25, 2007 11:18 AM
Willberforce the Anti-War Activist
Great item on the wonderful movie Amazing Grace. I had a different take on your side comment of the movie being all things to all people and thus a marketing coup. Willberforce's call for peace with the Americans was not an anti-war comment to me. I think this because, prior to seeing the film, I had listened to Focus on the Family's Amazing Grace audio theatre which recalls Pitt and Wiber going to France for vacation. While there they meet Benjamin Franklin and diiscuss the Revolutionary War. My impression was that Willberforce wanted the Brits to accept the peace treaty not because of an anti-war sentiment, but his humility to see that America clearly had won its independence. . . perhaps even based upon principles which he himself shared. (Note the line in the movie about not silencing the will of the people when he lays out the petitions in parliment.) Interestingly too, Franklin discusses slavery in the colonies (US) with Pitt and Willber. I highly recommend those audio CD's from Focus on the Family as it is a good prequel to Amazing Grace, which was the intent of the Focus program. It sheds more details on Willberforce's salvation and his personal and intellectual stuggles with his conversion to Christianity.
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bkandwt writes:	Sunday, February, 25, 2007 2:08 PM
Perseverance, not compromise
Mr. Lewis: I too was a bit surprised by the breadth of activism that the movie showed, showing his interest in animal treatment (note, though, not animal "rights") and his conflict with those demanding British patriotism at all costs. But, rather than think it is a marketing ploy to make sure all people feel vindicated by Wilberforce's ideas, I think it may just show that having a main cause, like abolitionism, doesn't excuse a person from acting with morality and honor in all situations. Wilberforce's campaign would have been less noble if he sacrificed his other political positions for the one main goal. Instead, his legacy isn't just his abolition work, but that he modelled the fact that idealism should not compromise. This concept was shown by the movie not only in his unpopular parlimentary debates and "radical" ideas about animal treatment and the war with the Americas, but also in smaller scenes such has his unwillingness to gamble for the life/ownership of a slave (could he not have thought, "oh, but if I win I can set him free"?) and that he eventually gave up cards altogether even when it could hurt him politically. Also, the line you wanted to quote is as follows: "Mr. Wilberforce, we understand you're having problems choosing whether to do the work of God or the work of a political activist. We humbly suggest that you can do both." ( The line is part of one of the clips available at http://amazinggracemovie.com )
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mchance writes:	Sunday, February, 25, 2007 3:51 PM
Wilberforce the secular humanist?
In a great article by the CyberNews Service (http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200702/CUL20070221b.html), Payton Hoegh notes that almost all references to the evangelical Christianity practices by William Wilberforce have been removed from the movie, leaving many viewers who might be unfamiliar with him to believe that he was part of the secular humanist movement of that era. This is going to make it easier for the political left in both this country and in Europe to use Wilberforce as an anti-religious focal point. Further, there are no references to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism and a staunch abolitionist himself. In fact, Wesley's last letter in 1791 to Wilberforce, written shortly before his death, was an encouragement of Wilberforce's anti-slavery efforts. There should be a considerable effort made to see that the religious roots of the anti-slavery campaign are not warped into a validation of secular humanism.
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one hot minute writes:	Sunday, February, 25, 2007 5:55 PM
weekend box office for "Amazing Grace"
The weekend box office numbers won't be in until Monday, but the projection is that "Amazing Grace" will pull in about 4.2 million for the weekend (Friday thru Sunday.) Considering it's only currently playing in 791 theatres, that's not bad. But a lot of Christians get a lot of mileage of attacking Hollywood for not producing films with a Christian protagonist---or at the very least---for not producing films with a positive message which they can take their family to without being inundated with sex, drugs, bodily functions, gratuitous violence, and rock n' roll. Yet they don't always back up their complaints with their money at the box office. So here's a film with an explicitly Christian protagonist---yet people aren't exactly tripping over themselves to go see it. That's not to say the film still won't perform impressively over the next several weeks. But while Hollywood executives may be generally 'secular-progressive' in their personal politics, they're still religiously committed to the bottom line of a balance sheet. And if films with Christian protagonists/moral themes demonstrate an ability to make money, they'll greenlight more similar projects in the future. Even if someone doesn't have the time to invest a few hours of their weekend to sit thru the film, you can still give your support for this film (and increase the likelihood of future similar projects) by literally walking up to the box office and merely purchasing tickets for "Amazing Grace" without staying to watch the film. But at least by purchasing a ticket---even if you didn't stay to watch the film---you've still backed up your complaint about a lack of "better movies" with your money. Otherwise, be content with Hollywood producing more of the same teenage gross out, slasher fare.
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everyonesfacts writes:	Sunday, February, 25, 2007 7:15 PM
Yes, many things to many people
before seeing the movie my wife had been in to see a town councilor about recycling. thus, as she saw Wilberforce fight for slavery she could not but help think of her fight to broaden recycling (Please note: she in no way sees these issues as morally equivalent) People checking this blog I bet will be interested in this blog at Mother Jones debating the idea that the movie is only being used by the right: http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2007/02/3652_wilberforce_be.html
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Matt Lewis writes:	Monday, February, 26, 2007 7:59 AM
Thank you
These comments are great. Thanks the person who found the quote from the movie that I was looking for. Also, thanks for the link to the Mother Jones site. Very helpful.
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Uncle Max writes:	Monday, February, 26, 2007 9:02 AM
My 2 cents
The movie is inspiring. I had to drive about 75 miles to see it and will in all probability do so again. As a present to myself I'll skip getting Mother Jones' spin on it as being used by the Christian Right. McChance - good points. The comment by the Colorado Springs Gazette in obviously trying to draw comparison between those days and these - Idiotic "You have to choose between being a political activist or following God. We submit to you that you can do both." Wasn't that line spoken by William Pitt? There are a few points about the film that I need to clear up. That means that I'll have to get on my little red wagon and go see it again. Gosh one more thing - If you can get through the end of the movie in which the song itself is played on bagpipes without at least tearing up you have a hole in your soul. Have a good Lent everyone and remember that one of the themes of the film is repentance for sin.
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