Prayer in Film

VWU PROFESSORS DOCUMENT HOLLYWOOD’S APPEALS

From the silent films of Charlie Chaplin to the “Talladega Nights” prayer directed to the “8-pound, 6-ounce, newborn infant Jesus,” Hollywood has inadvertently taught moviegoers how to pray. A recent documentary film made by two VWU professors shows how—and why.

For “Hollywood, Teach us to Pray,” Dr. Terry Lindvall and Dr. Stu Minnis combed the last century of Hollywood movies to identify those with scenes of characters praying. Their film, released in early 2023, investigates what the prayers are about, what they say about society, and how they may even teach viewers to pray.

The documentary included prayer scenes from “Little Miss Marker” with Shirley Temple; “Easy A” with Emma Stone; “Dead Man Walking” with Sean Penn; “Hacksaw Ridge” with Andrew Garfield; and many other films.

Communication professor Dr. Lindvall is VWU’s C.S. Lewis Endowed Chair in Communication and Christian Thought. The idea for the documentary evolved out of his curriculum research. While teaching “Theology and Film,” Dr. Lindvall compiled a brief visual lecture on a history of prayers in Hollywood films. In 2006, he presented his first workshop on the subject at the Virginia Film Festival. Then he wrote the book “God on the Big Screen: A History of Hollywood Prayers from the Silent Era to Today,” published in 2019.

After receiving a grant from the Newington-Cropsey Foundation to produce the documentary, he enlisted the help of former students, friends and colleagues, including VWU colleague Dr. Stu Minnis, chair and professor of communication. Dr. Minnis agreed to serve as the documentary’s editor.

“Editing a feature is a massive undertaking,” Dr. Minnis said. This project was the first time he had ever done a clip-and-interview style documentary. And he learned quickly that getting the puzzle pieces to fit together was often challenging but ultimately satisfying.

“It's worth noting that moments of prayer are often some of the most emotionally powerful moments in these films,” Dr. Minnis said, “which meant that I was frequently watching emotionally wrenching clips over and over again. Sometimes it just plain wore me out. Two scenes in particular, the death of the infant in ‘Sparrows’ and the prayer before battle in ‘Glory,’ literally had me tearing up every time I watched them, and I had to watch them a lot.”

The film’s topic and title may seem to imply that only religious people will be interested, Dr. Minnis said. But it is just as much about the way filmmakers use prayer in their storytelling, including in irreverent ways.

“ The topic is interesting regardless of your beliefs,” Dr. Minnis explained, “and just about anyone of any faith, or of no faith at all, would enjoy this film.”