"End of the Spear" - Behind the Scenes
In posting about End of the Spear I intentionally avoided mentioning the fact that the lead actor, Chad Allen is not only openly homosexual but a "gay activist" who campaigns for gay rights and marriage. While I didn't understand -- or agree -- with the casting of a person with these beliefs (Allen also professes to be a Christian) in this particular role, playing characters (father and son) who wouldn't have approved of his lifestyle, I also didn't see the need to make a big deal out of it considering the overall positive impact the movie was having. And none of that has changed.
What has changed is that I now understand how this situation came to be, thanks to this article in Christianity Today, and I think it's an interesting and instructive story about personal integrity.
I still don't understand why Allen chose not to reveal his homosexuality when first presented with the opportunity, nor do I understand how those doing the casting missed Allen's appearance on a gay-themed show on VH-1 in 2003, but what's done is done. God's purposes are ultimately redemptive, and we've yet to see how this will all play out and what those purposes might be. And none of this should detract from the important message of End of the Spear.
In fact, it perhaps makes that message all the more relevant...for those on both sides of the issue. Some will point to the example of forgiveness and mercy, but we shouldn't overlook the equal importance of bending one's own will to that of God.
Update: Just for the record, in this interview with Genre Magazine, Allen tells a somewhat different story about his "coming out" to the makers of Spear than we read in the above-linked Christianity Today article.
Tip of the hat to Andy over at Godverbs.
Gwynne, I don't know if we've yet seen the real story behind how Allen got cast...who knew what and when, and whether Saint supported the decision due to "contractual obligations" or whether he really thought it didn't matter. I agree with your implication that every actor leaves something (or much) of themselves behind when they assume a role, but I'm at a loss to understand why one would go out of their way to cast someone to play the part of an actual figure knowing that the actor subscribes to beliefs that the figure wouldn't have approved of. That's why I think the story is still incomplete.
The documentary was a good enough telling of this story, anyway, imho.
Posted by: Eric at February 7, 2006 10:22 PMAbout the publisher
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I'm not sure how I feel about that...I mean, if they cast only the "right" person in every role, they might not call it "acting," right? More important that Allen doesn't use this role to further his role as a gay activist. That Saint supports the decision to cast Allen speaks volumes...Saint exemplifies Christianity.
I did go see this movie and I think I'd rather see the documentary anyway. The docu interview segments at the end of the film were the most riveting parts of the movie for me. I didn't find the film overtly Christian, which is sad, but that's Hollywood, which is also why we get a gay man in the role of a Christian missionary. In fact, the film definitely doesn't portray the missionaries being killed because of their missionary work; they were killed because they were strangers, period. I thought the movie did a poor job (for me anyway) of providing much insight into why the people were so violent in the first place...I felt no compassion for the Waodani people...maybe that was the point. It struck me as odd that they would jump up in the middle of dinner and just start spearing one another, for no apparent reason (not unlike gang members in urban America perhaps...maybe I just don't get that). And it didn't seque very well into the transformation that eventually did take place. In other words, the film didn't do much to enlighten us as to either side of the story, imho. But the story of how God works in mysterious ways needs to be told...and so it was...sort of.
Posted by: Gwynne at February 7, 2006 09:13 PM