God’s Not Dead, but Unwelcome at RNC.


A short while back, I posted about the FFRF billboard going up at the RNC.  The makers of the movie God’s Not Dead 2 wanted to put up an advert too, a rather large one:

What convention attendees won’t see is an even larger sign with a pro-religion message that would have advertised the DVD release of God’s Not Dead 2. That’s because, after two months of back-and-forth with the movie’s distributor, the billboard company, Orange Barrel Media, may have deemed the Christian-sounding messaging needlessly provocative.

The sign, which would have measured 32 feet by 60 feet, would have draped down one side of a large building in downtown Cleveland and was to feature a picture of Melissa Joan Hart, who plays a teacher in trouble for invoking scripture in the classroom. Alongside the image of the actress was the text: “I’d rather stand with God and be judged by the world than stand with the world and be judged by God.”

Cleveland_Billboard_God_Not_Dead_EMBED_2016

That is truly a monster sized ad. It’s even huuuuuuuuuuuge.

Orange Barrel told Pure Flix, the distributor, it didn’t like the “judged by God” message, calling it “too political” and “way too incendiary,” according to emails obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. On another occasion, insiders said the billboard company complained that even the title of the film was considered problematic.

Early on, Orange Barrel cited Republican National Committee rules barring “scandalous” signage, though Pure Flix argued that the RNC would have no problem with their message, especially since former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is in the movie. In fact, the GOP has partnered with Pure Flix for a worship service the night prior to the start of the convention, followed by a screening of the movie (with food provided by Chick-fil-A).

No word right now on whether or not the ad will eventually find a home at the RNC, but the FFRF has another ad up:

FFRF_Atheist_Poster_EMBED

Via Hollywood Reporter.

Comments

  1. johnson catman says

    That photo of Hart in the ad is creepy! The shade of her eyes must be photoshopped. It almost reminds me of Nazi propaganda. (Not trying to Godwin here.)

  2. Pierce R. Butler says

    My mainstream-standards-dar doesn’t work very well, but I’d’ve guessed that fewer people would’ve objected to the glassy-eyed-fanatic image than to either the atheists-vote or Trump-kissing-Cruz ads.

    Maybe, somehow, a multiplicity of companies own different billboards around the Cleveland convention center?

  3. says

    Pierce @ 4:

    Maybe, somehow, a multiplicity of companies own different billboards around the Cleveland convention center?

    I did glean from the article that the FFRF adverts were done by a different company, but I don’t know the actual reasons for the rejection, it doesn’t seen anyone does right now, or if they do, they aren’t saying. Just one company memo saying it was too incendiary.

    I don’t think it’s incendiary, it’s rather boring, outside of those disturbing eyeballs. I can’t help wondering if it’s just the sheer bloody size of the thing.

  4. Pierce R. Butler says

    Caine @ # 6 -- Once again, my attempt failed: I meant my “somehow, a multiplicity of companies” line as an arch comment on the media monopolies swallowing US discourse.

    I can’t help wondering if it’s just the sheer bloody size of the thing.

    Unless the Puritans from Pureflix wanted to do some sort of special customized gimmick, wouldn’t anything on that billboard come out grossly gargantuan?

    Considering the nominee and the attendees, I feel a Preparation-H® ad would best suit the occasion.

  5. lorn says

    I would rather live in the real world and try to improve the real world than hold back because I’m afraid of displeasing an imaginary supernatural being.

  6. quotetheunquote says

    Now, just hang on a second!

    Even according in their own (admittedly, hard for me to comprehend) worldview, this tagline makes absolutely zero sense; is it not one of the central tenants of Xianity that everybody -- even ol’ lasereyes here -- will be judged by God, in the end? Should that not be something she’s looking forward to?

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