Though the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a relatively small denomination compared to Baptists or Methodists, Hollywood has paid plenty of attention to Presbyterian clergy.
However, the most recent example, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” takes little note that Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister. There is no mention of God or prayer until the last few minutes of the film.
During the heyday of PBS’s “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” even a lot of Presbyterians did not know that the mild-spoken host of the popular PBS children’s program was a clergyman, indeed, no doubt the most famous living Presbyterian in all the world.
Each year when members of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announces its candidates for “Best Picture,” it is surprising how many of them deal with issues important to people of faith.
Presbyterian News Service is continuing the tradition begun about 15 years ago in Presbyterians Today of selecting the year’s top 10 films. The list is different from those appearing in secular journals because the primary criteria are spiritual and moral/ethical values, not artistic ones.
Like other film critics, each year I compile a Top Ten Films list once the major films open at last in my city in “fly-over” Ohio. As in other years, my list differs greatly from others because the criteria are not primarily aesthetic, but spiritual and ethical.
