The Star

I have seen many children's films in my time but never one that has left me so upset and annoyed.

For those who don't know The Star is supposed to be the Nativity story but the donkey is the main character...a bit like primary Nativity plays.
Why am I so annoyed?
1.My main concern. They rewrote parts of the Bible. I’m not a practising Christian and most of you know that I‘m happy to debate the pros and cons of organised religion but the Bible is a Holy Book and this wasn’t simply a different interpretation but totally new events and characters. That is so wrong. Some children/adults don’t know the story as written in the Bible and they may think this is a true representation. My stepson (9) said that he preferred the film version because it was more exciting than the Bible version but at least he knows the difference between the two.
2.Stereotypes. Apart from having dark hair, Mary and Joseph were very Aryan and they together with the good animals spoke with American accents. However Herod was a total racial stereotype. Large nose, nasal voice….think Fagin but worse. Also, having to walk with a stick, he was the only disabled character in the film.
3.The new characters and storylines. I expected animal characters. What I didn’t expect was a giant man with two vicious dogs who was sent by Herod to hunt down and kill Mary before she could give birth. Neither did I expect them to rewrite the way Joseph was told by an angel to accept Mary and her pregnancy. According to the Bible he was told in a dream. In this film an angel appeared to Joseph as he knelt in a very Christian looking act of prayer. Jewish people do not kneel during prayer because they believe that people who indulged in idol worship often did so in a kneeling position. Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year and kneeling during prayer is allowed only on that day. I’m not happy that they changed the ages of Mary and Joseph to their mid-twenties but I understand why. They would never have got a U rating if they’d shown a young teenage girl with a middle aged man.
I could go on but you get my drift. I hate the way Hollywood rewrites history but this is worse because it messes with a religion which many people and countries base their moral codes on. Christianity currently teaches peace and love but it would be easy, with a few adjustments, to change that to an insular religion with a hatred of ‘others’. Just think how some fundamentalists already interpret the Bible.