ABC Hands Down a New 'Ten Commandments'

Dramatic license: The distortion of fact, or the changing of an established work in the name of art. In today's TV and movie trade, the use of dramatic license is as common as the use of makeup or, better yet, plastic surgery. A film's creator can take a story and fill in the gaps, smooth out the creases, or replace the original material altogether with whatever suits his or her fancy. And it's all for the good of some indistinct entity called art.

It's a concept that immediately leapt to mind when I heard that ABC and Hallmark Entertainment were releasing a new miniseries version of The Ten Commandments. It's not that I don't trust them ... well, yes it is. Over the years I've grown jaded when it comes to the entertainment industry's handling of anything biblical. Scripture and Hollywood rarely seem to end up on the same page—or script.

Wasn't it Hallmark that produced a lopsided version of Noah's Ark, where Noah had to keep his hormonally charged sons away from their girlfriends and stop his wife from throwing the animals overboard? Whatever happened to the good old Cecil B. DeMille days? Now, he created a Ten Commandments that we all could love. That was great biblical drama. Right?

Side By Side By Side
So, I screened an advance copy of ABC's new Ten Commandments, and then dug out Mr. DeMille's 1956 version (a whopping seven hours of viewing between the two). Oh my, what a difference 40 years makes. My inner cynic reared his ugly head and said, "See? I told you so."

This updated version had changed everything. It lacked the Technicolor-widescreen-soundstage splendor of the classic movie. Everything was desert-like, draped in ugly browns. And don't get me started about the story. What happened to the love interest? Moses and Rameses were in love with the same beautiful woman, remember? I grabbed my Bible. It's right here in the book of Exodus ... uh, chapter ... um ... uh oh, it's not here. Cecil, not you, too!

This demanded closer examination, so I set the movies aside and reread the whole book of Exodus. As I reacquainted myself with the real story of Moses and the Israelites, I was surprised to find how faithful to the source ABC had been. For example, their Moses is a man who vacillates between absolute trust in God and a painful self doubt. Now, I'd rather see Moses as a powerful man with flowing white hair who never wavers. But the Bible tells us of a man who felt himself so unequipped for the task set before him that he often angered God arguing the point (Exodus 4 and 17).

Speaking of God, this new Commandments portrays Him as pretty Old Testament tough. No politically correct deity here. He crushes the Egyptian army and scatters their bodies along the shore of the Red Sea (Exodus 14). And he orders the Israelites to decimate the Amalekites (Exodus 17) and slaughter fellow tribe members who turn away from their promises to Him (Exodus 32).

Of course, all this tends to kick up the violence quotient when it's splashed into living rooms via the small screen. There are enough stabbings, slit throats, slain children and open wounds to cover several Old Testament stories. I appreciate the attempt at being authentic, but clearly there's a huge difference between the experience of reading about a murder and the impact of actually seeing someone get hit in the temple with a rock. (If this film were to be rated by the MPAA, it would likely receive a PG-13 rating for such instances of violence and its inclusion of partial nudity in the form of cleavage and a view of the back of a topless woman splashing in a pool with a tryst; it's certainly not "fun for the whole family.")

Your Dramatic License, Please
All this talk of authenticity should not leave you thinking The Ten Commandments never stumbles. Early on, for example, when Moses kills an Egyptian who is beating a Hebrew slave, he does it to save her from being raped. Where did that come from? Did we really need sexual violence thrown in? And then later, Moses is explaining his relationship with God to his brother and says, "He has all this power, but He has to come to somebody like me to do things on His behalf. That makes Him a little short-tempered at times." It does?! It's more than a little foolish to think that God would be unable to do something unless Moses, or anybody, did it for Him. And Moses would have known that by then.

Another extra-biblical downside occurs after the exodus from Egypt. Moses' family rejoins him in the desert. His wife begs him to connect with their sons and let them stay with him. For some reason, he goes to extremes to send them all away again, blaming God for both his emotional and physical distance. "I can't," he tells his wife. "This takes everything I have. Every minute of the day and night." God may demand that you be dedicated, but He does not demand cruelty and hardheartedness to your family—even in the Old Testament.

An "Entertaining" Bible Study?
Days after my Moses movie marathon, I was still mulling over the biblical story of the Ten Commandments and how it matched up with Hollywood's depictions, past and present. I kept wondering why a Bible story could never make the transition to film completely whole, without bells and whistles being added for dramatic impact.

Then one of my wise colleagues put forth the suggestion that, in addition to reminding millions about the wonderful story of God's liberation of Israel, this new ABC miniseries might motivate us to actually go back to our Bibles and read the story. Which is exactly what I had done.

The catch, though, is for those who don't take the time to do so. Dramatic license—and a few theological loop-the-loops—don't allow The Ten Commandments to do more than hint at the majestic omnipotence of the one called I AM WHO I AM. Scripture contains the whole truth about the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who leads His people, as a pillar of fire, to the land of milk and honey.