We all have a challenging time representing God at any given moment. Some of us feel inadequate, or too small to represent such a Big and awesome God. What if you say something our Heavenly Father might not really be pleased with? These questions go through our minds all the time.
But now, portraying God in a movie or show seems to be a much bigger challenge in itself. This is more difficult because you have to show God to people. Not simply tell people about God; Show! Portray God in all His Glory while you have never seen God yourself. You have no idea what He might sound like or look like, but yet, you are presented with the honorable and yet demanding task of showing God to the world. Geez!
This is the kind of task that the producers of the upcoming animated film ‘David’ are faced with. Yes, that David. The man after God’s own heart. It’s an animated film about his incredible life journey, and there’s no telling a story about David without God being in it. After all, God was his rock, fortress, deliverer, and so much more.
Phil Cunningham, the creator of the film, and Lynton Levengood, the production designer, discuss the conundrum of casting God in an animated film, in the video titled “DAVID: The Deeper Messages in Our Animation”. In this video, the creator and producer acknowledge the tasking nature of casting God when they open a discussion on ‘How do you cast God in an animated film? How do you portray His character? And yet keep it authentic in the way that David would have experienced God?’
Cunningham explains that one of the tricks to portraying God is understanding that God and nature are one. “The way you portray God is by going back to nature”, He says. Nature itself speaks a lot about the nature of God. He backs up his point with Romans 1:20, which reads “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities- His eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen and being understood from what has been made.”
The creator of ‘David’ adds that nature is like a work of art, and the fingerprints of the artist are all over His work; nature in this case. The art points us to the artist. He also tells us that the way we view nature and are impressed by it is enough for us to trust God’s magnificence, rather than looking to see or hear His audible voice. The beauty around us tells us about the kindness, love, patience, and power of God.
Cunningham also asks this very profound question “What is God’s character/role in your life; and if you were to put Him into a movie, how would you do it?”
Similarly, the production designer of the film, Lynton Levengood also points out the challenge of casting the most important character, God, who happens to be invisible. He explains some of the visuals that the film is using to portray God, which are golden light, Tekhelet blue, and harmony with nature.
Levengood elaborates that they are using golden light to symbolize David being in a good place with God. When David walks into a dark room, the light shines on him, showing that God is with David. But when David is not in a good place with God, He is blocked out from the golden light, despite the light still being there. This is the same case with other characters like Saul.
As for Tekhelet blue, this is a color that the Israelites were commanded to wear on the corners of their garments. The producers also use it to symbolize God. It is the color that the atmosphere turns into when you are looking through air over a long distance. Like golden light, it is also used when characters are in good terms with God.
Characters interacting with nature are also used to bring out nature as a character, in this case, God. Levengood explains that they are having characters walk in nature as a symbol of them walking with God, and actually being embraced by nature. Because of this, David will be seen interacting with nature a lot, as a symbol of his walk with God.
These are some of the ways we will get to see God portrayed in the film.
The creator and producers have taken on this demanding task and they are owning it. They are making sure to show us God’s glory through nature, and dare I say, they are being very creative with it.
