good or bad?

am i getting too cynical, perhaps?

I went to see Superman Returns last night (don't worry, I won't ruin anything for anyone) and of course, was there in plenty of time for the previews. One such preview was for a movie coming out in December. It's called Nativity, and it focuses on Joseph and Mary and I'm guessing maybe ends with the birth of Jesus? Not sure, the preview didn't give away a lot, except that it's supposed to be inspiring, prolly.

So my first reaction was to roll my eyes - It's June, do we really need to know what's coming out for Christmas? My next reaction was to groan inwardly - another mainstream Christian movie?

I guess it's a good thing that Christian movies are becoming more welcome in the general marketplace, but it just seems so....commercial? It's not like I think the people will totally ruin the story, and I really don't expect the Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, and Herod action figures to come out in the Happy Meals - but I do see books and CDs, journals, devotionals, and all sorts of things to fill the Christian bookstores that will be tied in and marketed to death. Because you know, Christmas isn't that way already.

I'm finding that I distrust the Christian media machine at least as much as the Mainstream one. Everything is there for a reason, and if you can't tie at least a dozen products to it, then why bother? I can't stand what they've done with the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. As exciting as it is to see my favorite book series brought to life in the way that only Hollywood can do, I hate the idea of bastardizing it into something cheap because you want to attach its name to everything under the sun just so it will sell.

So am I overreacting? I pretty much hate walking into a Christian bookstore anymore for this reason - it's obvious that marketers are not blind to the fact that many people will buy a LOT of stuff because it's "Christian" without thinking twice to see if it's actually worth anything. That's why you can package the same version of the same Bible 50 different ways and they will all sell. That's why anyone with an opinion or 6 easy steps for dating or marriage or finances or living a godly life can write a book and it will sell - even if it's pretty much the same as a half dozen other books. Is there some sort of moral responsibility in these settings for people to maybe not encourage the same materialism and gluttony that they see in the rest of American culture?