Much as Jesus was crucified at the hands of non-believers, Kirk Cameron has found himself in the 21st-century version of martyrdom: having his content blocked on Facebook and YouTube, after those sites ostensibly blocked the trailer for his latest movie, Unstoppable. Not to be confused with the Denzel Washington/Chris Pine film—here Cameron is the plucky, younger sidekick to his often-crotchety partner God; and instead of a runaway train, it’s wildly out-of-control faithlessness they’re trying to stop—Kirk Cameron’s Unstoppable is due to screen for one night only, on September 24. Unfortunately, like the word of Jesus that didn’t reach the people, because the Romans reported it as “spam,” it’s entirely possible thousands won’t show up on Sept. 24, because Facebook and YouTube wouldn’t allow Cameron to get his message out and for no other reason.
Cameron’s latest spiritual road trip poses the question, “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” (a question that’s plagued theologians and philosophers for centuries, their only answer being, “Dunno. Maybe ask the guy from Growing Pains?”). And ironically, God allowed bad things to happen to Kirk Cameron by letting YouTube and Facebook block the trailer on the grounds that, as Cameron claims, it was “abusive,” “unsafe,” and “spammy.” But rather than ponder this as the inscrutable will of his creator, Cameron did as Jesus on the cross, first asking why he’d been forsaken, then calling on his disciples to complain about their persecution for a really long time until they finally got their way. And thanks to their efforts, the trailer is now available below, so all can see for themselves Cameron’s journey into the heart of faith and, at one point, what looks like a Tool video.
Of course, Jesus had his Doubting Thomas, and there are some who would similarly ask whether this whole “blocking” thing was itself a publicity stunt, crafted to play into his audience’s easily triggered sense of moral outrage. Given that the most “abusive” aspect of the video is Cameron's relentless pounding of heartland imagery, it’s difficult to see what could have possibly riled enough Facebook and YouTube users to flag it into being banned, even considering those who might take issue with, say, the times Cameron has said homosexuality is destroying civilization, or are still mad that he stuck a banana in the tailpipe of evolution. But that would be suggesting that Christians sometimes act as though they’re being victimized simply to rile up the faithful, and clearly that’s ridiculous. [via Gawker]