Nativity News vol. 11
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Basically it lists all the spin-offs etc. tied in with the movie as follows:
CCN: Church Communication Network (CCN) will broadcast a satellite event called The Nativity Story. It will air live in more than 3,300 churches nationwide in November.
Pauline Books & Media: The Pauline Publishing House creates books, resource materials, and media and communication tools for the Catholic market. For The Nativity Story, they will create several film-related books.
Tyndale House Publishers: Tyndale, a Christian publishing house, is producing a series of five Nativity-related books, including a novelization of the script and a full-color coffee table book. They will also have a presence at Christian bookstores nationwide.
Word Label Group: Word Records will release two albums related to The Nativity Story; an original score album, and an "inspired-by" compilation of Christian artists singing Christmas classics.
Lawson Falle Inventive: Lawson-Falle Cards is creating a series of Nativity-based Christmas cards. Cards will be in 7,000 retail locations in early November.
Outreach, Inc.: Outreach, Inc. will provide church communication and outreach tools related to The Nativity Story, including direct mail postcards, bulletins, and invitations. These materials will be available to churches and small groups nationwide.
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![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1871/2060/200/erwin%20mcmanus.jpg)
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention that Keisha Castle Hughes is pregnant, simply because the news broke on Friday afternoon, and was so widely spread by the time I was next able to blog on Monday that it didn't seem worth rushing it.
![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1871/2060/200/2006%20NAtivity%20Mary%20pregnant.jpg)
The thing with all of these comments is that they are so deeply embedded in our culture and its standards and taboos. I'm a huge proponent of women having equality, great careers, and a fulfilled life in any sphere they choose. My boss is an incredible woman to work for and I don't know anyone that could have done the phenomenal job she has done over the last ten years.
But, the assumption I don't like in these comments is that if a woman freely chooses motherhood there is something wrong with her, or she is aiming too low. To my mid, motherhood is just as high a calling as practically any business I can think of. Furthermore, there's also an assumption in those comments that no matter how much money you have, if you have the potential to earn more, you're obliged to do so.
That's not to say, I have no qualms about this news whatsoever. It maybe that this choice is not a free one, or wasn't even a choice as much. But it seems wrong to judge it wrong when no-one really knows the details. And when there's so much medical evidence to suggest that childbirth is better when the mother is younger, such knee-jerk condemnations seem out of place. Heck Hughes can bring her up full time until the baby is five years old, and still be only 21 with a potentially glittering career ahead of her. So I hope this works out for them, certainly we shouldn't automatically assume that this is a bad choice based solely on our prejudices.
One further thought. Peter Chattaway wonders about life imitating art and ponders whether it will affect how this is marketed to churches. I couldn't help wondering about DeMille's The King of Kings. H.B. Warner, the actor who played Jesus in that film, allegedly had a drink problem, and so DeMille went to great lengths to try and ensure that his actor wasn't caught acting in a way contrary to the character he was portraying. Here things seemed to have worked out in the opposite way. By rights it shouldn't damage the box office potential of the film. Hughes, like Warner doesn't profess Christianity, and surely no-one actually thinks either of them could be capable of matching up to the high moral standards people assumed that Mary and Jesus lived to. The only real difference is that whereas DeMille successfully hushed up Warner's problem, the makers of this film, whether intentionally or otherwise, have not done.
One last point, in trying to find an "appropriate" image for this last story I've realised that in none of the publicity photos, or on either of the trailers do we see Mary looking pregnant. This might just be coincidence, or it might be because often pregnant teenagers don't show as much as older women, or it might simply be so that people like me didn't have pictures to use when covering this story when it inevitably came out. I'd love to know which it was.
Labels: Books, Nativity - Mary Joseph, Nativity Story (The)
1 Comments:
At 9:00 pm, November 18, 2006,
Anonymous said…
An anonymous tip from a friend of Keisha Castle Hughes, from Auckland NZ.
The reason Keisha does not show any manifestations of pregnancy is simple; the girl is not pregnant.
At no point did Keisha confirm any rumors of pregnancy, she is physically unable to become pregnant, it is all a beat up that got out of hand.
Believe me, I know, this girl is not expecting.
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