Plugging an episcopal gap in the market
Will Heaven meets a former 'prodigal' helping Catholic families to decide what their children should see at the multiplex
29 August 2008

Mark Banks: Creator of Soul Food Cinema

For most movie buffs, the Godfather trilogy is a story of crime, revenge and Italian family loyalty, harking back to the values of the old country. The films - particularly parts I and II - consistently rank among the top ten of all time.

But for Mark Banks, editor of Soul Food Cinema, it is the less popular Part III which has the strongest appeal. "It is in Part III," he says, "that the religious aspect comes into play. Michael Corleone, the Godfather, is given the chance to redeem himself. But he turns away from that."

The Godfather trilogy, Mark tells me, is "almost like watching the Old Testament on film".

It is certainly thought-provoking. Looking at films from a Christian perspective is not something many Catholics do. But the idea itself is not a new one. There are a number of American evangelical movie websites in existence already - Pluggedinonline.com, for instance, lists all new movie releases and analyses "spiritual content", "sexual content" and "crude or profane language", among other things.

At its best, the site can be a helpful guide for Catholic families - the new Batman film might sound like a fun evening out for the kids until you learn of its violent and disturbing content. At its worst, though, a pluggedinonline review can be an exercise in priggishness.

But Mark Banks is resolute. Soul Food Cinema (www.soulfoodcinema.com) will bring something new to the web - a place for Catholics to learn which films can help them on their spiritual journey. As the website's blurb states: "Soul Food Cinema is a Catholic-Christian website that aims to educate, evangelise and entertain using the medium of the movies."

So, films can be used to evangelise. The Church, naturally, is keen on that idea and has been since cinema's invention. Back in 1936, Pope Pius XII wrote the encyclical letter Vigilanti Cura about "the motion picture". Referring to the cinema as a "great international force", the Pope warned Catholics that "unhealthy and impure entertainment destroys the moral fibre of a nation". He called for vigilance, that Catholics ask for cinema to be "a valuable auxiliary of instruction and education rather than of destruction and ruin of souls".

Interestingly, the Pope also asked that "in each country the bishops set up a permanent national reviewing office in order to be able to promote good motion pictures". No such office exists now - Mark Banks has found a episcopal gap in the market.

Mark tells me that the seed of the website was sown when he was still at university. He was in his first year and, although he had been raised Catholic, was very much prodigal.



"I had an obsession with bodybuilding. It was a case of eat, sleep and exercise - all, unfortunately, with the help of anabolic steroids."

At university, it seems, excess was the norm. "Drunken nights out were a staple of my life; I experimented with marijuana and ecstasy pills, stupidly taking three in one night on one occasion.

"The steroid use culminated in me injecting myself 20 times over the course of one 30-day period during my final year at university."

It showed. A photograph of Mark at the time is displayed on Soul Food Cinema. He looks like an Olympic weightlifter - several stones heavier than he is now. In the picture, he is smiling. But, he says, "don't be fooled".

"My attitude became increasingly dark, disrespectful and hostile to those closest to me."

It was around this time - in 1997 - that Mark had a life-changing experience. He went along with his gym training partner to the cinema to see Good Will Hunting. The film charts the progression of a relationship between a psychiatrist (Robin Williams) and Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a troubled young janitor who is secretly a gifted mathematician.

"The character of Will was one I could relate to; his cynical humour, academic ability, fondness for attractive girls and spare time spent lifting weights were all traits I admired. By the end of the film I was hooked on this character."

Then came the breakthrough. In the film, Will Hunting finally admits that he was abused as a child and in an emotional scene appears to finally conquer his deepest insecurities. For Mark, it was also a moment of extreme emotion.

"Sitting next to a friend, not wanting to lose my pride, I fought to hold back the tears myself... something, or someone, had certainly touched me like never before."

Although the moment was key to Mark's return to the Church, it was not a road to Damascus-style change of heart. Over the next few years he slowly reformed spiritually. There were "five main things", he believes, that helped him achieve this.

First, the prayers of his family and his own "sporadic" prayer life. Second, his own search for peace and fulfillment - including through the reading of the great philosophers. Mark's manager in his first job as an economist bore an "excellent day-to-day witness to his Christian faith". Fourth was two failed relationships and fifth, "the shortest, simplest and least intellectual", was a prayer that he made with a colleague.

It was at an ecumenical Anglican meeting, and Mark and his Christian colleague simply prayed that "Jesus would come into my life". Mark believes "it was this short and simple prayer that was the most significant in opening up my life to Jesus and a baptism in the Holy Spirit".

With the help of friends and family, and a couple of years off work for research, the website was born. Soul Food Cinema now lists over 700 films and features lists of the best Catholic family films, as well as the opportunity for viewers to write about films and submit full length essays on them.

"The idea is that readers contribute comments and essays to the website so that we can all help and guide each other as a community. There are some films that aren't easy to judge and the more people that contribute, the better."

On the website, it is clear which films are recommended and which are not - each one is colour-coded. Green is the "recommended" rating Mark has given to La Vita è Bella. It is top of his list of favourite films, and he describes it as having a "New Testament" feel to it. The film, he claims, "will lift your spirits and capture your heart" - love and sacrifice being the overarching themes.

Unsurprisingly, Batman: The Dark Knight, gets the red light. Mark's observations are acute. He comments: "In a recent interview with BBC News at the premiere of The Dark Knight in London, Christian Bale said of Heath Ledger's performance: 'It's haunting, it really stays with you'." But Mark asks sceptically: "I'd like to know exactly what it is that stays with you."

Ultimately, Soul Food Cinema's success will depend on Mark's dedication. The site is competing directly with evangelical sites and, although it is aimed especially at Catholics, it is evangelical Catholics who will use it the most. If he captures that market, the site will only grow.