Term Paper #2

 Taylor Rich

Professor Reppert

MCOM-1003

September 17, 2020

Term Paper #2

Before the pandemic began, I was an avid movie goer. As a fan of Marvel, Disney, and Star Wars movies, I was always reserving my seat for opening night as soon as tickets were available. Whether it was a random family night to go see Frozen II, a random urge to see a new movie or finally see a highly anticipated release, I would constantly find myself at the movie theatre with my friends or family. Although my last movie experience was not as anticipated and exciting as a new Marvel release would have been, I enjoyed my final movie theatre experience since the pandemic. 

On March 13, 2020 two friends and I went to see the Christian and romance movie, “I Still Believe”. Although the romance genre has never been my first choice, my friends' interest in the true story behind the movie, pushed me to attend opening night with them. 

When we arrived for the late night viewing of the movie at 11 pm, the usual Friday night crowd was exceptionally smaller than normal at my local Cinemark XD in Temple, Texas. This could have been a result of the few choices of movies to see, the late hour, or the news regarding the spread of COVID-19 (that my friends and I were hardly aware of). But even with the smaller crowd, the movie experience was as normal as it had been prior to the pandemic. Even with a small-scale viewing, I always purchase seats prior to arrival, so my friends and I surpassed the short line for tickets and immediately walked through the snack aisle to examine their choices. There was an abundance of popcorn, kettle corn, ICEE's, candy, chips, hot-dogs, ice cream, cookies, nachos, and soft drinks offered in a variety of sizes, deals, and snack-packs- all offered at overpriced rates; so my friends and I proceeded to the ticket kiosk and an usher directed us to our designated theatre. 

The theatre was open to rows of seats and only two people occupied seats in the middle row, so my friends and I climbed up to the top row to our reserved seats and reclined in the large, comfortable chairs. As we waited for the previews to start, a few people filtered in occasionally as virtual games and trivia questions displayed on the screen. At our theatre, there are usually a few “behind the scenes” features either about the showing movie or another new release. After the prelims were over, the previews began and the lights dimmed slightly. Although I cannot specifically remember the movie previews that displayed, the previews ran for roughly 20 minutes before the start of “I Still Believe” until finally, the lights dimmed completely and the movie began. 

The movie is based on the story of Christian singer, Jeremy Camp, and his journey as a young man as he faces a test of his faith through love and loss. When Jeremy Camp arrives to his first semester at Calvary Chapel College in California, he meets a girl who will change his life forever. As the year progresses, Jeremy and the girl (Melissa Hanning) become close, but when fall break begins, Melissa is diagnosed with Stage 3C Cancer. Despite this tragic news, Melissa chooses to see this challenge as an opportunity to show God’s love and as a way to strengthen her faith. During this time, Jeremy and Melissa get engaged and through wedding preparations, school, doctors’ visits, and Jeremy’s concerts, Melissa brings strength and happiness through the hardest days. For a while, the cancer seemed to be getting better until Melissa awoke in severe pain during their honeymoon. After rushing her to the hospital, Jeremy is notified that the cancer is spreading, and that his bride does not have much time left to live. As Melissa grows weaker, so does Jeremy’s faith in God. Shortly after the honeymoon, Melissa passes away and Jeremy gives up on his faith and becomes angry and confused, until he finds a note from his late wife telling him that “suffering does not damage faith, but strengthens it”, and encourages him to keep writing and performing his songs. Two years after Melissa’s death, Jeremy performs a song about his suffering and his ultimate restoration of his faith, and uses the song ‘I Still Believe’ as a way to share Melissa’s story and God’s love. 

This inspiring and tear-jerking movie was not at all what I expected for a Christian centered romance movie, but it exceeded my expectations. From the commercials and ads that were aired, I assumed the movie would contain poor acting and a ridiculous plot. Even the actor who was chosen to portray Jeremy Camp (KJ Apa) almost persuaded me to avoid the movie altogether. I had seen KJ Apa in the hit show “Riverdale” and a cheesy summer romance movie “The Last Summer”, so my expectations for him reflected my reluctance to see the movie, but his musical performance and exceptional portrayal of Jeremy Camp surpassed my expectations of him. Although the movie seemed fast paced and a little rushed at times (run time of 1 hr 56 min), the overall story easily connected with the viewers. And even though the movie was not certified fresh by critics on Rotten Tomatoes (score of 51%) the audience ratings were high with a 98% score. Users on IMDb left reviews of the movie and the overall consensus was positive. Some reviewers admitted they were not inclined to faith-based movies but the emotional connection between the characters and the heart of the story brought them to tears and overall left them uplifted after watching the movie. 

I can definitely remember the emotions that consumed me as I watched this movie as well. At the time I may have tried to pass off my reason for crying as being tired, but the love story between the couple and Jeremy Camp’s journey of faith, resonated with me and connected with my emotions. As my friends and I watched the credits roll, we wiped tears from our eyes and quietly laughed as we jokingly said “why did we watch this?”. When we finally dried our tears, we left the theatre along with the other members of the audience who wiped tears away as well. 

My expectations for “I Still Believe” were not as high as they were when I went to see “Avengers Endgame” but the emotions I felt afterward and the overall impression the film left on me, were just as exceptional. Although I don’t enjoy crying in public, the experience and story told through the film was worth the ticket cost and the late-night emotions. To this day, “I Still Believe” is a favorite of mine, along with the soundtrack, and I would definitely watch it again.