Spiritual Scriptwriting

A viewing of The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) this week has prompted me to consider the treatment of spirituality in scriptwriting.  You might have seen this film. There was considerable media attention for this film because of its spiritual focus on true events and it was a big draw for conservative Christian audiences.  If you haven't seen it, here's a review and some background on the story.

I won't attempt to cover arguments over spiritual truths presented in film and the correctness of Hollywood's method.  Reactions I found to the film varied depending on perspective.  This catholic review praised the film for accurately portraying catholic theology and true happenings.  But this reviewer in Prague had a negative reaction to the "medieval" views in the film.  I also found a review that felt the scriptwriters did not delve deeply enough into the dark spirituality around the story. Of course, although a distinct answer to spiritual issues wasn't given, good won in the end.  This can be expected from Hollywood films that attempt to draw different kinds of people, but is that always the approach scriptwriters should take?

My purpose here is to simply draw attention to the presence and treatment of spirituality in not only specific screenplays but in media scriptwriting generally.  I will continue to present other examples that I find.  What do you think? 

-Aaron