Mixing violence and religion in 'The Reckoning': The scripting of a postmodern action thriller inside the John Woo-film noir paradigm

Violence in the arts continues to be a hotly debated topic in American film. Indeed, action violence becomes even more troublesome for the writer of faith amidst widespread suspicion that media violence constructs social behavior. For this reason screenwriters often feel pressure to subscribe to a more "family-fare" modality of storytelling. The John Woo action paradigm stands in marked contrast. This research suggests how the spiritual cinema of John Woo offers the writer powerful ideological and structural clues useful in creating a blueprint for film that has the best chance of succeeding in the marketplace of ideas that has become Hollywood today. Lessons from the tradition of film noir are also considered. The original screenplay The Reckoning demonstrates how the screenwriter may resort to noir-type action violence as a means of confronting the immorality of war and materialism, including the criminal element in American society and politics.