Some popular Sunday school curricula won't mention Jesus' death or resurrection because it's too "scary" for preschoolers. They can handle the five loaves and fishes, but when it comes to the battle between good and evil—well, that is too much. This is another reason we need to appreciate dark tales of spiritual quest, says film critic and professor Dr. Thomas Hibbs. In Arts of Darkness: American Noir and the Quest for Redemption, he argues that select mainstream movies, from Casablanca to the Matrix series, compel Americans to be sensitive to sin and the Great Battle between Light and dark.
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