"Coat of Many Colors"

The other night (Thursday) I watched the TV movie, Coat of Many Colors, which was supposedly a depiction of events from the life of country singer, Dolly Parton. It supposedly portrayed the real-life story upon which her well-known song "Coat of Many Colors" was based. I admit at the outset that I have always been a big fan of Dolly, and her work, both as a musician, and as an entertainer in general.

Although many of my fellow evangelical Christians who viewed it are probably upset at some of its Biblically inaccurate representations, I found it delightful! As far as it's inaccuracies are concerned, the scene where Dolly's mother tells the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors was pretty much off the chart, but they did get the basic story and its Christian significance right, and the spirit in which it was offered was meaningful.

I do not know the extent to which Dolly's real-life story was fictionalized to make it interesting and to make the points that its creators wished to make, but I must assume  that it had to be altered somewhat in order to make the story flow as well as it did. That being said, I was impressed with the story in general and that the story writers were completely unashamed to say those politically incorrect words; Jesus, heaven, and hell.

The conflict between the characters and their relationship with God could also be regarded as objectionable by some observers. At one point both Dolly and her father each  curse God because of their troubles.   I found this less objectionable, and more typical of how we all tend to react when things don't go the way we think that they should in life. I don't want to belittle anyone's feelings at this point, but I have found that in my own life, as well as my observation of others that the more we are familiar with the Bible, and the closer we are to God in our prayer life, the less we all are prone to this reaction. Yet this is certainly how we all sometimes react if we are honest enough to admit it.

I was also impressed by the way that the church people were portrayed in this story. Although Dolly's father takes them to task at one point for being "hypocrites" this is not the overall portrayal of these folks. In fact, this is quite common in life for those who are on the outside, looking in, to accuse Christians of hypocrisy as an excuse to avoid confronting the Lord that these folks are attempting to serve.  Rather than being vilified in this story as hypocrites, the church folks are generally portrayed as simply flawed people who are trying to do the will of God, but sometimes fail in their attempt. This is also a symptom of not spending enough time with the Lord, and with His word, but you have heard me "preach" about this enough in the past, so enough said. Dolly's preacher grandfather (played by one of my favorites, Gerald McRaney) was, I also thought, sensitively portrayed  as a flawed man who nonetheless tried hard to remain faithful to God and to his calling.

In the end, all the conflicting parties become reconciled to God, and to each other. A major high point in the story was at the end when Dolly's  father comes to Christ, albeit in a subtle, made-for-prime-time, implicit rather than explicit way. I also was moved to tears (of joy) near the end when Dolly's character talked about everyone and their departed ones getting together in heaven and enjoying eternity together.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this show. I don't know to what extent Dolly Parton herself was involved in the writing and presentation of this story, but I applaud all involved for the way it was presented, and for a sensitive representation of the Christian life that is almost impossible to find anymore. I hope that this story will become a regular part of the network TV Christmas fare each year.   

Thanks for sharing this moment with me today.