Reality TV shows are one of the biggest jokes of our time. Although they claim realism in their very titles, they require the audience to suspend disbelief enough to accept that an entire film crew is able to capture these candid moments in daily life. Despite their basic preposterousness, reality TV series about people with interesting lives or unusual lifestyles seem here to stay.
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“The Blind” was directed by Andrew Hyatt, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stephanie Katz. The story was written by Zach Dasher, who was also one of the producers. Willie Robertson, one of Phil’s sons, was executive producer, and Korie Robertson, his wife, was another of the producers. The film was produced by several small companies owned by the Robertsons and their friends, including The Blind Production LLC, Tread Lively, Stacey Films, and GND Media Group. The film was shot in Shreveport, Louisiana, near the Robertsons’ hometown, in early 2022.Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, Phil Robertson (Ronan Carroll) and his siblings are looked down on by their neighbors as white trash because they live in the swamp. His father, an oil worker, is often away, and his mother has frequent psychotic attacks, often getting taken away by the police. Phil’s only friend is Kay Carroway (Scarlett Abinante), and they realize they are meant to be together as they grow up. In high school, Phil (Matthew Erick White) is his school’s star quarterback, so he gets a college football scholarship to Louisiana Tech University. After marrying Kay, Phil (Aron von Andrian) starts working as a substitute teacher and a bartender, and they have three sons. However, his friend Al Bolen (Connor Tillman) gets him drinking at the bar and during hunting and fishing trips. Phil becomes an abusive alcoholic, neglecting and cheating on his wife. His addiction alienates him from his family, but Kay has faith Phil will develop a relationship with God, bringing them back together.
This movie was rated PG-13 for “thematic content and smoking.” The thematic content includes drinking, especially some disturbing scenes about Phil’s alcoholism, adultery, violent behavior from Phil and his mother, and four uses of profanity. Despite this dark subject matter, “The Blind” is a powerful testimony of a man’s dramatic Christian conversion, at its core. This premise reminds me of a classic biographical film about a man who became famous after his conversion changed his life, “Sergeant York” from 1941.
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“Sergeant York” was based on the true story of Alvin C. York, one of the most decorated soldiers in World War I. Starring Gary Cooper in the title role, it was the highest-grossing film of 1941. It was not only commercially successful but critically acclaimed, winning Academy Awards for Best Actor for Cooper and Best Film Editing and receiving nominations in nine other categories, including Best Picture. The supporting cast includes Joan Leslie as the leading lady, as well as veteran character actors Walter Brennan, George Tobias, Ward Bond, and many others. It was a Warner Bros. film and produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jesse L. Lasky. It was directed by Howard Hawks. The screenplay was written by Harry Chandlee, Abem Finkel, John Huston, and Howard Koch, based on “Sergeant York: His Own Life Story and War Diary” by Tom Skeyhill.
In the early 20th century, Alvin York (Cooper) lives with his widowed mother (Margaret Wycherly) and two younger siblings (June Lockhart and Dickie Moore) on a farm in rural Tennessee. The young farmer works hard to earn the money to buy some fertile bottomland, but he spends his free time drinking and fighting. York earns the purchase price sharpshooting, but he grows very angry when the owner goes back on their agreement. York goes to seek revenge, but he and his mule are struck by lightning on the way. This life-threatening experience inspires his conversion to Christianity. However, the drastic change creates a serious moral conflict in the young man when the United States joins World War I. Alvin unsuccessfully tries to register as a conscientious objector because he believes killing is unbiblical. However, he eventually reconciles himself to his patriotic duty because of a particular Scriptural commandment and his experience of seeing how ruthlessly the enemy kills.
These movies have a lot in common. Both are biopics about men who were living at the time of their respective films, so they were involved in the productions, although more so in Robertson’s case. Although each movie focuses on the young adulthood of its subject, the real men were advanced in years when the movies were made. Both Phil Robertson and Alvin York were Southerners, with Robertson coming from Louisiana and York from Tennessee. Both men have a brother and sister. The biggest similarity is both protagonists were hard-living, violent heavy drinkers before they converted to Christianity. After that, neither man is casual about his religion; each becomes very serious about his faith, even though it leads him to hold unpopular, controversial views. Both men became very famous, albeit in different ways. While Alvin York is decorated and praised in Europe and America as a brave war hero, Phil Robertson started a multi-million-dollar duck hunting business, which led to his family’s television show.
