THIS IS ABOUT the CERRITOS/BELLFLOWER VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCHOOL IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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Wednesday, March 6, 2024
about Paul Schrader's movie Hardcore, that begins in Grand Rapids and ends in Hollywood (which is not Bellflower)
prefix: anybody from the Reformed tradition, and especially the Christian Reformed tradition (CRC), should at least be aware of the legacy of Paul Schrader (a calvin alumnus, maybe or maybe not graduated); and the 1979 movie Hardcore (even if it is not recommended for young people; nor would I recommend it in general except for the purpose of knowing the significance of it for the reformed community) ; and also there's a reference to Bellflower in it (which is where the Christian Reformed settled in southern California back in the day, and to this day there remains a few CRC's as well as the K-12 Christian school founded by the CRC, and still in association with the CRC. Furthermore, many Valley students go on to Calvin College; another reason for being aware of who is Paul Schrader and in particular this film entitled "Hardcore".
Above: my pic of Paul Schrader when I saw him at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles years ago.
Ironically I grew up in GR (Grand Rapids, MI) but our family moved to Bellflower when I was in high school. Paul Schrader begins his movie "Hardcore" (original title was "The Pilgrim" in GR ..and the kids are headed to a young calvinist convention (something the Christian Reformed Church used to do, maybe still do, for adolescents of the CRC) with a big sign on a bus that says "Bellflower" on it. But before I recap the movie for those of you who haven't seen it (by the way, it is available, or was, on Tubi for free now, finally; & not for children by the way. See https://tubitv.com/movies/670431/hardcore ; by the way, last time I checked it is no longer available on Tubi ; maybe they mistakenly released it for free temporarily. Maybe I got lucky).
I guess I didn't see it because I hadn't made a point of it, and it hasn't been free until now. I'm not a "fan boy" of Paul Schrader just because of our similar backgrounds. If he creates good material I will applaud it. Otherwise, not. But when it popped up as a "new free movie" on Tubi I took the time to critically view it. You can also view the opening scenes on YouTube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3x46EkgGfc or https://rb.gy/29yjho
So this film was released in 1979 when I was 12 years old, and of course when I was a kid in the 70's in Grand Rapids it would not have been a movie my parents would have approved of, even if it was a Paul Schrader movie- or maybe especially because it was a Schrader movie. He was considered a rebel back then by the CRC- and may still be in some parts.
My parents never mentioned him, either intentionally or because he simply wasn't in their sphere. I only knew of him because of little things I heard or read here & there- maybe at my Christian school (GRCH) or later at Calvin College. I haven't gone back to research this aspect of Paul Schrader's life, but as best as I can recall there was some sort of controversy about Schrader when he was on the Chimes staff, and something about the college chaplain, and something about the code of counseling confidentiality etc etc, … ; and something happened that I won't speculate any further .. some say he got kicked out of Calvin; others say he graduated. Numerous stories abound and maybe we will never know for sure. Schrader himself may have started some of the rumors to add to his "rebel image". At this point, it doesn't really matter.
Even when our family moved from GR to Bellflower when I was in high school I didn't know anything specific about the movie Hardcore or any of his other movies. I don't even remember when I saw Taxi Driver, the movie he is best known for (probably, as he himself says; but some make an argument for "American Gigolo") .
Here's one quote I come across re Taxi Driver:
"In 1973, only five years out of Calvin College, Schrader wrote a near-perfect first screenplay, including revision, in ten days while living in his car following the demise of his first marriage, drinking heavily and attracted to pornography, guns, and suicide. No surprise, then, that Taxi Driver (1974) is not a cheerful work, displaying at length the badly tangled psyche of marine-vet Travis Bickle (De Niro), a New York cabbie who drives the night shift because he can't sleep anyway." https://www.booksandculture.com/articles/1999/julaug/9b4020.html
And of course I had never seen him in person nor even a picture of him. I mention this because much later in life when I was a young adult working in Los Angeles & exploring different parts, I started going to the UCLA Hammer Museum on a periodic basis (by the way, I also worked for a short time at UCLA as a chaplain in the medical center, and completed CPE there (Clinical Pastoral Education). Even though the museum is far too lefty for my taste, I would go there as a Christian evangelist and try to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ our Savior- if nothing else- leaving little Bible tracts underneath windshield wipers. My code of honor as an evangelist is that if a person rejects the gospel I can at least try to be influence or inspire them to be a good citizen.
And one day I noticed the Hammer Museum calendar saying that Paul Schrader was going to be there in person- so I made sure to mark the date to attend the free event. Of course, Schrader attended the UCLA for cinematography (or whatever they call it now)- and for this event he was showing a film and having a conversation with a museum person (& I think he was donating some of his "historic" materials to the UCLA archive).
So I arrived a little early and entered the lobby of the Hammer Museum, and there was an elderly chap sitting alone on a bench waiting for the event to begin and I just passed him by to find a seat in the auditorium. What I didn't know until the show started was that it was Paul Schrader himself sitting there.
I wished I had known what he looked like so I could have said hello and mention to him our similar pathways- ie we both grew up in GR, both attended GRCH & Calvin, both grew up in the CRC, etc. He originally intended to go into Christian ministry, while I actually did so; but also dabbled in show business myself (more about that later). It would have been a fun conversation.
Also, by the way, his late brother Len was involved in Hollywood film making, mainly as a writer- best known for his film entitled "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" - another film which I did not see until late in life- and for that matter- I didn't find it very compelling- and never actually finished watching it. It had a lefty agenda which I don't necessarily agree with- or find very entertaining either. But it did win an Oscar, for what it's worth. It stars the late William Hurt- and I noticed that Paul is currently married to Mary Beth Hurt- who as best as I can tell was originally married to William Hurt- but it ended in divorce (I think).
Another connection to the Schraders is that Len attended the University of Iowa writing program in Iowa City (coincidentally, I was born at the University of Iowa Medical Center when my dad was working his first full-time job as a CRC pastor- and my parents had interacted with Len on a few occasions).
Anyways, I attended the Hammer Museum event -watched his film about "Mishima" - listened to the interview- nothing particular memorable about any of it. Never got a chance to talk to him. With all of this as a prelude, let's get back to the Hardcore movie- as mentioned it begins in GR with kids sledding on a hill - like I did when I was a child - I think they show "Richmond Park" for the sledding scene (where I never went sledding- we would usually go to Brookside or Tower Park on the SE side).
They also show at least one Christian Reformed Church in the opening scene- I think it is Leonard Street CRC. This is the west side of GR- opposite of where I grew up. I would rarely come over this way on my own or even with my family - except for a few times when we might go to John Ball Zoo. I remember playing against "Westside" school in basketball when I was playing for Millbrook on the southeast side (I remember Bill Sall was their best player. Now he's the Calvin Coach. Small world). That's about it. Anyways, the point is that Paul Schrader was a "west sider."
Later in life I've explored the west side of GR a bit more, but we never attended the Christian Reformed churches on that side of town (our family attended 1st CRC, also known as Bates Street). Of course we had west side kids in our class at GRCH- all the Christian junior high students (from Ada, Millbrook, Sylvan, East Paris, Westside, Creston, etc ) eventually meet at the one main high school (some of these junior highs no longer exist, including mine). The opening scene also apparently shows Paul's dad shoveling snow and Paul's actual house (lots of actual real snow- makes me wonder if they filmed this after the famous blizzard of '78? I was living there at the time and remember it well. And it fits with the timing of the release a year later).
There's also a scene at a factory, and also at a home that says in fading paint "Van Dorn's Celery"- (apparently, celery farming was a thing in west Michigan for some time. See https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/celery-in-western-michigan ) where they show some of the elderly folk talking about Reformed theology- all familiar topics to me
Later, there's even a scene where the main character - the father in search of his daughter in Los Angeles (played by George C. Scott) has a conversation with a young lady about "TULIP" - the reformed acronym for Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistable Grace, & Perseverance of the Saints - to which the female character responds "Wow, you're more messed up than me", or something like that.
Why is the father searching for his daughter? Because somewhere after reaching Los Angeles, the daughter disappeared. And nobody knows what happened. So after hiring a private investigator who is only partially successful or honest with the father, the father decides to go to L.A. on his own to find his beloved daughter.
And here is where I need to mention some particulars about the movie that are misleading. Of course the bus says they are going to a convention in Bellflower which is indeed in Los Angeles county- but Bellflower is one of MANY suburbs & incorporated cities (88 in total) of L.A. county -and it is not necessarily in a "seedy" area as depicted in the movie.
From Bellflower to downtown is 18 miles. If a young person was going to L.A. to be LED ASTRAY (no pun intended, but it works well ie LA= Led Astray), Bellflower would not necessarily be the place to go. Bellflower was originally mostly Dutch farmers- in fact my dad, as the son of a CRC pastor, partially grew up there in the 1930's before moving to Holland Michigan.
He has photo album pics of wide open fields- dirt roads, lots of open space etc. Of course by the 70's it had become much more established, but still then and today is not near Hollywood nor the lefty craziness you might think (of) (sorry to end with a preposition). In the 70's and even still today it is a relatively mundane community - not a lot of exciting night life or theatres, etc.
For entertainment, people might go to Cerritos Mall; or venture all the way downtown or to Hollywood for special shows etc. Belfllower is surrounded by other suburbs such as Lakewood, Long Beach, Norwalk, Downey, Paramount, and the list goes on. For sports, there's Angels Stadium in Anaheim, and Dodger Stadium near downtown, and all the other sports teams, but none are near Bellflower.
Perhaps Bellflower's biggest claim to fame today is the football team at Bosco Catholic High School. They are a regular top seed in the entire nation for high school football, and high prospects will travel or move to the area to attend Bosco- with high hopes of a college career and maybe even the NFL.
Originally, however, Bellflower (originally called Somerset) was a stronghold for the CRC- including Valley Christian Schools- associated with the CRC- which my grandfather (also a CRC pastor) co-founded back in the 30's. So the Bellflower sign on the bus is misleading.
If this CRC father's daughter went to Bellflower- to get "led astray" into pornography she would have had to travel on her own or be picked up by somebody - to the other side of L.A. (county, not city) - most likely San Fernando Valley (about 40 miles from Bellflower) - which is known to be more of a pornography -producing area. I am now imagining the snarky hyper-sexual punk out there reading this sarcastically saying suggestively, "How does he know it's a porno area? "
And the answer is: I study and read, and learn. Not from personal involvement in it. I also worked as a substitute teacher for the LAUSD for many years while going thru seminary and so I got to know the area from working at the many LAUSD schools in the area, and you learn as you go. San Fernando valley (not to be confused with the City of San Fernando in SF Valley) is comprised of many cities, from Glendale out to Thousand Oaks, and everything in between. Of course, there's also Burbank, Tarzana, Studio City, North Hollywood, etc
There's also the mainstream film industry in this area, including Warner Bros, Disney, as well as numerous other smaller film production companies. When I was still in seminary I bought a used station wagon a few decades ago- a beautiful Mercury Colony Park- & it just happened to be from a fellow who was a film producer living in Studio City and had used it to transport "suits" (ie film studio executives around the lot).
To put all of this into context: Grand Rapids to Holland MI (or Grand Haven if you prefer) (a drive I took millions of times to "grandpa's cottage" growing up in West Michigan) is about 30 to 35 miles, closer than Bellflower is to San Fernando. Basically, "the valley" is the other side of "the hill" – which Mulholland Highway traverses from the Bel Air area towards the Hollywood Bowl area ( I recently drove it with my elderly parents & my sister who was visiting from Michigan- showing them the sights-
Anyways, this leads me to another point: After my family moved to Bellflower, I still went back and forth to Grand Rapids as I attended Calvin College, and two of my siblings remained in West Michigan. And my grandfather on my mother's side still resided in GR - and ran a profitable butter business.
Anybody who knows a little bit of Dutch American and CRC history can easily figure out who I am from all the clues I've given. And people who knew our family -and made the association of us with my successful businessman grandfather (& his "mansion" in East Grand Rapids) -- assumed when we moved to southern Cal we were moving to a place like Beverly Hills - like a mansion or something. Because they also knew my dad was moving back to California to work for a successful televangelist Christian ministry- which evoked images of financial well-being, in the minds of some people.
However, Bellflower is NOT Beverly Hills. It's not a "bad neighborhood" necessarily but it's just basic middle-class houses - some areas nicer and more spacious than other- but some parts very close together- including lots of apartments. Our family moved to a nice 2-story home: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, big backyard, near a park, etc - also in an equestrian area- where some people had horses- and they would ride them on the nearby riverbed and on the streets as well. But it was NOT a fancy area that you might see in Sunset Magazine etc.
I say this because over time- we would have CRC friends visit from west Michigan (some of them "Eagle Knights" -ie who attended GRCH & Calvin like myself) and often they would come with certain pre-conceptions as mentioned only to find out we lived in an "ordinary" middle class neighborhood.
Some with less class would return to Michigan and tell snarky stories about where we live as if we ever pretended to be rich Beverly Hills people. WE never did. And still don't to this day (although I don't live in Bellflower anymore, my parents still do in the same house).
We are not and never were a "flashy" family, nor was my wealthy Grand Rapids grandfather (apart from the mansion, of course). My wealthy grandfather drove station wagons his whole life, and kept his Lake Michigan cottage fairly primitive. Even today the driveway remains unpaved. His son who took over the business is more of a flashy type- in terms of cars and boats. But those of us who moved to Bellflower were never the flashy types.
There were also a few "friends" who assumed I was going to be in the movie business myself because of the images and associations they had in their minds of me and my family (as mentioned my dad also worked for a televised ministry that periodically interviewed famous guests as part of the church service; including the occasional Hollywood celebrity who had at least a little bit of Christian conviction). And some thought I had "Hollywood looks" whatever that means. But I never had any dreams or ambitions of becoming a so-called "movie star".
One of these people I knew from Calvin showed up by surprise one day when I was still in Bellflower and she was shocked that it was nowhere near Hollywood and the film industry. And disappointed for that matter. She mistakenly thought I was part of that crowd. Sorry Audrey (& Eric). I never said I was, nor pretended to be (but that's another story for another time). Later, I did become a little involved in show business – but mostly for the sake of my Christian ministry- and trying to reach people in those circles with the good news of Jesus Christ (yes, I am an evangelical!)
CRC kids & families all over USA know about other CRC communities all over the USA from missionaries who visit their parish, & from reading The Banner, and for those who go on to Calvin, they meet fellow CRC kids (young adults). However, unless you're a rare bird, like me (or one of those CRC pastors who bounced around, or a family member of such a pastor) you probably don't personally know much of anything about that other CRC community.
I'm such a rare CRC bird that over time I searched out all the CRC locations in California – attending a few- but mostly just taking pictures of them for a blog. Later, I did the same in the Chicago area- primarily for the purpose of getting to know the physical locations of these Christian Reformed neighborhoods. Even as late as 2023 I'm still doing this- most recently around the greater Grand Rapids area- wow -so many CRC's and RCA's and even Protestant Reformed Churches- it's mind boggling. I sometimes ponder how much more we could do as the Body of Christ if we could find a way to unite!
As best as I can tell, the only reason Paul Schrader used Bellflower as a prop on the bus was apparently because he knew of it as a Christian Reformed stronghold. I wonder if he has actually ever been to Bellflower? And as far as I know they never filmed any of the California scenes actually in Bellflower, nor even in L.A. County. From what I hear, many, if not all, of the risque CA scenes are actually filmed in San Diego County.
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