Former TAPster Chris Mooney asks whether atheists will rally behind The Ledge, a new pro-atheist film that's also a thriller. I can answer: No!
The obvious analogy is to Mel Gibson's snuff film The Passion of the Christ, which became a huge success when Christians of all kinds rushed to see it. The reason The Ledge won't produce the same effect is that atheists don't have the same kind of group identity, or much of a group identity at all. One of the core components of conservative Christian identity is that it is opposed to "the culture" in general, and Hollywood in particular. So by going to see The Passion of the Christ over and over, they could imagine they were striking a blow against people and forces they don't like, right on their turf. If an atheist goes to see The Ledge, who is she going to be sticking it to?
It's true that liberals flocked to see Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, and it felt like a political statement to do so, a way of shaking your fist at a president and government that held you in contempt. But that was a very specific political moment, one that actually did foster a strong group identity among liberals. As Chris observes, atheists tend to be pretty individualistic to begin with. So it won't be easy to get them to plunk down $12 to make a statement about something they conceive of as more a personal belief than a group identity.
Here's a clip from the film, wherein the antagonists debate the existence of God. By the end, the fundamentalist has forced the atheist to (possibly) kill himself to save the life of his lover (the fundamentalist's wife):
