A good deal of the people I know are enraptured with movies. Movies of all kinds--chick flicks, comedy, horror, musicals, etc. In the circles of fundamental Christians that I used to frequently associate with I encountered the attitude of disdain for movies which exhibited strong sexual overtones (basically, many sex scenes and the like) but at the same time there was much talk of gory details of violence. Sex was not to be discussed--it was looked down upon as immoral, not to mention an awkward conversation topic--but violence was fair game. So much so, that it has even been proclaimed: "Whether you should see R rated movies depends on why they are rated R. If they are rated R because of sex--don't see them. If they are rated R for violence or crude language--no big deal."
The reason sex in movies is seen as "wrong" by many a group of Christians in completely understandable! In fact I would for the most part readily agree. To watch two actors engage in sexual relations on camera awakens desires, and most of the time (if not all the time) portrays an unrealistic outlook on sex and love in general.
But how is violence any different? With all the special effects (such as cars flying through the air, actors performing stunts, etc) put in to pump adrenaline and other emotional responses does it not portray an unrealistic outlook on violence? Car chases, duels, near death escapes, torture, execution--yes these are real life subjects, but I highly doubt they exist as they are portrayed in films!
And for those who profess the Christian faith, do we truly think we are doing ourselves a favor by watching such behavior? Do you really think you are building an attitude of love as you cheer your favorite protagonist on as he/she shoots down the "bad guys"? Is it not probable that what you take into yourself from the media you are exposed to will influence the thoughts you think and the way you live your life? Paul tells the Philippians: "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things" (4:8). Can we rightly call such glamorous violence virtuous or praiseworthy?
In his book The Sacred Art of Questioning Everything, David Dark points out that when we are more offended at the "perversion" of Hollywood because of nude scenes and movies about gay people than we are about "people being blown up, starved to death, deprived of life-saving medicine, or tortured" we do not fully understand perversion. You like violence? I suggest moving to Darfur and living in a refugee camp. There, and many other places in the world, you will experience true violence that has been stripped of any Hollywood glamor.
2 comments:
True.
I pretty much agree for the most part. I mean, I like a good car chase as much as anyone, because I don't think those necessarily glorify violence as much (just rad driving skills), but I can barely stand the sight of blood, and violence in general does NOT appeal to me. I don't get why people like to watch movies like 300 or other gory movies just for the violence.
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