Actors Taking God's Name in Vain?

[Catholic90]

But he is saying curse words. If he is “acting” sex, is he really having sex, or is it the character? Why is it ok to curse if you’re just acting, but not to have sex if you’re just acting? I’m really not trying to be adversarial, and I realize it sounds like I am. I think this is something worth thinking about.

See, acting a fight is, as you said, just acting. Nobody actually got hurt. If they had deliberately hurt each other, it would have hurt in real life, not just in fiction.

So to me it seems an appropriate thing would be, if you shouldn’t do it in real life, don’t do it as an actor. If you are pretending to hurt someone, pretending to steel, pretending to kill, pretending to do drugs, you aren’t really doing those things. But if you are saying certain words, you are really truly saying them.

Nah, it’s just a script. The words are coming from the character, not from the actor.

My son played a philandering drunkard. Was he drunk? Nope. Was he philandering? Nope. He was acting.
He portrayed a gangster once. Was a really a gangster? Nope.
My other son played a basketball player once who had a line, “I love this sport!” Was he a player? Nope. He hates basketball. Can’t stand the sport. But you never knew that while watching! Acting.

 

[Incomplete]

Nah, it’s just a script. The words are coming from the character, not from the actor.

My son played a philandering drunkard. Was he drunk? Nope. Was he philandering? Nope. He was acting.
He portrayed a gangster once. Was a really a gangster? Nope.
My other son played a basketball player once who had a line, “I love this sport!” Was he a player? Nope. He hates basketball. Can’t stand the sport. But you never knew that while watching! Acting.

But if your son was actually drunk, that would’ve been wrong.

The actor isn’t pretending to say those words. He really is saying them.

 

[Catholic90]

His CHARACTER is saying them.

 

[Incomplete]

His CHARACTER is saying them.

But you don’t explain why it is different. To get drunk is to get drunk, but to say words is not to say words? If an actor actually gets drunk, rather than pretending he gets drunk, he actually gets drunk, it’s not just his character getting drunk.

As I’ve also said, there’s an impression you give, using those words. Let me ask as well, would it be ok for an actor to play in a porn movie, even if he didn’t actually commit any of the acts?

What I’m asking for here is discussion. Not just a blanket statement. It’s worthwhile to discuss this stuff, not just throw out an opinion with no backup.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

But the OP is a student in a drama class – he/she has to do what the assignment says or not take the course. Not taking the course may mean not completing the degree, being a course shy or not completing that requirement.

I see no sin in taking the class if it’s required and following the script as written.

And??? I had to take a required feminism class to complete my degree. It was one-sided and biased towards things such as contraception, abortion, gender selection, etc. I asked my my priest what I was supposed to do when writing exams and papers because in my class, in order to get the marks, you have to write what’s taught in class. There are no grades for independent critical and analytical thinking (unless it’s the same as what’s taught in class ).

I wasn’t let off the hook with just writing what was taught because “it wasn’t me thinking that. That’s just what the notes and textbook says.” Nope, my options were, not take the class (which wasn’t an option at this point because I was too far into my degree to change majors again) or take the course, but argue the other side on every point after writing what the class was teaching (This really sucked on the already long final exam). Hi-jinxed ensued when we got to the discussions on abortion and I called it murder. My instructor told me that if my beliefs were so extreme, then perhaps post-secondary academia was not for me . I passed the class by a whopping 8%. It was the happiest day of my life.

You can take the class, but tell your instructor you can’t say those words, you won’t, and then DON’T! Do you think they’d get away with disrespectful use of the word “Allah”?

Stand your grounds and don’t cave in. Don’t sell out for a grade either. The odds of you failing this class because you wouldn’t say certain words are very slim. Even if you did, you could still go through your school’s academic grade appeal process.

Scripts can be changed. We did it all the time in my Catholic high school.

And for those who are wondering, yes it is a sin to use the Lord’s name in vain in a play, movie, etc. Fr. Ripperger has a great sermon on this topic when discussing movies. Go to Sensus Traditionis under multimedia “Movies”. Note the penanceware requirement.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Nah, it’s just a script. The words are coming from the character, not from the actor.

My son played a philandering drunkard. Was he drunk? Nope. Was he philandering? Nope. He was acting.
He portrayed a gangster once. Was a really a gangster? Nope.
My other son played a basketball player once who had a line, “I love this sport!” Was he a player? Nope. He hates basketball. Can’t stand the sport. But you never knew that while watching! Acting.

You can simulate drunkeness. You can’t simulate taking the Lord’s name in vain.

 

[Catholic90]

But you don’t explain why it is different. To get drunk is to get drunk, but to say words is not to say words? If an actor actually gets drunk, rather than pretending he gets drunk, he actually gets drunk, it’s not just his character getting drunk.

As I’ve also said, there’s an impression you give, using those words. Let me ask as well, would it be ok for an actor to play in a porn movie, even if he didn’t actually commit any of the acts?

What I’m asking for here is discussion. Not just a blanket statement. It’s worthwhile to discuss this stuff, not just throw out an opinion with no backup.

To get drunk, the actor IS drunk and not playing. Most directors would not be amused. To PRETEND to be drunk, the actor plays the role of being drunk and is pretending or playing.
To say words AS YOURSELF is different than reciting words from a SCRIPT and pretending to portray someone else, which is acting.

If I were to put on a native warrior outfit and shout, “I am the ruler of the world! All will bow down and obey me! Anyone who refuses will have their heads removed from their bodies by the machete I am wielding!” I am acting. I am not really a warrior, I would not expect anyone to bow down to me in real life, and I would never cut anyone with a machete. It’s a role I am playing. Likewise, if someone uses curse words while playing a role, the character is saying the words, not the person who is portraying the character.

Take porn off the table. No one should be watching porn, let alone making it.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Take porn off the table. No one should be watching porn, let alone making it.

But why? The porn star’s character is having sex. It’s not the porn star having sex. She/he’s just portraying her/his character having sex.

No one should be taking the Lord’s name in vain, or making scripts containing it.

BTW: Ever notice how you don’t hear “Jesus Christ” used as an interjection on TV? It’s because even TV standards have determined it offensive. Watch Family Guy. Every time they say it, Jesus is present.

 

[Incomplete]

To get drunk, the actor IS drunk and not playing. Most directors would not be amused. To PRETEND to be drunk, the actor plays the role of being drunk and is pretending or playing.
To say words AS YOURSELF is different than reciting words from a SCRIPT and pretending to portray someone else, which is acting.

If I were to put on a native warrior outfit and shout, “I am the ruler of the world! All will bow down and obey me! Anyone who refuses will have their heads removed from their bodies by the machete I am wielding!” I am acting. I am not really a warrior, I would not expect anyone to bow down to me in real life, and I would never cut anyone with a machete. It’s a role I am playing. Likewise, if someone uses curse words while playing a role, the character is saying the words, not the person who is portraying the character.

Take porn off the table. No one should be watching porn, let alone making it.

To say those words about God, the actor really IS saying them. Our actors show moral values and teach things every day. Being willing to say those words says something about the actor and society. It also contributes to the thousands of other voices saying them. I know people who use those words all the time because they hear them all the time.

I agree about porn. But I’m looking for your explanation. My point is, actors have all sorts of this stuff going on. How do they sort out what is “merely acting” from what is complicit in sin? Why is it OK to profane God, but not OK to be a bystander in a soft porn movie, for example, if you’re not actually having sex?

Do you see the point I’m trying to make?

As Deo Gratias said, he can ask for another word.

 

[RastaPasta]

The seventh commandment clearly states:

7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

So if you use God’s name in vain while acting, how would you argue the point with God?

Listen God, I wasn’t REALLY using your name in vain. I was just PRETENDING to use your name in vain.

Think about this. If Jesus was an actor, would HE use Gods name in vain?

I think not.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

It’s an interesting moral question, I don’t know the answer.

If you quote someone else blaspheming in print - in a legal document, in a historical article, etc. - is that the same issue?

If an undercover police officer blasphemes while “in character,” in pursuit of the goal of stopping evil people from harming others - is that blasphemy?

Coincidentally, I recently read a book about the making of the film “Planet of the Apes” (I read a lot of film books), and they describe the very memorable last scene (SPOILER ALERT, if you are one of the few people who have never seen the original movie) where Charlton Heston’s character falls to his knees in the sand, and very loudly and forcefully calls down damnation on the people responsible.

The book said there was a lot of discussion among the production staff, as even in the late 1960s, using that phrase wasn’t common in mainstream movies, and it was Charlton Heston saying it, who was known for playing characters like Moses and Ben-Hur and El Cid. If I remember correctly, Heston’s position was that it was proper for him to say it, given the circumstances of the character and because it wasn’t a throwaway line, his character was literally invoking God’s wrath on the people responsible for the death of the planet. Given’s Heston’s gravitas, I think it was appropriate in that scene. It felt like the prophet Jeremiah calling down judgment.

It might not be appropriate in every case for an actor to use it. If it was used by a character who is meant to be sympathetic, and is a way to show him as hip, slick, and trendy, maybe not. There are actors who refuse to do scenes where characters smoke because they don’t want to encourage that type of destructive behavior (granted, they are usually big-name actors who can afford to pick and choose - a struggling young actor would probably just get canned.) And certainly, actors can choose or decline to do nude scenes or graphic sex scenes, or movies with extreme gore or violence. If an actor is uncomfortable or would feel morally compromised by such roles, or by characters who blaspheme, it probably would be best if they didn’t try for the role.