Catholic Approach to Media and Entertainment

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Something that’s been bothering me for a long time is how to approach entertainment as a Catholic. It seems that everywhere I go (TV, social media, movies, etc.) entertainment displays immoral behavior. I’ve heard the argument that “we know it’s wrong, it’s just entertainment” but how far does that go? When I raised the discussion to my Catholic friends, the show Arrested Development was the example of choice. Everyone thought I was being scrupulous and decided to continue watching the show.
My issue is this: Arrested Development (and EVERY show I can think of) displays immoral people leading immoral lives. The main character is not an example to be followed. At best, he’s trying to lead a good life but is directionless and empty. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a funny show. But the point is that bad things happen in it.
The reason I have to ask these questions is because I need to know where to draw the line. About a year and a half ago, I was really into gay romances. Nothing too explicit (at least not intentionally) but “cutsie” little love stories between cute boys. That seems to shock people for some reason. It seems out of the question that a Catholic would watch something like that and enjoy it. On some subconscious level, I know that it wasn’t good for me which is why I gave it up. But in order to maintain that commitment, I need to be able to logically explain why.
What’s the difference between gay romance and Arrested Development? What kind of stuff can Catholics watch for entertainment? Or would it be better for Catholics not to engage in any form of TV entertainment because of the moral depravity of current media?

I appreciate your thoughts!
 
I guess if it leads you to sin yourself, stay away.
Is it wrong for an actor to play the devil in a passion play?
 
Knu said:
cutsie” little love stories between cute boys.
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From your interest in yaoi, I’m assuming you’re a teenage girl? (That’s not an insult, I used to be a teenage girl).
Okay.
Here’s where you need to use prudential judgement.
There is no hard “no” against most types of entertainment (porn and fight-to-the-death-sports would be an exception).
If, however, your choice of entertainment causes you to sin ,gives bad example, or starts to make you reject the teachings of God, then you need to back away.

You also have the responsibility for your own faith formation, so you understand “why” the Church teaches against some things.

Peace! 🙂
 
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a few years ago I made conscious effort to avoid entertainment that was glorifying immorality. I watch very little fiction or sit comps as a result. But you know what they say, garbage in, garbage out!

I have watched a few programs that show more than they really need to. I like historical dramas and if it gets over the top or shows too much I drop it. Even though I have family members who rave at how great this show is or how funny that sit com is I no longer feel a need to watch.

I’ve gotten to like HGTV and love to watch how they remodel homes. I love the My Lottery Dream Home. It’s more fun to watch people being happy instead of shows about rape, incest, murder etc. About the only comedy I did like was Big Bang Theory but that show is more about the relationships and forming life long relationship than bed hopping.

Victoria on PBS is wonderful.
 
That’s why God gave us EWTN. A moral, wholesome channel with programming suitable for all Christians. An escape from the depravity of secular programming.
 
This is kind of the direction I’ve been going. I haven’t been watching HGTV per se, but I sort of cut out all TV unless watching with friends. I don’t really feel the need to watch it, like you said, but I do feel the need to justify my decision.
 
You do need to be ever so careful what you watch… the devil is awfully sneaky. Think of it this way. If you ate nothing but candy (I’ll use your American word) all day every day and nothing else… how long do you think it would take for you to become ill? a week? a month? surely in a year it would be too late and you’d have done irreparable damage to your body… you might be in a diabetic coma. Well if you put that stuff in your soul day in day out what will happen… fortunately your physician is a miracle worker and nothing is beyond his salvation as long as you seek his help before you die (or if certain saints are to be taken into account shortly after death) . Anyway my point is… stay away from same sex stuff, in fact any sex scenes ( I love Fr Mike who calls them ceiling scenes - meaning everyone looks at the ceiling when you are caught unaware, lol) , excessive violence etc. But and I think there is a but… it the rest depends on your root sin… if it is ‘gluttony’ then maybe avoid cooking shows and shopping networks etc. (gluttony is not just food) and if it lust then avoid all the tempting things all together, so dont think I’ll avoid things with sex in it but watch ice skating and ballet (where they wear little leotards) . If you feel ‘iffy’ about something, dont watch it…that’s the Holy spirit warning you and if you are unsure ask your confessor. He is not there just to forgive your sins he is also there to advise you about near misses or should I should I not. This might make you think, never watch tv/movies etc. but I actually think you can practice values watching tv, not judging people, looking for the good in all the characters, seeing things from many people’s points of view and thinking if you could love the old grouch everyone hates, thinking what you would do in a situation, what you could do, or should do etc. It’s a personal thing too. You can of course learn a lot too. I watch movies on saints, Popes and the history of the church on youtube and have found many good ones they are great I have learnt a lot.
 
It is not inherent sinful to watch entertainment involving sinful acts. Murder mysteries are ok unless they lead one to contemplate violence. The problem is normalizing evil actions to the point that people cannot distinguish evil.
 
I sort of raised this general question to a priest. The advice was to look at 1) The Object, 2) The Circumstance, and 3) The Motivation. If the motivation is some sort of sexual gratification, that would obviously make it sinful whether it’s HGTV or porn. But if the motivation is good (i.e. amusement, laughter, community, etc.) then you have to look at the circumstance and object. I think in the case of entertainment, it boils down to the object. My friends who I discussed Arrested Development with decided it was a neutral object. But I’m not so sure. OScarlett_nidiyilii, you mentioned “bad example.” One of the things that’s bothering me is that I think virtually all entertainment shows us bad examples. In that case, is the object always bad? Then shouldn’t we just turn them all off?
 
I’ve never had the least interest in watching “Arrested Development” and I can understand somebody not wanting to watch the show, since from what I’ve read/ heard it seems to involve a huge number of jokes about incest and weird perversions. However, presumably people who watch “Arrested Development” are not watching because they are really into funny incest/perversion shows. They’re just watching because it’s a trendy comedy.

On the other hand, if you’re a teenage girl into yaoi as a regular habit, not just one show or one book, many people will presume you are really into it because it turns you on sexually, and indeed that’s often what I see when some fan of yaoi is writing stories or drawing pictures that have the cutesy characters going beyond the cute stage and actually getting busy with each other.
 
Can’t stand it my other half and I have two totally different playlists on netflix . His are all shows like that and mine are all supernatural shows , art reality shows like skin wars, drama and true crime.
 
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I’m not too much of a TV person (aside from retro shows and the more recent Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife), but I am very much a movie person. I think the issue with films is that you have to be careful. Most movies up through the mid 60s are pretty safe. Some of the ones up through 1934 can get very randy with the innuendo, but they probably are not as bad as what you hear nowadays on regular TV shows.

The problems seep in starting in the mid-60s. When you get to that point, in comes nudity, sex, graphic violence, language, profanity. Anyway, I was a lapsed Catholic for many years before going back to the Church, and I saw a lot of more risque films. Looking back, and even watching a few R rated titles today, I generally have little problem with foul language outside of the use of God’s name (which always causes me to say a quick Glory Be because its horrible), but the violence, sex, and nudity is very bothersome.

What one can do though is to make good use of the USCCB list of films. They have a good archive of many film reviews, and keep far away from the ones marked O, for offensive (although, as I ruefully note, some marked A-IV/L, the adults with caution step just above condemned, sometimes has some films which are as raunchy as some of the condemned and sometimes even more so)

Also recommended, stick more toward dramas after the aforementioned mid-60s. Whereas comedies, by making you laugh, encourage you to go with the flow and laugh at some raunchy things, dramas are often more sober and while you will still meet randy behaviour, it is easier to note such behaviour is wrong in a drama.

And also, even with R-rated titles, attempt to see things of worth even beneath the risque material. One of my favourites among R rated films is The Fisher King. That’s a potent film with a scene of extremely graphic violence (portrayed as the horror it is), a scene of non-sexual shadowy nudity, much language, and a live-in relationship…but I think it is a very powerful film that serves as an agonising cry of pain, suffering, atonement, and redemption, and also stands as a study of empathy and friendship. So sometimes even then, try to see inner worth even behind questionable stuff.
 
As long as you are witnessing art imitating life, I think it is OK. Life is dirty and messy, afterall.

However, if you find that once you watch, then your own life is imitating the art you viewed, it might be time to modify your viewing schedule.
 
Okay, I’ll confess I’ve watched “Arrested Development” (though it’s been awhile). The whole point of the show is that the family is very messed up and not people to be emulated. I don’t think it necessarily glorifies immoral behavior. If anything, it demonstrates how immoral behavior has negative consequences. Not that the show doesn’t have some issues.

We do have to be careful with media. When people dismiss any and all criticism of media with “It’s just fiction” or “It’s just entertainment”, my spidey-senses start tingling. I think that if we are not able to take an honest look and ask ourselves some pointed questions, we run the risk of opening the door to unsavory influences on our life.

Which is not to say that we cannot go to the extreme in the other direction. We can. Although, in general, we are probably far better off spiritually erring on the side of less media consumption rather than more media consumption.

I think it’s important to ask ourselves if the particular media is leading us to sin. Is it tempting us to thoughts of unchastity? Is it desensitizing us to immorality? Is it wasting time that we could be spending on better activities (acknowledging that a certain amount of “wasting time” for recreation is not necessarily wrong)?

Those are the questions we should ask ourselves.
 
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