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iwillrisenowinfaith
Guest
This is a broader question about media creation and/or consumption in general for us as Catholics.
How do you personally deal with the prevalence of ideas that our contrary to our faith both in media output (tv series, books, movies, video games, you tube videos, design, you name it) and amongst media creators (if you are a creator working within communities of other creators to any extent)?
For the most part, I try to be conscious of messaging that contradicts our faith when I encounter it in media, but I do not completely avoid all media that contains such messaging.
Like many of us I’m sure, I am very interested in others’ stories and perspectives and points of view in life. I want to understand a bit better, even (perhaps especially) when I disagree with the viewpoints. For this reason, I do not choose to avoid content automatically because, for instance, it involves or includes LGBT characters (e.g.- Pose), a character choosing to have an abortion (e.g.- Glow), or what I can only describe as a sort of infusion of authoritative atheism (most of the new Doctor Who seasons - though I will say that the parts of the most recent series that I’ve seen seem to show at least a bit more respect for those who “choose” religion-based worldviews…a shift from “religious people are deluded” to “to some people, their religion is very important and that is OK”). But there is a difference between media that focuses on telling these stories and media that actively seeks to undermine or ridicule the notion of faith, religious people (usually Christians) as a group, or Catholicism in particular. The most recent example of this for me was the new Sabrina series on Netflix. Another example is some online content creators that I’ve been following for a while that have become increasingly focused on pro-LGBT (and anti-religious) content and look to be making it a much bigger part of their work in the future.
I’ve found that while I tend to be open to certain media at first, with certain content (the two examples above) there comes a point where the Holy Spirit pulls me away. It can be lonely when fan communities are celebrating over certain content that is contrary to Catholic teachings…but I choose loneliness over rejoicing in wrong-doing every time.
On the creator side, at least from what I’ve experienced, there seems to be an overwhelmingly left-wing, pro-choice, pro-LGBT, etc. mindset within creative communities. It can be challenging to develop connections as well as find support for work that does not support those beliefs. I work in a field that is writing-based and encounter this on a regular basis.
We’re called to be in the world but not a part of it…and, of course, this extends to our media consumption and creative collaborations. Have you found a balance that works for you?
How do you personally deal with the prevalence of ideas that our contrary to our faith both in media output (tv series, books, movies, video games, you tube videos, design, you name it) and amongst media creators (if you are a creator working within communities of other creators to any extent)?
For the most part, I try to be conscious of messaging that contradicts our faith when I encounter it in media, but I do not completely avoid all media that contains such messaging.
Like many of us I’m sure, I am very interested in others’ stories and perspectives and points of view in life. I want to understand a bit better, even (perhaps especially) when I disagree with the viewpoints. For this reason, I do not choose to avoid content automatically because, for instance, it involves or includes LGBT characters (e.g.- Pose), a character choosing to have an abortion (e.g.- Glow), or what I can only describe as a sort of infusion of authoritative atheism (most of the new Doctor Who seasons - though I will say that the parts of the most recent series that I’ve seen seem to show at least a bit more respect for those who “choose” religion-based worldviews…a shift from “religious people are deluded” to “to some people, their religion is very important and that is OK”). But there is a difference between media that focuses on telling these stories and media that actively seeks to undermine or ridicule the notion of faith, religious people (usually Christians) as a group, or Catholicism in particular. The most recent example of this for me was the new Sabrina series on Netflix. Another example is some online content creators that I’ve been following for a while that have become increasingly focused on pro-LGBT (and anti-religious) content and look to be making it a much bigger part of their work in the future.
I’ve found that while I tend to be open to certain media at first, with certain content (the two examples above) there comes a point where the Holy Spirit pulls me away. It can be lonely when fan communities are celebrating over certain content that is contrary to Catholic teachings…but I choose loneliness over rejoicing in wrong-doing every time.
On the creator side, at least from what I’ve experienced, there seems to be an overwhelmingly left-wing, pro-choice, pro-LGBT, etc. mindset within creative communities. It can be challenging to develop connections as well as find support for work that does not support those beliefs. I work in a field that is writing-based and encounter this on a regular basis.
We’re called to be in the world but not a part of it…and, of course, this extends to our media consumption and creative collaborations. Have you found a balance that works for you?
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