Inappropriate films

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kullervo
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kullervo

Guest
There have been several questions posted here on this topic and there were many answers, but I’m still very confused what art/entertainment I can and can not watch, read etc. I feel like some people are too puritanic (maybe because they live in the US?) and regard almost all modern movies as morally offensive. On the other hand, I feel that others are (maybe unknowingly) twisting their moral views a bit, so they can watch films or play games that clearly cross the line.
I myself am swinging between those to extremes and I can’t really decide if the entertainment I’m consuming is appropriate. How do you decide if a movie/TV show/game/book crosses a line and is too violent, too erotic and is something that should be avoided?

(It’s a pitty that the Vatican doesn’t have a list of banned movies :D, or at least clear standards about what is and isn’t acceptable.)
 
I think it’s important to know ‘why am I watching it’. If I watch SW 6 to see princess Leia in a bikini it’s a sin, if you are watching SW 6, too see SW6 and you concentrate on the plot and don’t enjoy the bikini scene, I think it’s ok.
 
I asked how you do it. I asked for guidance to know how other people do it, so that I can have some comparison.
 
What does being in the US have to do with anything?

Also, Puritanism was a movement within some protestant sects to rid religion of Catholic influences.
It has nothing to do with sex
 
I’m from Europe and as I read opinions of American Christians, they tend to be much more strickt. Some thing that movies like ‘The Schindler’s list’ are not ok because of nudity and I don’t know any Europeans who would say this. Even the Vatican recognized the movie as a great work of art and the nudity in it isn’t pornographic, I would say. Also ‘puritanic’ is a word being used where I live to discribe such opinions. I didn’t mean to say, that opinions of Americans are invalid or stupid. I just stated that I think they tend to be too strickt more often than Europeans.
 
Kullervo said:
I asked how you do it. I asked for guidance to know how other people do it, so that I can have some comparison.
Click to expand...
I read reviews others have written. I watch trailers. I read synopses.

If I go to a movie or start a tv show or book or game or whatever and encounter content that troubles me, I’ll stop reading, leave the theater, stop playing, etc.

I am not sure what you are looking for.
 
Watching what movie/show, that’s well known, have you left the theater, turned of the TV. I would like to know where others draw the line.
 
I know you asked this question of another poster, but I can answer this.

I turned off the bachelor when I saw the episode featuring the “fantasy suite” encouraging the unmarried man to have sex with one girlfriend one night, and his other girlfriend the next night. I haven’t watched since.

The last movie I attempted to see was the Wolf of Wall Street. I walked out when Leonard Di Caprio’s character was cheating on his wife with a prostitute and snorting coacine off a part of the prostitutes body.

That movie really made me think I should not be wasting my time on entertainment that is riddled with what is really pornography but marketed as mainstream entertainment.

I don’t watch television or see movies anymore. I’ve found even if the content of the program is okay, the ads that play during the breaks often are not. I don’t miss it and have plently of things to fill my day with. I am not isolated from the world, I get my news from a local news radio station.

If you’re questioning what you should be watching, the option is always there to just not watch. I assure you, I have plenty of things to talk about with others even without watching television or movies, my day’s are much more productive, and my time spend with my family is much more meaningful as we are engaged with each other, not the television.
 
I downloaded the Wolf of Wall Street to watch on a plane ride. I turned it off when the graphic scenes came on— I had no idea the movie was going to have this content.

Husband and I left the theater in Deadpool. We only knew it was a Marvel comic, didn’t realize the anti-hero aspect or how graphically violent and sexually themed it would be.

In contrast, Schindler’s List was a wonderful, powerful movie. Nothing offensive at all.

TV shows: I do not watch the sit-coms that are just raunchy and substituting titillation for humor.

Movies: horror movies and gory movies are a no-go. Movies meant to titillate and focused on sexual topics that don’t have some other redeeming aspect I steer clear of also.

Also, for context, I wouldn’t say I’m prudish at all. I loved the show The American, even though it had graphic content. And for movies, we do see R rated movies it will just depend on the content.
 
Last edited:
OP, I learn from my mistakes and adjust my standards accordingly. There were movies I watched, and especially some of the sexual images would stay very imprinted on my mind for a long time afterwards. To the point where I would pray that God would wash those images from my mind. But it bothered me that I was doing the wrong thing deliberately, and then asking God to bail me out afterwards. That did not feel right. It taught me that it was best for me to avoid movies in which those kind of scenes would happen. So rather than an external guideline, I was paying attention to how it affected ME. I also pay attention to the slippery slope of sin; it is easy to get more and more used to higher and higher levels of sex or violence. If I feel like I’m deadening my conscience, however slowly, that sets off an alarm bell in me.

My standards might be much tighter than somebody else’s; or conversely much looser. And my standards have changed as I’ve gotten older. I’m much less tolerant of violence and sexual scenes than when I was younger. In general, it’s best to err on the side of caution. You want to feed your mind with good things.

Try Christian movie review sites too. They are good for giving warnings of content that you might want to avoid.

I’m glad you’re trying to do right.
 
My favourite TV shows (soap operas, detective series) all seem to involve sex scenes. It should be sufficient to skip the particular scene or look away if it’s short.

I like the ‘Titanic’ film, so I just have to skip or look away from certain scenes.
 
You’re definitely right that American psychology is different than European psychology 🙂
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top