Is it a sin to watch certain TV shows?

[ainjell]

If you watch a TV show that is pro-sin and anti-virtue you are helping its Neilson ratings, don’t you think? You are contributing to its success and continuance. You are contributing to the delinquency of the minors who watch and are adversely effected. If you contribute to another’s sin that is a sin. If you drive someone to an abortion clinic to have a abortion would you just be going for a car ride or would you be contributing toward the acquistion of an abortion and thus participating in the sin?
So is it just intertainment? Or do you have some responsibility to boycott bad shows and support good ones. We make our own culture.

 

[Rubicon]

As a professional writer, I can tell you that it is a fact: the reader is influenced by what is written. There is no need to split hairs here.

Every scene in a movie or TV show is planned. A director picks the angles, there’s a set designer, clothing is picked out. But what the public often does not hear about is the writer and/or producer arguing, that’s right, arguing, to show more skin. There are standards that TV producers and filmmakers have to follow. When they want to show more of a body part, they have to argue for it. Actresses may get tossed for consideration from a movie because they will not show themselves nude or partly nude.

They are counting on men to react a certain way when an attractive woman appears on screen, and it is all carefully planned out: hair, lighting, clothing, etc.

God bless,
Ed

Ed–

Personal thanks for bringing this back around to a dialogue about the content after our earlier exchange. This is an important topic deserving of the good back and forth in the last few pages.

There are four themes I take away from this:

1. I think everyone agrees that the overwhelming trend in popular media has been away from Catholic values. I read the Tomeo article, and agree with it. We carefully control our children’s access to media because they are still forming their consciences and are thus prone to being heavily influenced by peer pressure and media depictions of what is acceptable morality.
2. There seems to be disagreement on whether or not watching something that includes immoral behavior is inherently sinful. I personally believe that people with well-formed consciences who are not prone toward whatever temptation might be included in a piece of entertainment–even if it contains *positive *portrayals of immoral behavior–are capable of watching something without sinning. This was, I believe, the original question.
3. I accept that even for those with well-formed consciences, there is a real danger of de-sensitization from prolonged exposure to positive portrayals of immoral behavior. The two things my wife and I have used to try to avoid this are (a) careful selection of programs and (b) liberal use of a DVR to make it easy to skip both objectionable parts as well as commercials. However one must weigh the risk and reward, and perhaps any risk of desensitization ought to lead one away from the media in question.
4. There is another valid question of whether partaking of immorality-promoting media–even by those capable of viewing without sinning themselves–is scandalous in the sense that increasing its popularity might lead others toward sin. This is interesting as well; my gut reaction was that because I’m not a Nielsen family, the answer is no, although who knows what the data from my DVR is being used for…

I would be curious to hear the views of the other posters on each of these, it would help me understand the viewpoints better.

Thanks,

R

 

[Joe_5859]

There are four themes I take away from this:

1. I think everyone agrees that the overwhelming trend in popular media has been away from Catholic values.…
2. There seems to be disagreement on whether or not watching something that includes immoral behavior is inherently sinful.…
3. I accept that even for those with well-formed consciences, there is a real danger of de-sensitization from prolonged exposure to positive portrayals of immoral behavior.…
4. There is another valid question of whether partaking of immorality-promoting media–even by those capable of viewing without sinning themselves–is scandalous in the sense that increasing its popularity might lead others toward sin.…

Nice breakdown, Rubicon. It seems the threads on this topic always begin with a question about point #2, but then immediately veer off into a discussion of points #1 and #3 (and, to a lesser extent, #4). It’s helpful to clarify so that we can be sure we are addressing the question.

I agree (for the most part) with much of what Ed says regarding points 1 & 3. It’s difficult to argue as history clearly bears this out.

However, for point #2, I would certainly hesitate before saying that watching such shows is inherently sinful. That is a pretty strong accusation. Is it sinful for some people? Most likely. But there are people like Ed who watch such shows on occassion just to keep their fingers on the pulse of modern media. Is Ed sinning when he does this? I don’t think so. If it was inherently sinful, then it would be a sin to watch the show for anyone and everyone who tuned in, regardless of their reasons. This is why I hesitate to point fingers at people and tell them they are sinning by watching a certain show.

As for point #4, watching a TV show, at best, would be considered remote material cooperation in the evil being presented. (“remote” because it is further removed from the evil act and “material” because the watcher does not approve of the evil act). It is similar to buying a product from a company that donates money to Planned Parenthood. In these sorts of scenarios, it is usually not sinful for someone to cooperate in this way.

Here’s another interesting thought (that might require it’s own thread). It is difficult to say it is sinful to watch one show on one occasion (unless it is something like porn). Simply watching one show at one moment in time probably will not have any long-lasting negative effects. However, much of the danger in TV comes in when we look at the influence of a multiplicity of shows over a longer period of time. That’s when we can more readily see the negative consequences. I guess it would be similar to smoking or overeating. You do it once, and there’s no real harm. If you do it all the time, then you end up with serious problems. So where do we draw the line?

 

[edwest2]

Thank you for your thoughtful comments but this is a spiritual as well as intellectual matter. My thoughts:

I cringe whenever I see Desperate Housewives: the mean-spirited, vindictive, selfish and adulterous behavior is terrible. However, the point needs to be made: there are those who simply flip on the TV giving no thought to what they’re watching outside of the fact they’re bored and it is the easiest, quickest fix.

One should always look to the Bible. Somehow, too many think because it was written so long ago that it does not apply to the “modern” world. The sins we deal with today are the exact same sins people dealt with since the Fall. The advice given to Timothy: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour.”

It is important to use our minds but the Bible warns us about the heart which it calls “desperately wicked. Who can know it?”

One should also look at the intent of the TV program creators. Take Californication starring David Duchovny, formerly of the X-Files. A group of writers and producers had to sit down, talk about the idea and pitch it. A lot of thought went into it. And, to me, it reeks of the “What’s the big deal?” mentality that is so pervasive in Hollywood.

Or how about Dexter? A nice seeming guy who works at a police crime lab, has a police officer sister and a girlfriend with kids who like him. But, in his spare time, he tracks down “bad” people and executes them. There was this one guy who was cut up using a chain saw. Again, the justification “What’s the big deal?” comes to mind.

In the late 1990s, one of the actors on NYPD Blue was asked about the ‘controversial’ nature of the show, which refers to the profanity and partial nudity. His reply? “It’s the 90’s.”

People, including Catholics, have been programmed to believe ‘things change.’ Or ‘the future’ demands things to be different. Did anyone you know become wiser or smarter or enlightened the moment the calendar changed from the 20th to the 21st Century?

Yes, it is a sin to watch certain TV shows if your primary purpose is to leer at women or get some vicarious thrill from watching a serial killer kill his victims.

What did Jesus deal with? While talking to the religious leaders of the time, he referrred to the “murderous and adulterous generation.” The woman at the well had 5 husbands. The woman who was about to be stoned to death had been caught committing adultery. And Jesus had very specific things to say about marriage, divorce and adultery. Instead of revenge, He told His followers to love their enemies.

In the 1950s and 1960s, television programming had to be approved by a “Standards and Practices Department.” The programming had to be suitable for the entire family. In the 1970s, a little bit of sexuality and other immoral and unChristian subject matter is introduced to TV viewers who were used to two decades of suitable for the entire family viewing.

All in the Family talks about sex. Archie Bunker gets divorced.
Dallas and Dynasty introduce fornication and the purely evil J.R. Ewing. The B word is introduced. Adult women fighting and drinking liquor straight out of the bottle.
NYPD Blue has been covered.
The Sopranos - A Mafia family that kills, sells drugs, runs a strip club, a whorehouse and various sundry other illegal operations. Profanity and adultry abound along with fornication.

I’ve already mentioned Californication and Dexter.

The Bible tells us to flee immorality. I can only handle an occasional viewing of certain programming, because most of it makes me cringe. Being a writer myself, I’m aware of the amount of work that goes into telling a story. It would be wrong to think for a moment that anything you see is not carefully planned out.

It doesn’t seem to be too popular here, since, once again, too many look at it as an old book from another time, but the Bible has value for all things. We are told to read it, medidate on it and take the wisdom it contains and put it into practice in our daily lives. Note that we are also told “With wisdom get understanding.” Jesus’ disciples were often asking Him what He meant to make sure they understood.

This is the foundation and source of wisdom we should build on. This is the source of our ‘moral compass’ even if we had no real parents to raise us.

God bless,
Ed

 

[James22]

Thank you for your thoughtful comments but this is a spiritual as well as intellectual matter. My thoughts:

I cringe whenever I see Desperate Housewives: the mean-spirited, vindictive, selfish and adulterous behavior is terrible. However, the point needs to be made: there are those who simply flip on the TV giving no thought to what they’re watching outside of the fact they’re bored and it is the easiest, quickest fix.

One should always look to the Bible. Somehow, too many think because it was written so long ago that it does not apply to the “modern” world. The sins we deal with today are the exact same sins people dealt with since the Fall. The advice given to Timothy: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour.”

It is important to use our minds but the Bible warns us about the heart which it calls “desperately wicked. Who can know it?”

One should also look at the intent of the TV program creators. Take Californication starring David Duchovny, formerly of the X-Files. A group of writers and producers had to sit down, talk about the idea and pitch it. A lot of thought went into it. And, to me, it reeks of the “What’s the big deal?” mentality that is so pervasive in Hollywood.

Or how about Dexter? A nice seeming guy who works at a police crime lab, has a police officer sister and a girlfriend with kids who like him. But, in his spare time, he tracks down “bad” people and executes them. There was this one guy who was cut up using a chain saw. Again, the justification “What’s the big deal?” comes to mind.

In the late 1990s, one of the actors on NYPD Blue was asked about the ‘controversial’ nature of the show, which refers to the profanity and partial nudity. His reply? “It’s the 90’s.”

People, including Catholics, have been programmed to believe ‘things change.’ Or ‘the future’ demands things to be different. Did anyone you know become wiser or smarter or enlightened the moment the calendar changed from the 20th to the 21st Century?

Yes, it is a sin to watch certain TV shows if your primary purpose is to leer at women or get some vicarious thrill from watching a serial killer kill his victims.

What did Jesus deal with? While talking to the religious leaders of the time, he referrred to the “murderous and adulterous generation.” The woman at the well had 5 husbands. The woman who was about to be stoned to death had been caught committing adultery. And Jesus had very specific things to say about marriage, divorce and adultery. Instead of revenge, He told His followers to love their enemies.

In the 1950s and 1960s, television programming had to be approved by a “Standards and Practices Department.” The programming had to be suitable for the entire family. In the 1970s, a little bit of sexuality and other immoral and unChristian subject matter is introduced to TV viewers who were used to two decades of suitable for the entire family viewing.

All in the Family talks about sex. Archie Bunker gets divorced.
Dallas and Dynasty introduce fornication and the purely evil J.R. Ewing. The B word is introduced. Adult women fighting and drinking liquor straight out of the bottle.
NYPD Blue has been covered.
The Sopranos - A Mafia family that kills, sells drugs, runs a strip club, a whorehouse and various sundry other illegal operations. Profanity and adultry abound along with fornication.

I’ve already mentioned Californication and Dexter.

The Bible tells us to flee immorality. I can only handle an occasional viewing of certain programming, because most of it makes me cringe. Being a writer myself, I’m aware of the amount of work that goes into telling a story. It would be wrong to think for a moment that anything you see is not carefully planned out.

It doesn’t seem to be too popular here, since, once again, too many look at it as an old book from another time, but the Bible has value for all things. We are told to read it, medidate on it and take the wisdom it contains and put it into practice in our daily lives. Note that we are also told “With wisdom get understanding.” Jesus’ disciples were often asking Him what He meant to make sure they understood.

This is the foundation and source of wisdom we should build on. This is the source of our ‘moral compass’ even if we had no real parents to raise us.

God bless,
Ed

Ed - as hard as it to remain vigilant myself and not allow myself to just turn off and allow the tv to ‘just entertain’ me, I completely agree with what you’re saying. Two points I think definitely worth taking a second look at that you mention,

1.) The idea the morals or standards change over time has for years been a HUGE pet peeve of mine. I’m not sure who it was who used the phrase “historical elitism,” might have been Chesterton, but I like it. The idea that human beings, or their sins, are any different now than they were 100, 200, or 2,000 years ago is, upon any kind of honest reflection, ridiculously dismissable. This point has all kinds of applicability, from sexual moraliy, to bioethics, as well as the media. I find it obnoxious when people have the nerve to presume that morality can become ‘outdated.’ If it could be, it wouldn’t be any kind of sensible morality.

2.) As more directly pertains this discussion, I think its good to reflect on the fact that everything we see on television is painstackingly deliberate. As much as I have come to disdain modern media, I usually just think about how to stay away from it, and rarely have reflected on the fact that there are real people, making real decisions about how they are going to lure and capture viewers. That is definitely worth calling to mind whenever one watches some deliberate, careful staged and shot, sexual situation. I think if one can remember that this stuff doesn’t just come at us from some vacuum, or from outer space, and that there are real people behind it, it changes the way you conceive of the garbage. It makes it easier to view it as it is: reprehensible and worthless garbage.

 

[edwest2]

Well, the wisdom of the ages wouldn’t mean much if it had not withstood the test of time. While it may be comforting to assume that the people talking at you from the TV are sincere, for the most part, every word coming out of their mouths is scripted or edited down to the microsecond before the commercial break. I am referring primarily to fiction but this is also true with some of what passes for “news.” Certainly, what used to be comedians are spewing either (A) graphic sexual stories with plenty of profanity and (B) advocating a very unChristian view of life with plenty of profanity.

Also, over the years, especially on the radio, I’ve heard people refer to some new movie as “tame by today’s standards.” What standards? What they’re really saying is that people like frogs in a warm pot of water, are used to it now, and they are going to turn up the heat a little, which means show a little more skin, a little more graphic violence and a little more profanity.

What they’re saying is that people have given up on this current set of immoral things and so, now it’s time to add a little more. It has been this gradual desensitizing approach that has put Catholics so far out of touch with what’s right or wrong on television that short of explicit porn, they’ll watch most anything.

The other problem is the young. As they grow out of diapers, and if mom and/or dad are always at work, guess what becomes the default baby-sitter? Or what does the baby-sitter put on that the kids will also see?

I think my fellow Catholics need to understand it’s not just about making a buck. I could relate to the people I watched on TV in the 1960s. Good and bad were clearly defined. Now it’s all shades of grey. Just go to the Grey’s Anatomy web site where they make that same point.

People should realize that a 60 second commercial that is designed to get them to buy or do something is not much different from the TV show they’re watching. That TV show can and will influence you, especially if you are young, have no real role model or guidance and all your friends are watching it too.

This is again reinforced when someone tells you that something is mainstream. What does that mean? People have stopped complaining about it or regarding it as perverse or disordered or evil or bad. Just listen to the opening song on Family Guy which talks about “those values on which we used to rely.” That’s right, the intent is clear: perverted, twisted, violent and dysfunctional are good; wholesome, normal, calm and uplifting are bad or worse - boring! They’ve told you so. Why look at a flower or admire a sunset when you can play Grand Theft Auto or watch the latest celebrity gossip?

When Moses went to pharaoh and warned him, we’re told that pharaoh hardened his heart. God told the people that he would replace their hard hearts with natural hearts. Where are our hearts? A hard heart is an egotistical heart; a heart centered on believing in man, no matter how wicked or perverse the messages are. We take them in. We internalize them and think about them. And every new generation has to be taught by word and example all over again what is right and what is wrong.

God bless,
Ed

 

[ainjell]

As to the deliberatness of the depravity just note the camera angle up her skirt or down her shirt in even the most “unobjectionable” show or ad. Even little children on swings or sitting or stairs are shot between the legs and at a low angle. I quit watching TV several years ago when I started going to daily mass and receiving holy communion daily and making a frequent confession. It just didn’t fit in. Although I do watch show like NOVA on PBS, the History Channel, Hallmark, reruns of Little House and Mattlock. Occasionally CSI if my husband has it on and I haven’t spent any other time with him that day. But I think it’s grusome, and the ladies dress immodestly.
PBS Master Theatre is good. There are things to watch that don’t make me feel like I’ve ingaged in peeping tom behavior.

 

[crenfro]

When you choose to passively sit back and “enjoy” something that purportes a worldview contrary to the Christian faith, you give you tacit approval - even to yourself - of attitudes and actions which are not compatible with a life lived in faith.

I love this part of your post, James. Well put and thank you very much.

 

[Rubicon]

From Joe 5859:

Nice breakdown, Rubicon. It seems the threads on this topic always begin with a question about point #2, but then immediately veer off into a discussion of points #1 and #3 (and, to a lesser extent, #4). It’s helpful to clarify so that we can be sure we are addressing the question.

I agree (for the most part) with much of what Ed says regarding points 1 & 3. It’s difficult to argue as history clearly bears this out.

Thanks Joe, I agree with the points you raise, particularly the thoughts on point #4. For people without a strong conscience or grounding in morality, the dangers of media portrayals are clear. Where I think this issue gets hard is for people with a stronger grounding–how much risk should one take of desensitization for the benefit of being entertained? If absolute abstinence of anything potentially harmful is not the answer, it leads to a gray area where prudence is needed and needs to be constantly re-evaluated.

From edwest2:

Thank you for your thoughtful comments but this is a spiritual as well as intellectual matter.

Ed, of course there is a spiritual element here. The problem is that if you mix the general decline of morals with specific issues people are wrestling with (“Should I ever watch TV shows that show bad behavior?”) it’s hard to give people meaningful advice or a way to solve the problem.

While there is value in highlighting the bad things in TV shows (“NYPD Blue shows nudity”) and even the bad intentions of the creators, that doesn’t in and of itself create a path forward for those trying to make good decisions–unless the answer put forward is “Never watch TV”, which may well be advisable but given its absolute nature requires a cogent argument to support it.

Fortunately the Catholic faith is a friend to the intellect and to reason, since it is based on Truth.

 

[edwest2]

“cogent argument”? What are you waiting for? The entire Bible is filled with cogent arguments.

What is vague about a TV program titled Californication?

What is vague about a guy who works at a police department cutting up people?

What example are you waiting for?

The answer here is simple, but perhaps you want something more complicated? Why?

Television is no longer a valid entertainment choice. It is immoral voyeurism. It is TV programs where a whore says: “What’s wrong with bein a f***** whore?” The message that ever so clearly comes across is: “What’s wrong with anything?” Good, evil, what’s that?

If you had an apple that was 98% rotten, would you carve away the remaining 2%?

Catholics need to focus on what God has to say about living, not man. The TV is not indispensible - it is not necessary. When I hear my local TV news station saying they will offer me more news, what does that mean? The latest on Paris, Britney, Angelina? Give me a break.

Reason will not, in all cases, bring you to this conclusion. In the 1950s, so-called “art theaters” showed so-called “art films.” Want to know what they were like? You’re watching things now that are a lot like them. No, the plan was clear: get Christians used to a little bit and when the complaints and clamor die down, a little bit more, rinse and repeat. And a little more.

Why do you think strippers are called “exotic dancers” now? At one time, each state regulated how little a stripper could wear, now we’ve got strippers wearing nothing.

I think a little intellectual honesty will show that the exact same pattern is being repeated on TV.

God bless,
Ed

 

[jdurle]

When I am tempted to watch shows of questionable substance, I’ll ask myself two questions,

1. Will this action bring me closer to, or further away from my ultimate goal of eternal life with Jesus?
2. Would I do this if Jesus were physically present beside me?

Of course, I do believe that Jesus is watching over me at all times, therefore He sees what I see and knows me better than I know myself. Thus, how can I watch shows that even have the possibility of dissappointing Him?

 

[edwest2]

Nothing is hidden from God.

God bless,
Ed

 

[GregoryPalamas]

Soap Operas, TV talk shows like E. Degenerate and Oprah, and Horny Housewives will definitely send one to hell.

CDL

 

[Joe_5859]

Soap Operas, TV talk shows like E. Degenerate and Oprah, and Horny Housewives will definitely send one to hell.

CDL

Not to overstate it or anything, right?

 

[Rubicon]

“cogent argument”? What are you waiting for? The entire Bible is filled with cogent arguments.

I think a little intellectual honesty will show that the exact same pattern is being repeated on TV.

God bless,
Ed

Ed–

Actually, the Bible doesn’t have all that much in the way of logic in it. It has Truth, but the logic behind that is still being uncovered–St. Thomas is a great example. The logic isn’t creating the Truth, merely revealing it. And the Bible contains lots of Wisdom with that Truth, but not a whole lot of specific guidance about television. And that’s the point of this thread, specific application of our faith to a modern issue. Even you yourself acknowledge the difficulty of that proposition as you have implied that television was not always bad but rather has slowly degraded, implying that the problem contains subtle forces over long periods (unlike say fornication, which was and is always wrong).

Actually, Ed, the lack of cogent logic I was referring to was in your posts. For a writer you have a surprisingly scattered approach to the issue. That’s why I tried to put it into four simple statements–I really want to know what you think. However your reliance on anecdotes and personal judgments, however valid each is, is hard to parse particularly for those who do watch TV. Using Californication as an example isn’t that helpful, because that’s a show that is way over on the prurient side of the continuum. Similarly, Mother Angelica is going to be OK since that’s on the OK side of things. The tricky part is in between.

You say I am complicating a simple issue; well here’s a tricky one: Joan of Arcadia. This was a well produced show with religion as its dominant theme, treated it seriously, and was written from a predominantly Catholic sensibility. Watching it helped me think about faith. But it probably wasn’t perfectly orthodox. So is that OK to watch? I think so, provided the viewer can discern the places where it diverges from Catholic belief.

There are many other examples that are more ambiguous than Dexter or Californication, neither of which I have considered watching. But I do watch Law and Order, which depicts violence but treats morality as a worthwhile topic and shows multiple sides of issues. I watch The Office, which shows people with all sorts of foibles I don’t aspire to but which makes me laugh.

If your answer is “don’t watch TV at all”, that’s fine too; others will work through the issue of what may or may not be OK to watch. If I recall correctly, the best guidance on this issue is probably from St. Augustine who gave up the gladiator games which are easy to analogize to much of modern TV. But I’m not even clear where you stand on that, since you seem to watch a fair bit of TV.

I’m not trying to pick on you; I respect your right to form your view and that’s why I asked you three specific questions and posed four specific themes–to try to pin down why you believe what you believe on this topic. (Maybe this is the beginning of my Summa Televisionia) Until the church lays out a rule that says “don’t watch TV”, reason is a great tool to figure this out for ourselves along with prayer and reflection. And even if the church makes that rule, reason is still a valid tool, not something to be discarded.

That is what intellectual honesty is–being prepared to explain the basis of your viewpoint. Ironically your posts read more like radio pundits–throw out a sound bite, and attack the poster. It works against your interests even with those like myself that are serious Catholics looking for an answer consistent with faith.

R

 

[edwest2]

It’s still very simple but I think applying a lot of intellect to the problem is not the answer. Keeping it vague is not a good approach either.

My examples were clear. I posted a link to an interview with Teresa Tomeo who has written about television and its negative effects. More people than yourself are reading my posts.

I have personally watched television become more and more degraded over a 40 year period which coincides with problems in the Christian community. I reject the idea of what I call the “calendar myth,” which simply means now we live in the 21st Century, so what? It doesn’t give anyone any wisdom or knowledge or understanding of anything.

I’ve also referenced the Catholic Legion of Decency which ran from 1933 to 1970. And right after it closed its doors, movies of a perverse and immoral nature immediately began to appear and get worse.

I’m calling on all Catholics to avoid watching television. What little I watch (less than 4 hours a week) allows me to write here with the knowledge that TV is bad and getting worse.

God bless,
Ed

 

[GregoryPalamas]

Not to overstate it or anything, right?

I was just staying with the level of seriousness of the topic.

CDL

 

[Rubicon]

It’s still very simple but I think applying a lot of intellect to the problem is not the answer. Keeping it vague is not a good approach either.

I’m calling on all Catholics to avoid watching television. What little I watch (less than 4 hours a week) allows me to write here with the knowledge that TV is bad and getting worse.

God bless,
Ed

OK, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. For me, applying intellect is never a bad idea, but everyone is different in that regard. I agree that vague is not helpful at times; that’s why I was trying to explore your specific (not vague) reasoning and even your reaction to specific shows, but you obviously you don’t want to do that.

I also do not understand taking a view that abstinence is the answer but then taking an “in moderation” approach personally, but perhaps that works for you.

R

 

[edwest2]

It’s disappointing whenever someone thinks “I can find a way around this.” Or “Maybe good, maybe bad. It’s all too vague to figure out.”

Californication is condemned.

Moderation is an answer that depends on intent. But whenever I write that, the immediate reply is “Good. A loophole. Let’s come up with as many exceptions and loopholes as possible.”

This is the wrong approach toward television programs that are clearly about dysfunctional living. And those that are clearly about fornication as job one (Two and a Half Men). Or TV shows where kids are exposed to the worst adult role models imaginable (Two and a Half Men).

Comedians (which no longer have anything to do with comedy) like George Carlin, Lewis Black and Chris Rock are doing harm by getting people to laugh (or not, I can hear a laugh track in some ‘performances’) at endless sex jokes and perverse and violent suggestions about living. Not to mention saying vile things about Christians.

I hope some of my fellow Catholics here get that. Sure, maybe you can watch the news. Maybe.

The little TV I do watch (now under 3 hours a week) is done to confirm my knowledge of what is going on so I can warn my fellow Catholics and anyone else who will listen. My reactions to these programs is not one of entertainment but a realization that, as mentioned in the opening theme of Family Guy, “Those values on which we used to rely” are being dragged through the mud by people who are giving us “Dysfunctional and Sinful Living on Parade” courtesy of your local cable company.

God bless,
Ed

 

[Fone_Bone_2001]

I’m so torn on this issue…I don’t watch a whole lot of tv, but there are certain shows that I am hooked on - Grey’s Anatomy being one of them…obviously it has many themes that are contradictory to the Church, but I don’t watch the show FOR those themes, and watching those scenes don’t make me doubt my faith or feel any less strongly about the Church’s stance on premarital sex or homosexuality (for example). So, am I sinning by watching shows that condone or somewhat glorify immoral behavior even though it doesn’t cause ME to support or engage in the same immoral behavior?

I go back and forth on this issue a LOT…

This is a really interesting topic, and I think one that is often best addressed on a case-by-case basis.

In general, I guess I think one should err on the side of caution.

Although I admit that this matter doesn’t concern me much, since I don’t watch much TV or go to the movies that often.

To be honest, I find the show you mention - Grey’s Anatomy - utterly ridiculous; watching it would, for me, be penance rather than entertainment.

I admit I’ve never seen a full episode of it, but the trailers I’ve seen, plus the two minutes or so that I did see once, only confirmed my worst suspicions, haha.

I subscribe to the theory that no male watches that show unless a woman forces him to.

I’m also a fan of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, the Narnia books by CS Lewis. All have fantasy in them. I don’t find them harmful as long as I know that. Besides the Narnia books have strong Christian themes.

I love all of those books as well.

And actually, all three of them have strong Christian themes.

Yup, these days I can barely tolerate PG-13s much less R rated and certainly not ones to which the USCCB gives an “O” rating

I personally pay no heed to the ratings the USCCB puts out, though I of course respect those who choose to.

I consider them wildly inconsistent, and I also disagree with the philosophy that a movie’s moral appropriateness should be judged by the degree to which immoral acts occur in them; the movie’s themes - its way of viewing the immoral deeds it depicts - are just as important.

In any case, there are truly amazing movies that are unjustifiably rated O, like The Matrix. In fact, that movie and its sequels are a perfect example of the USCCB’s ratings’ inconsistency:

The Matrix is rated O. It has lots of violence; it also has themes that seem to promote faith.

The Matrix Reloaded, the sequel, was rated A-IV (now L). It has just as much violence as the original, but also has graphic sex (including a dance orgy), and themes that portray faith as a lie. Yet somehow it is only A-IV, while the original is “O.”

Laughably inconsistent.

Each of us has to answer the question. Why are we watching a particular program? What attracts us to this show? If we are completely honest we may find we watch some shows because we like watching the attractive people in sexy clothes in sexual situations. Even if we recognize these shows are fantasy it doesn’t change the fact that we are watching to be titillated by the actors.

Serious sin rarely occurs suddenly but rather is a series of smaller sins that desensitize our conscience to the danger present to our souls. Unfortunately most popular media endangers our souls by the themes and lack of morals portrayed.

Very good points.

One specific TV show that hasn’t come up in this discussion, LOST, so happens to be the only show that I bother watching. I’m curious to know what others on here think of it.

I think Rush’s questions are very good ones, and LOST for me is a good example of applying them. There sometimes is sex on it (though it’s extremely rare; there hasn’t been any this season), but I’m drawn to the show for the depth of its characters and for the themes of suffering and redemption, faith, fate, etc.