Is it okay for Catholics to watch the movie, THE GREEN MILE?

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It has more than it’s share of profanity. Particularly taking the Lord’s name in vain. I don’t like that part at all, but, love the storyline.

What about all the cursing?

Oh, found a filter forgot what it’s called that you can purchase that dubs over any curse words and nudity if any that you yourself set in a movie. I can’t afford it but someone else may.

Love, Sheila
 
A film featuring characters who commit sin doesn’t necessarily have to be avoided, it’s about what it’s conveying. Oftentimes profanity and cursing is just added for accuracy. If it makes you uncomfortable don’t watch it, but I wouldn’t say it’s something that has to be avoided.

I’ve seen The Green Mile, it’s a great movie that anyone comfortable enough with the subject matter should be OK watching.
 
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If you want to check the suitability of a movie, I would recommend that you go to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops website, usccb.org and look for “media” and “movies”. They have reviews of movies including a rating for its moral content. “The Green Mile” review says that it is suitable for adults.

There are reviews on that site for movies going back to the 40s at least but not all movies are reviewed.

I generally check the site before going to see a current movie.
 
Why shouldn’t the Green Mile be okay?

I always felt it covered some very Christian themes, such as self-sacrifice to save others, and the power of healing. The false accusations against, suffering of, and death of John Coffey echo that of Christ, and seeing his initials are JC, I don’t think that was an accident.

But Coffey is a Christ-like figure but he’s not actually Christ. So he’s not perfect. I think all those aspects are cleverly woven in.
 
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A good analysis of the movie, much of which I can agree with.

But maybe the review is also overly critical, holding the movie up to be so something it wasn’t intended to be, and then claiming it failed to be that.

I never read the book, but Stephen King is a rather non-Christian author, is he not? His works have a lot of spirituality, but it’s not a Christian sprirituality. It is rather something dark and pessimistic in which God is largely absent but evil and satanic forces manifest themselves in subtle and not so subtle ways.

So actually having a Christ-like figure is already a significant breakthrough. Requiring him to be even more Chrtstlike, to deliver something like a sermon on the mount or a resurrection would be asking too much and maybe alienate too many viewers in our rather post-Christian times.
 
What is the name of the filter and where can i find it because I would love to purchase it if it really does what you said it does.
 
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Things like Clean Flix and Vid Angel have been sued and have been shut down in their lawsuits. I’d not go buying something that likely violates US Copyright law.

If you do not want to hear impolite words, stick to movies that air with legit editing done by the studio or G rated films.
 
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I, for one never thought it compared to Jesus Christ. I thought Stephen King wrote what he does best.

At that time, the Guards taking care of death row inmates had to have a tough interior. Plus, the prisoners back then are not like they are now. Now, there are divisions, gangs, can get any drug and even hire hit men. And IMO by Tom Hanks taking a severe heartbreak with him by executing, “A true Miracle of God”. would mean regret and possibly but not known, his thinking he has damned his soul.

With suffering, year after year with the knowledge of doing this would make him wish for death to end it.

There are times when my finances, no TV, no land phone, in severe pain, having no food, excruciatingly isolation gets to me. No help in acquiring these things get to me. I equate myself with Tom on that part.

Plus, Tom is human. And human nature has Tom weeping. Plus, also living in isolation with all of his loved ones gone, why wouldn’t he want to pray for death to be with them?

Thank you for the article.

God bless you.
 
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Yes, it is perfectly okay to watch the Green Mile.

Life itself has a lot of cussing and blaspheming. You’d have to go be a hermit in a cave to not be exposed to such things.
 
I pray I don’t get in trouble for advertising on here.😉 It’s called Clearplay, A DVD player that sells at Walmart, Amazon and ebay.
 
In real life there is swearing. It’s better to have swearing in a movie then to lie to the audience about what life was like.

Having said that one part of that film made me uncomfortable. It was the part where John Coffey states he wants to be executed because life is painful; that sounds uncomfortably like assisted-suicide.
 
TheLittleLady said:
If you do not want to hear impolite words, stick to movies that air with legit editing done by the studio or G rated films.
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Yes, catch those movies when they come on a “family” channel or broadcast TV. Bad words are either silenced or overdubbed with more family-friendly words, sometimes with interesting consequences. For example, the movie Fargo in the original has many occurrences of the f-bomb. For broadcast TV, those were overdubbed with the appropriate form of the verb “to freeze”. It was appropriate to the climate, and, in some cases, howlingly funny.

D
 
Arwing said:
A film featuring characters who commit sin doesn’t necessarily have to be avoided, it’s about what it’s conveying.
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I wonder…while sure a portrayal of sin isn’t sinful in itself and need not be avoided…it seems there is a difference when it comes to say blasphemy or taking the Lord’s name in vain no? For in those cases the utterance itself is sinful, gravely so even.

I don’t know if there is any obligation to avoid media that we know contains such things (so as to avoid material cooperation with evil)…but surely one would have such an obligation to not partake in these things if they would lead one to sin (ie getting into a habit of sinning in those ways, even by quoting a line from the movie or whatnot).

In my opinion it is best to avoid such things…but as mentioned in another post it is unfortunately nigh impossible in everyday life (though this does not seem to provide an excuse for situations which clearly are avoidable as is the case here). Anyone have thoughts to share on this matter in particular?

(Now as for the movie itself I don’t remember it enough to really comment…but these days I try to avoid things I know contain blasphemy and the like, so movies in general have been sparse lately for me.)
 
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aardvark321 said:
surely one would have such an obligation to not partake in these things if they would lead one to sin (ie getting into a habit of sinning in those ways, even by quoting a line from the movie or whatnot).
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Absolutely, if it is an unnecessary near occasion of sin it must be avoided.

I do think you’re right that portrayal of sin in when it comes to disrespect of God’s name does seem to involve actual sin in many cases… Not sure if this prescribes an obligation to avoid as far as possible all such instances, it’s not something I had really considered.
 
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