Liberano, no, please, let’s not continue any discussion of Crowley. He was very evil.
Let’s stick with the topic, please.
My opinion is that there are television shows, movies, plays, novels, songs, works of art, etc. that depict immorality, but are still redemptive and worth viewing.
We need to discern whether the evil is portrayed as “evil” rather than as “good.”
Someone mentioned the tv show, “The Unit.” I’ve watched every episode of this show. Always, ALWAYS, evil is depicted as EVIL, and the terrible consequences of the evil acts are shown. My favorite actor is on the show, and he actually mentioned this in one of his interviews.
But on other shows, evil is presented as “good,” e.g., “Will and Grace” did not depict the practice of homosexuality as a grave evil," but as something “normal.” The implication was very strong that those of us who consider homosexual sex “sin” are perverted.
One of the shows that I found very unpleasant was “Everybody Loves Raymond,” because it depicted bickering between family members as “normal” rather than disturbing, unpeaceful, and unloving. My husband feels this way about a lot of the situation comedies–throughout the entire show, people are yelling and hurling insults and sarcastic remarks at each other. Often men are characterized as selfish baboons, while the women are clever and hard-working, and the children are portrayed as miniature wise-cracking adults.
To me, this is the kind of stuff that Christians would do well not to get too involved with.
My parents-in-law, bless their hearts, are getting older, and they watch a lot of those sitcoms. Interestingly, as they are aging, they are bickering more and more. It’s almost as though they are acting out what they see all the time on television. The only thing is, it isn’t FUNNY in real life.
I think that watching a show or two, or attending a play, that depicts “sin” can actually help Christians to have a more realistic understanding of the heart and mind of a sinner. I don’t know about you, but I’ve known the Lord from childhood, and I really don’t have any vices or habitual sins. I’m fortunate. So it’s easy for me to be judgemental or harsh toward “sinners.” But when I see a portrayal of a “sinner” on a good drama (tv, movie, novel, play, etc.) it helps me to get inside of their head and have more empathy and love for them, as well as showing me what I can do to help them. (Often, all I can do is pray.)
I want to qualify this by saying that we have to be extremely careful not to expose children to entertainment that isn’t age-appropriate. The show “The Unit” is excellent, highly-moral television, but it’s also about war, and the characters are sometimes involved in immoral situations, sometimes of their own choosing and sometimes not. It’s very good for teenagers and I believe would give opportunity for a lot of dialogue between parents and teens, but for children, it would be frightening and confusing. That doesn’t mean it should be avoided by adults, too. But it should watched after the kiddies are in bed asleep.
I’m currently working on a “Catholic” novel that has murders, thefts, deception, lies, and sacrilege. That’s the BAD guys! The novel has sex scenes between the married couples–not titillating, but I do hope that the copy will make married couples want to be with each other. The novel also has Catholic practices in almost every chapter; e.g., the Rosary, Mass, morning prayer, the Sign of the Cross, no swearing or using the Lord’s Name in vain by the main characters, history of various Catholic practices, saints and asking for intercession from the saints. It’s exciting stuff, very “plotty,” and I hope a Catholic publisher will be interested in picking it up. But I fear that this won’t happen because so many Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, somehow feel that they can’t read or watch anything that depicts “sin.” I’ve read some “Catholic novels.” The romance is so flat and boring and unrealistic, and in the attempt not to show ANY sin, they basically avoid any conflict, which means that there’s NO STORY. Yawn.
