Video Games, and Entertainment

[Username7]

This will probably be the last time I create in this context on here for a while.

I have been thinking for a while, and didn’t really care much, as I haven’t played these games, and I can and always try to avoid nudity in movies.

Though I had a question. Are games like Doom, and the Witcher sinful? Also are movies that have nude scenes in them sinful?

The only reason I could think that Doom would be sinful, is because it is set in hell, and pretty violent.

Now games like the Witcher 3 I was thinking it may be sinful, as there is elements of paganism, witchcraft, magic, etc. And contains some nude scenes.

Which brings me to my next question, is nudity in movies/games always pornography? If I don’t get any malicious feelings, or lustful thoughts? And if it is not sexual, does that make it not sinful?

Some would consider movies/video games art, and some catholic artists featured nudity in their works, eg. Michelangelo’s ‘David’ and their works are very old, and traditional.

Some said the video games were not sinful, but maybe I guess I’d like some other opinions on the matter.

Though I never got an answer in the nudity questions.

 

[blackforest]

Your last post? Are you intending just to post and lurk? I honestly prefer to engage people who start threads and don’'t care much for indulging the hit-and-run posts. But the brief answer is that if you see any form of media in any way tempting you to sin, it’s best to avoid it. That’s the best metric, and it may be different for different people.

 

[Username7]

I’m not sure what you mean by post and lurk, but I do intend to engage with those on this thread.

 

[Username7]

I meant it will likely be the last time I create a new thread on here (my mistake). Especially ones that involve ‘is this a sin? Is that a sin’ type threads.

 

[ZMystiCat]

Which brings me to my next question, is nudity in movies/games always pornography?

The Catechism gives a bit of information on what makes pornography so grave (CCC 2354):

Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world…

Some may find this definition too narrow, but I think it gets at a decent idea: Does it work against chastity? While sometimes we can perhaps be a bit objective with making such a call (e.g. if it’s on a porn site, then it’s probably not good), other times it is a bit more subjective to what the person finds tempting.

As for the games in question, I’m pretty sure Doom and The Witcher 3 only ever fall under the more subjective side.

 

[Username7]

Ah ok, yeah Doom has never made me feel violent, and the Witcher never made me want to perform magic, or practice paganism or witchcraft.

Nudity in the Witcher (from the little I looked away from) it may have gone against Chastity, so it may be sinful.

Thanks for the reply! God Bless.

 

[Willing_Spirit]

A lot of people argue that watching explicit sex scenes like the ones in Witcher are fine if they don’t tempt you… I disagree, but at the very least I think it is good to avoid games like the Witcher to discourage creators from including such content that tempts many to sin in future games.

Edit: I generally avoid any game with immoral messages. If violence is used in self defense in a game or if it is portrayed as the evil act that it is, then I don’t have a problem. A game with a bunch of sex scenes is always putting forth a bad message, even if the characters were married, because it encourages the culture that watching other people have sex is okay.

 

[blackforest]

Fair enough. I’ve just exhausted too much energy of late posting thoughtful responses to thread-starters who end up no-showing in the conversation. Thanks for sticking around.

 

[Username7]

Yeah, I can’t really remember but at the time I bought Witcher I forgot about the nude scenes.

I don’t play it much though anyways, because I’m terrible at it lol.

Though I do err on the side of caution and just stop watching movies with nudity, or mute the TV, and look away.

 

[BornInMarch]

If I may ask, how do you feel about Michelangelo’s David? After all, that statue realistically depicts a handsome man in his 20s standing completely naked.

 

[Bithynian]

If I may ask, how do you feel about Michelangelo’s David? After all, that statue realistically depicts a handsome man in his 20s standing completely naked.

I think there’s a vast gulf of difference between a renaissance sculpture exploring the merit of the human body compared to, say, a video game’s inclusion of a sex scene which is more often not than very gratuitous for the sake of the lowest common denominator player base.

That being said, I’m neither prudish nor interested in bowlderising contentious art. I’ve played Witcher 3 many years ago, and from what I remember, most of the sexualised content is optional and skippable. Apart from that, it was an excellent video game and is one of the very few commercial Western media items that explores Slavic mythology and folklore.

 

[ZMystiCat]

A game with a bunch of sex scenes is always putting forth a bad message

I think as long as it doesn’t indulge the sex scenes, it can still be used to good effect. Some games thematically either require sex (e.g. The Sims) or would feel unconvincing without it (e.g. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey). Neither of the example games have the fully animated sex scenes that the Witcher games sometimes have, but you can definitely have plenty sexual encounters throughout the game.

And while I can’t think of a video game that does this, there have been movies and TV shows that explore society’s views (and problems) with sex. A recent example would Bojack Horseman.

video game’s inclusion of a sex scene which is more often not than very gratuitous for the sake of the lowest common denominator player base

On the contrary, more often than not, games will cut away from or obscure the sexual content, and if it does show sex, then the characters may still be wearing clothes. I remember back in 2007 it being a big deal that Mass Effect gave a brief glimpse of the characters naked for its sex scenes before cutting away, and that game barely showed anything. Bioware, the developers, have since mostly stuck to either keeping the characters’ clothes on (e.g. Dragon Age: Origins, later Mass Effect games) or cutting away before any sex actually happens (e.g. Dragon Age 2).

One reason the Witcher games are so famous (and infamous) for their sexual content is that they’re among the few non-AO games that actually show unclothed sex, and unlike Mass Effect, they actual linger on it for a while. Some have praised The Witcher games for not being afraid to show sex. Others, myself included, see it as nothing more than an extension of the games’ juvenile writing and tone. Either way, the gratuitousness in the games is rather unique for video games.

 

[Willing_Spirit]

I don’t think the display of nudity itself is a problem, only the context. There isn’t really an erotic context in the case of David, but anyone that finds looking at the statue leading them to entertaining lustful thoughts should look away.