Violent Movies

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DEESYPAL

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Watching violent movies a mortal sin? I was watchin a movie called ‘Lock, Stock and 2 smoking barrells.’ I dont know im on the fence?
 
I think it all has to do with the violence in the movie and how it affects you as a person. If the violence in the movie has a point to it and is not simply gratuitous, then the movie can be helpful.

Many great movies use violence in them to make us hate violence, many substandard movies glorify violence and make it seem “cool”, which it never will be.

I am personally scared by how desensitized to violence we are as a culture. Maybe it’s just because I grew up without TV, but sitting there trying to watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I was crying almost the whole time thinking “those are people dying” but everyone around me thought I was weird for being upset about watching something that uses murder to sell more movies.

Don’t fall for the trick. Don’t let yourself be able to sit there and watch people being gunned down without feeling anything. Let Christ be your guide. Would Christ watch that movie?
 
How do you feel about the violence? Do you enjoy it? Are you especially attracted to movies that are violent? If not, then probably nothing to be concerned about. If yes, you’re indulging a fantasy that just encourages something in yourself that you should want to discourage. If it stirs you up and makes you want to beat the living tar out of your enemies, best to stay away from movies like that! They might be a “near ocasion of sin” for you. But still not a mortal sin.
 
DEESYPAL said:
Watching violent movies a mortal sin? I was watchin a movie called ‘Lock, Stock and 2 smoking barrells.’ I dont know im on the fence?
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No, otherwise watching the passion of Christ would be a sin. Remember our churches have stained glass windows, art and other things depicting very violent deaths. It is not the violence that would make it sinful.

However, if you watch a movie involving torture, rape and death and find yourself enjoying what is happening to** innocent victims** it may be a good indication you are outside of a state of grace.

Just so much if there was a violent movie that promoted ideology that encouraged say genocide, you knew about it before hand, it was condemned by the church, people knew that you were catholic (sin of scandal) then I would say it would meet the criteria for a mortal sin.
 
Well there are different kinds of violence in fiction. I’ll try to break it down for you into a few categories:
  1. Gore - The most disturbing type. These involve heavy use of blood, dismemberment, along with gruesome, and graphic depictions of violent deaths.
  2. Action-Packed - Choreographed fight scenes fall under this. These range from the thuggish brawling in action movies to the fast-paced duels in martial arts flicks. (I prefer the latter though. strikes kung fu pose WAAAYAH!! karate chops stone block … ouch. ;w; )
  3. Special Effects - This type makes use of very flashy special effects such as explosions, computer generated imagery, and… very pretty lights. (-) Usually the kind of scenes where you see a lot of stuff like this are space-fighter combat (e.g. Star Wars), robot battles (e.g. Transformers, Gundam), monster battles (e.g. Godzilla), and out-of-this-world fights like the ones you see in fantasy realms (e.g. Harry Potter, Eragon, Final Fantasy: Advent Children) and live-action super hero shows (e.g. Power Rangers, Ultraman, Kamen Rider, Dragon Ball)
  4. Cartoon Violence - The craziest of them all. This type involves physics of the most impossible nature. Like let’s say, anvils fallin’ outta nowhere, punches that send perverts to space, bullets that don’t kill you but leave non-bloody, paper-like holes on your body. Unlike the previous three which have been used for action, this one is entirely dedicated towards humor. Slapstick, specifically. :rolleyes:
Be sure though, that these are just what I consider the general categories from my own experience of watching many fight scenes on TV, movies, and video games. Now out of all four of these, the ones should watch out for the most are those who make excessive use of #1. Such movies that do are almost always of the slasher-horror variety whose victims are innocent people (well, generally speaking). Now as nmoerbeek stated, if you’re the type who enjoys that kind of violence where people have little to no means of fighting back, then even I would not see you in a good light. :nope: Now I am not saying anything that uses gore is bad (heck I happen to like a few gory comics myself) but I am merely saying that it’s been used wrongly. Also, if you cannot discern that the violence you are witnessing is fictional and is thus, something you can’t do in real life, I suggest you go get help. I also agree with another poster here that the violence cannot just be for violence sake. It must have another meaning even if the scene is merely some form of training session or a friendly spar.
AdriannaJean said:
I think it all has to do with the violence in the movie and how it affects you as a person. If the violence in the movie has a point to it and is not simply gratuitous, then the movie can be helpful.

Many great movies use violence in them to make us hate violence, many substandard movies glorify violence and make it seem “cool”, which it never will be.
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I disagree. I have seen such a thing as “cool violence” in fiction and this usually involves using it heavily against people who really deserve it (e.g. corrupt officials, drug lords, thugs, rapists, dictators). One time, when I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, I had a nice big smile on me face as I watched Cutler Beckett meet his well-deserved demise. :cool:

I have also seen movies and shows where characters engage in friendly duels. I think this type of violence is cool too (especially if these make a very skilled use of #2 and #3). Not only are there no deaths, I simply love it when people compete with each other and measure their skills (cool phrases and funny dialogue are a plus XD). However, I doubt I’ll be understood by people who seem to have a dislike for anything action-packed. :rolleyes:
 
The USCCB website has a section where they rate movies, from A-I (ok for kids) to O (morally offensive). I’ve often wrestled with whether it is immoral and sinful to watch O rated movies. One answer I really liked was this: you can watch morally offensive movies, but expect to have your sense of morality offended.

My response would thus be that you can watch violent movies, but, as nmoerbeek says, if you find yourself enjoying the suffering of fairly innocent characters, you should stop. As a Christian, you should feel sympathetic to the suffering of others, especially the innocent.

I would also respond to Lost Wanderer’s comments. As a fan of old-school kung fu movies, I heartily agree that certain forms of violence in movies are acceptable (for artistic and/or moral purposes). Violence is sometimes the only way to stop injustice, both on screen and real life. In the movie 36th Chamber of Shaolin, a bad guy confronts a Shaolin monk, demanding to know why this pacifist monk is allowed to beat him up. The monk replies, “Even Buddha punished evil.” I’m not endorsing Buddhism, I’m just making the point that even religions that try to promote peace, like Christianity, can recognize that using force to prevent the unjust (I try not to pronounce other people as evil) from oppressing others is justified in certain cases. Even Jesus struck out at the money changers. That being said, one should **not **get so much joy watching the bad guy meet his violent end. There is a Bible verse, I forget where, that says we should not rejoice at the death of our enemies.

Long story short, you can watch action movies, but try not to enjoy any one’s death onscreen any more than in real life.
 
the sin would be in your intentions for watching the movie, and the degree of violence would determine, in my opinion, the degree of sin. if you enjoy watching people suffer, I would say that watching it would constitute a venial sin at the least. if the movie involved torture, i say mortal, no doubt.
 
There is another type of violence in movies–the type that makes your stomach turn because of the humanity of the characters. For instance–Band of Brothers. Every bit of violence in that series makes you feel sick and sad. Other examples would be Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, Braveheart, Gettysburg. These movies are meant to make you feel unpleasant emotions when faced with the violence it depicts. These are good movies because they humanize the characters involved.
 
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