Who cares what picture you see?

Saturday night at the movies... Who cares what picture you see?

That is a line from the chorus of a well-known 1960's song, written and performed by the late Sam Cooke.

Who cares what picture you see?

I have here, as I write, the movie listings page from last Friday's Victoria, British Columbia Times-Colonist newspaper.  Here are a few examples of the movies you can see at Victoria's theatres this weekend:

The Spanish Prisoner, Lost in Space, Sliding Doors, No Looking Back, Good Will Hunting, The Odd Couple II, Tarzan and the Lost City, He Got Game, City of Angels, Titanic, Les Miserables, The Man in the Iron Mask, U.S. Marshals, Mercury Rising, The Big Hit, As Good as it Gets, Black Dog, The Object of my Affection.

Although the last two or three might be somewhat questionable, most of these titles sound harmless enough.  But let us look a little closer.  Let us examine the British Columbia Government Censor's warnings of what you can expect to see and hear if you decide to take in one of these movies (the ratings are not in the same order as the titles above):

Coarse language; Violence; Coarse language and nudity; Violence and coarse language; Frequent coarse language and violence; Coarse language and suggestive scenes; Frequent coarse language and suggestive scenes and violence; Coarse language and suggestive scenes and nudity.

What do you think? Should God's people be watching such movies?

In this article, I would like to take a look at the subject of movies from God's point of view.  In the process, I would like to point out some of the benefits of watching good movies, point out some of the disadvantages and even dangers of watching bad movies, and offer some guidelines to determine whether or not to watch a particular movie.  Some of these concepts can also be applied to standards in television, live theatre, literature, and music.  I should mention at the outset that it is not the intention of this article to judge anyone.  I have found myself slipping in some of these areas as recent years have gone by, so I direct what I write here to myself as well as to other members of God's church.

Product of Satan's world

I was once assigned the task of finding a suitable movie to show at a church social.  One of the first considerations was to find a film that would please all age groups from four to ninety-four.  The difficulty with such an assignment is that everyone seems to have a different idea of what a "good" movie is.  Our opinion often depends upon the age group we are in, and this is natural; this is fine.  But it also appears that different standards can exist, even among God's people, as to what is considered morally acceptable and what is considered immoral or offensive in a movie.  Is this natural?  Is this fine?  I don't think it is.  We ought to be unified in living by one set of moral standards – God's set of moral standards!

We are all very aware of the continuing moral deterioration of Satan's world in which we have to live.  The Prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2) has a tremendous influence on what governments allow to be shown in movies and television shows.  Scenes and dialogue that once would have been frowned upon or even banned as pornographic are now inserted without question into regular family shows and adventure films.  The government film censor (or "director" as he has been downgraded to here in British Columbia) handles this lowering of standards by going along with it; by merely changing a film's rating from "General" (G) to "Parental Guidance suggested" (PG).

Today, we have much easier access to movies – from the true, wholesome family entertainment down to the downright unacceptable.  Even though admission prices are so high, the theatres are still very popular.  You will have to line up around the block to be able to see a new, effectively promoted and advertised film.  In the ratings race, television networks air more recently made movies, rather than the oldies, which are now relegated to time slots in the wee hours of the morning.  If you want to get away from a television movie's annoying commercial breaks, you can easily do so because we are now well along into the age of Video Cassette Recorders (VCRs), Pay TV, satellite TV, movie channels and, more recently, high resolution Digital Video Disks (DVD).  For as little as 88 cents you can rent a movie for an evening's entertainment – good or bad!  Many public libraries now lend DVD and VHS movies to their members at no cost at all, and many of them have huge and up-to-date collections.

Benefits and disadvantages

What then are the benefits of choosing and watching a good movie?  They really are quite obvious.  Such movies as Little Women (which was recently remade right here in Victoria), The Sound of Music, the Australian Man from Snowy River and Golden Fiddles, and the Canadian Anne of Green Gables series leave you feeling good, in a positive frame of mind, and perhaps yearning a little for a return to the simpler lifestyles and societies of yesteryear.  Such stories also make you want to emulate the good character traits of the heroes and heroines.  A good movie, then, should leave you feeling good, positive, uplifted and desirous to emulate good acts and character.

The disadvantages of a bad movie are similar, only in a negative way.  A bad movie inserts sin into one's mind for him or her to dwell upon long after the conclusion. Viewers can begin justifying their vicarious participation in evil acts, perhaps with such thoughts as "It can't be that bad if they're allowed to show it in a movie or on television!"  Unlikely as it may seem right now as you are reading this, for the two hours you invest in watching a movie, you really can be subtly drawn into agreeing with evil, by identifying with such questionable heroes as Bonnie and Clyde, Rambo, Mad Max or, more recently, Charlie's Angels.

God's point of view

But what really IS a good movie?  And what is a bad movie?  What is God's point of view?  After all, He is the One who defines what is good and what is bad – what is righteousness and what is sin.  Of course, the Bible does not mention the subject of movies specifically.  Motion picture technology was not developed until 1891, approximately 1,800 years after the Bible writings were complete.  Nevertheless, the relevant principles are all there in the scriptures and they come through to us loud and clear.  From God's viewpoint and thus from a Christian's viewpoint, the things that make a movie bad are evident.  Let's look at some of them, briefly, to see what God has to say about them:

1. Coarse language, including blasphemy, profanity (taking God's name in vain) and swearing (foul language).

The Son of God commands His brothers and sisters, "Swear not at all" (Matthew 5:32) and "Above all things, my brethren, swear not" (James 5:12). Through the apostle Paul in Colossians 3:8, He tells us "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth."

That is what God thinks about coarse language!

2. Immorality, including displays of full frontal nudity, depictions of fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc.

In this same third chapter of Colossians, God tells us to put fornication (and other forms of immorality) to death within us: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" (Verse 5)

In the book of Thessalonians, as well as in many other scriptures, He tells us to abstain from the most frequently portrayed form of immorality: 

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  (I Thessalonians 4:3) 

Also in I Corinthians 6:18: 

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

That is what God thinks about immorality!

3. Violence, including murder and war, excessive fighting and bloodshed.

For the purpose of His children's education, God has permitted accounts of certain acts of violence to be included in His written Word. In the same way, we can learn from certain historical movies that contain limited amounts of depicted violence (e.g. Cromwell, The Battle of Britain, Zulu, Patriot, Pearl Harbour).

This is not to say that we should excuse or condone the depiction of excessive ultra-violence of the type that is included in so many of today's films. God tells us in Psalm 11:5 that His soul hates those who love violence.  Jesus Christ tells us over and over in the Old and New Testaments: Thou shalt not kill!  Exodus: Thou shalt not kill!  Deuteronomy: Thou shalt not kill!  Romans: Thou shalt not kill!  And He instructs you and me directly as princes and princesses of Israel: 

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Let it suffice you, O princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute judgment and justice, take away your exactions from my people, saith the Lord GOD.  (Ezekiel 45:9)

That is what God thinks about violence!

4. The Supernatural, including ghost, occult, and demon subject matter.

This subject would take a whole article, or even a series of articles to do justice to, but it is best to keep discussion on this topic to a minimum.  The English used to have a saying, "Speak of the devil and here he comes."  There is some truth to this.  The apostle James advises the very opposite:

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (James 4:7) 

It should be plain and obvious to God's people that we should avoid this type of movie like the plague.  Literally!

Only watching?

"But," some might reason, "I'm not committing these sins by occasionally watching acted portrayals of them in movie scenes."

Jesus Christ answers this argument in the fifth chapter of Matthew where He explains the mental and spiritual attitudes behind the verbal and physical acts of swearing, revenge, violence, murder, war, and immorality.  Also, in Philippians 4:8, He tells us through the apostle Paul what kinds of things we should be allowing into our minds: 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Suggested guidelines

It might be a good idea to have a little sign quoting Philippians 4:8 sitting on top of your television set to remind you of God's standards every time you switch it on.  Here are a few additional guidelines on choosing and watching movies:

a) Remember that this is Satan's world and that, sadly, very few of its movies are completely free of swearing, violence, etc.  If you reject every movie that isn't absolutely one hundred percent "pure," you will reject most of them, including some that may actually be very worthwhile.  Mr. Armstrong, you might be surprised to know, used to enjoy science-fiction movies – the old style, of course – those that were obviously complete fantasy; not the more recent, pseudo-demonic Alien-type offerings.  My favorite in this category is the thought-provoking, visually and aurally stunning 1968 classic, 2001 - A Space Odyssey.

b) There are five immediate clues to a movie's suitability for viewing by God's people, that can be obtained from your newspaper's movie listings:

• The name or title of the movie,
• The classification: General (G), Parental Guidance (PG), Mature (M), Restricted (R).  The names of these classifications might be different in various provinces, states and countries, but you can easily find out what each one means. Most television channels now have classifications too.
• The government censor's warnings (e.g. Frequent gory violence).
• The still pictures on the ad.
• The comments published (usually weekly) by the newspaper movie or entertainment critic.

Using these clues, we find in last week's Victoria Times-Colonist movie listings that there are only TWO current films that a Christian family could watch without any apparent problem: Paulie and Barney's Great Adventure!  Nevertheless, even these clues can be deceptive.  Some years ago, my wife and I took our children to see a Care Bears movie.  How harmless could a movie be expected to be, with all those cute, pastel-coloured little bears?  It turned out to be the story of a battle between the Care Bears and a demon that had possessed a young boy!

c) Ask yourself the question, "Would I watch this movie if Jesus Christ were sitting here with me?"

d) The movie should not appear to promote, glorify, or condone violence, immorality, or other sins.

e) For those of you who have VCRs or DVD players, wherever possible, preview the movie and edit it for family viewing.  If a preview is not possible, watch very carefully and fast-forward as necessary.  If you find yourself editing or fast-forwarding too much, hit the stop button and try something else!  Even good movies may need some editing or fast-forwarding. The murder scene in Oliver, Lionel Bart's musical version of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, is one example.

f) Without apology, strictly control your family's TV habits.  Do not allow your children to sit for hours, unsupervised, watching anything that takes their fancy.  Buy a TV guide and plan in advance what your family can watch.  Beware of channel-flipping and beware of Pay-TV movies, which are expensive and are probably ninety percent unacceptable viewing for a Christian family.

g) Some good movie categories might include:

• Stories from classical literature, old and more recent (e.g. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, The Little Princess, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Around the World in Eighty Days, On the Beach, The Scarlet Letter),
  
• Non-fiction documentaries (e.g. the National Geographic and Jacques Cousteau series),
  
• For adults and older teens, historical or biographical films (e.g. Midway, Cromwell, Zulu, The Valiant Years [Churchill], The Longest Day, Pearl Harbour). Although some of these may contain war scenes, it should be remembered that history is filled with war and these films are not the type that glorify it.
  
• Many of the older classic comedies and Disney movies.  Beware of newer films in this category, as much of today's comedy is, at best, crass.

h) If in doubt, switch off!  If you're in a theatre, get up and leave!  There are lots of other, more profitable pass-times available.

In this article, we have examined movies from God's point of view, we have discussed the benefits of good movies, the dangers and disadvantages of bad movies, we have determined what makes a movie good or bad in God's eyes, and we have looked at some guidelines for choosing and watching movies.

So, once again: Saturday night at the movies, Who cares what picture you see?

Some one does care. 

God cares.

So must we!

John Plunkett
Victoria, BC, Canada