When I was four my uncle took my brother and I to see the movie ‘Raiders of the Lost  Ark’ without letting my parents know.  Upon return he asked my mom if it would be okay if we went, to which she replied, “You can take Joe but there are scenes that will be too scary for Dan.”  He looked at her and said, “Oh… we just got back.”

I do not remember much about the movie as a four year old.  I do remember piling all of our jackets on the seats as I was too short to even see the screen, and I remember the scene where the ark was opened and faces began to melt off.  Yes, I cried.  In my defense, that is a graphic scene even by today’s standards, yet Raiders received a PG rating.  Why?  Is it because the movie was seen as unrealistic that people would not be as disturbed by it?

MPAA ratings are designed to give viewers an idea of what is in the movie so they can decide if anything may be inappropriate.  Ratings however have changed with cultural trends.  At one time smoking was something everyone did in the movies.  Then it became one of the tools to designate the villain of the story, but it never really impacted the rating.  Now, you can see movies rated PG or PG-13 because of “smoking.”  At the same time, movies that glorify smoking marijuana, like Cheech and Chong’s ‘Up in Smoke’ (1978), were rated R, while ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’ (2000) received a PG-13 rating.

It seems that ratings are a reflection of what society says is acceptable, but why is it that movies that reflect true life situations receive the stricter ratings?  ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998) and ‘We Were Soldiers’ (2002) present an accurate, non-glorified picture of war yet are deemed unsuitable for certain audiences while ‘Die Hard 4‘ (2007) was rated PG-13.  Is real life that scary?

Our movie this month is ‘Trainspotting’ which takes a look at heroin addiction and what it can do to an individual… and it is rated ‘R’.  So…unrealistic movies that make drug use funny and perhaps normalize it, receive a lower rating than a movie that shows the horrors in heroin use?!  Would it be such a bad thing for our youth to see such films? Ok, so gratuitous sex and violence is not something everyone should see, but can certain movies serve to educate about life?  Christians are told to think on things that are pure and commendable (Phil. 4:8) but should this be done by ignoring or avoiding the reality around us?

What do you think?  Post your ideas here, or even better, come to our movie night on August 25^th (remember that it is R-rated) to discuss this even more.

Did you decide to read this blog because you are interested in arts and culture?  Or did you choose to read it because you know me?  Was it, perhaps, the suggestion of a changed life that enticed you?

In one episode of The Simpsons, Homer is driving home from work and he is excited because it is the day that all the new billboard advertising comes out.  As he drives, he dutifully stops at each billboard, writes down what he is ‘supposed’ to buy and drives on.  Finally, he sees a billboard advertising clown school, which he rejects as a waste of time.  Yet this is the billboard that stays on his mind until he announces that he is going to become a clown.

Billboards are an interesting form of advertising.  These signs have only a few seconds to catch our attention and make the product appealing in that short time.  Most of them seem ridiculous.  Everybody knows the drinking that beer from the vortex bottle will not make life better than if it were out of a normal bottle.  So why advertise?  How much of advertising is capitalizing on a supposed need, like the need to be liked and accepted?

 Could it be that advertisers are creating idols in our lives by telling us what we need to be happy, popular, sexy, or even educated?  In Homer’s case, he became convinced that the way to a fulfilled life was through Krusty’s Clown School.  Christian’s claim that the only way to a truly fulfilled life is through Jesus.  If a life in Christ is what we need then does being filled and guided by the Holy Spirit make us immune to advertising?  How should we respond to the ‘wants’ communicated by the billboards?  How do billboards impact your desires and wants?

When it comes to culture, how do we as Christians approach it?  Do we create our own?  Do we integrate? Do we engage in the world’s cultures?

Craig Gross, self-proclaimed ‘Porn Pastor’, is one Christian who has sought to engage in culture in a specific way. To help people involved in the sex industry get out as well as help those addicted to porn recover, he has created an online community named XXXChurch.com.  He also rents booth space at adult movie conventions and has public debates with porn stars about the validity of the industry.  He certainly engages culture… but does he cross the line? How far is too far?

Dick Staub, in his book The Culturally Savvy Christian, addresses the issue of evil (read sin) in art.  How do we as Christians approach it?  We cannot expect non-believers to have a Christian view regarding the world, God and lifestyle choices.  This does not mean we avoid commercial movies, but we approach them with caution.  Staub suggests we look at the content of any art and ask whether the sin presented is being glorified, is it being made normative, and is it necessary?

When it comes to movies, is every movie worth seeing?  Should we go see every new release with the excuse of understanding the culture?

I was hesitant to see the movie Knocked Up (2007) because of the movie Superbad (2007), made by the same writers.  Superbad, in my opinion, was super bad.  I did not find any redeeming value in it. It seemed simply to promote underage drinking and the ‘necessity’ that teenagers have sex before going to college.  Knocked Up made $148,734,225, making it popular in today’s culture, but why?  I agree Knocked Up has a good message of accepting responsibility for our actions yet it also contained some explicit scenes that did not enhance its message.  Is this type of film ‘appropriate’ viewing if we consider that despite some graphic scenes, continuous strong language, there was, however, a moral message?

So, the question is, where do we as Christians draw the line on what we support with our time and money?  Do we justify seeing movies like Knocked Up because it is what people are watching?  Do we reject any movie that has gratuitous scenes that do not add to the plot?  Do we only watch Christian movies like Fireproof simply because it was made by, and largely for, Christians?  Where do we draw the line?