Last Sunday’s readings seemed to be about man’s sinfulness
and the importance of forgiveness. The
first reading from Ezekiel describes the need to warn the wicked of their sins,
and in the gospel Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and
tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have
won over your brother.” Then He follows
up with: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:15,18)
The concept of sin is becoming passé. In a world of moral relativism where there
are no absolute truths, everyone is free to rationalize their actions and
decide for themselves what is right and wrong.
Human nature being what it is, we all have a tendency to make excuses
for ourselves. In doing so, we suppress
our conscience either by ignoring it, or failing to form it properly in the
first place. As society becomes more
focused on the primacy of absolute individual freedom, we take for granted the
commonly held belief that we’re all entitled to happiness as defined by
pleasure, convenience, and freedom from consequences. The notion that anything could be
intrinsically evil is considered a vestige of archaic superstition. Is it any wonder then that the entertainment
world glorifies sex and violence, while downplaying and even ridiculing
modesty, chastity, self-control, and meekness.
Not surprisingly, in a world where we have become
desensitized to the immorality of violence and promiscuity, the importance of
marriage and family have also been demeaned.
Why marry and assume the “burden” of commitment and children if it
interferes with the pursuit of pleasure and freedom? Consequently, 50% of all adults in the USA are
now single, compared to 34% just a few decades ago. The rights of consenting adults now takes
precedence over almost everything, including the right of children to be raised
by both of their biological parents, or the responsibility to be
faithful to sacred vows. This seems to
be the agenda of the entertainment industry.
When a wholesome program or movie manages to make it to TV or the big
screen, it is demeaned by reviewers and ignored by those showering awards on
programs that glorify violence or promote the GLBT agenda. Case in point: Modern Family earned its
3rd Emmy for comedy, despite The Middle having an audience twice
the size.
On a positive note, this has been a pretty good summer
for movies with a moral message. The
first of the year was Son of God which depicted the life
and death of Jesus. Heaven is for Real told of the struggle of a preacher
whose son had a near death experience that shakes the faith of his family. The Giver, portrays the bleak future
where freewill has been removed, along with any awareness of the evil of euthanasia. Although
not overtly religious, Magic in the Moonlight is a quirky British
piece about a narcissistic atheist and avowed skeptic who believes that love is
nothing more than an illusion and there is no meaning to life. Early in the film he quotes Thomas Hobbes describing
humanity, saying: “And the life of man (is) solitary, poor, nasty,
brutish, and short.” His belief (or lack
thereof) made him an absolute boor and snob, but in the end he is won over by the
power of love that gives meaning to his life. When the Game Stands Tall recounts
the real life story of a high school football coach who turns down numerous
lucrative offers because he believes his calling is to turn boys into men by
teaching the virtues of self-discipline, hard work, and teamwork. Even the raucous Guardians of the Galaxy
had a few scenes depicting the importance of self-sacrifice for the good of
others. Although I have not seen it yet,
God
is Not Dead portrays the debate between an atheistic philosophy professor
and his defiant student who carries the day.
The Identical tells the story of twins separated at birth. One becomes a famous musician, and the other
is expected to follow his father into the ministry, despite his musical talent. Later this year, Exodus will be released,
telling the story of Moses and the Israelites.
Hopefully it will be more accurate than Noah which was far from biblical.
There were other, more overtly religious movies that got
little attention and poor reviews, but the point is that the public seems to
want more wholesome movies. It’s
doubtful any of the movies cited above will get any attention at the Oscars,
but there is a growing audience for movies with a moral message. One thing these movies seem to have in common
is the depiction of the bad things that ensue when morality is abandoned. Rather than extolling the benefits of
absolute freedom and the libertine lifestyle, they point to the consequences of
sin and the abandonment of morality.
In many ways, whether we like it or not, media helps shape
our culture. Movies and TV set trends,
depicting culture in ways that make certain characters and lifestyles appear to
be attractive, if not unrealistic. They
have a way of subverting cultural norms by portraying the glamor and excitement
of absolute freedom while diminishing the value of traditional virtues. We see so much sex and violence in the media that
we are led to believe it is the norm, and anyone who infers otherwise is portrayed
as an idiot. St. Pope John Paul II was
himself an actor, and he warned us frequently about the influence of the media,
even while he encouraged Christians to produce uplifting material to counter
the culture of death that is taken for granted in so many movies and TV
programs. This is why Rick Santorum
joined EchoLight Studios as CEO. They
produced The Christmas Candle last year, the Redemption of Henry Myers this
year, and a half dozen movies before that.
I guess the point of all this is that it’s easy to overlook
sin when it’s represented so attractively. We need to keep up our guard and seek
entertainment that recognizes the fact that evil does exist and so does
temptation. Several of the blockbuster
movies this past year upheld the notion that evil must be resisted and overcome. The latest installments of Spiderman
and Captain
America for example, as well as Divergent, were examples of the
good-guy hero fighting against evil. But
for every movie with a good message, there seem to be 10 that reek of Hollywood’s
agenda.
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