The Academy Award™ nominees are out for last year’s movies. I love movies. My EC and I go to the movies often. Since we see so many movies, I figured I would take a few minutes and share my thoughts about each of them. There are 9 Best Picture nominees this year.
“12 Years a Slave” I have to admit, I didn’t see this one. It looked intriguing to me when I saw the previews. I like movies that are based on true stories. Then, when it came out, it was rated R, so I bailed.
“Dallas Buyers Club” Umm. Didn’t see this one either. I think Matthew McConaughey is great. Rated R – and apparently quite deserving of that R Rating.
“Her” About a guy who falls in love with his computer. Didn’t see this one either – because it was rated R. Amy Adams is in this one, and she’s a Mormon, so there’s that.
“Nebraska” Yeah. Didn’t see it. R-rated. Again. Not really a problem, in that I don’t care much for Bruce Dern.
“American Hustle” Now this one looked good. Great cast. It is supposed to be funny. Didn’t see it. Wanna know why? Rated R. (Sister Adams was in this, too. I really liked her in Enchanted.)
“The Wolf of Wall Street” Now this one is impressive. Apparently the screenwriter, director and all the actors managed to squeeze over 500 F-Bombs into one movie. A new record! There is also so much graphic sex and violence that many are surprised in got away with a coveted R Rating, instead of NC-17. Oh – I didn’t see that one either.
“Philomena” Stars “M” from James Bond. THIS one is rated PG-13, but barely. Apparently there was a battle because it contains more than the one, obligatory F-Bomb per PG-13. It’s R-rating was overturned on appeal, as the F-word makes further inroads into our society, and our PG-13 movies. That said, I would like to see this movie. Haven’t yet. Probably will wait and rent it.
“Captain Phillips” Haven’t seen it yet. I KNOW! I’m an idiot, and I’m still not sure how it is that we haven’t seen it yet. I’ve heard great things about it, and Tom Hanks is always fantastic. I will definitely see it.
UPDATE: Saw it on 1/17/14. Enjoyed it. Not the greatest movie I’ve ever seen, but it was riveting and I liked it a lot. I don’t care for bouncy handheld camera – I understand when it is on a boat, but in an office when someone is talking on the phone? Get the Dramamine!
Yes, I know Tom Hanks has some stupid opinions about Mormons. That won’t prevent me from seeing his movies. If I boycotted movies that starred celebrities who said stupid things, I would never be able to go to the movies.
“Gravity” I SAW THIS ONE!!! I really liked it. It was different, and a visual treat. I had never seen anything like it before. I like both George Clooney, and Sandra Bullock. (Again, I will go see George Clooney, even though I don’t agree with his lifestyle choices.)
SPOILER: The other night on some dumb awards show, Tina Fey said this about Gravity, “George Clooney would rather float away in space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age,” Now that’s a funny joke.
I highly recommend Gravity. Is it the best picture of the year? I doubt it. Is it the only nominee I actually saw? Yes. So it has that going for it.
That wraps up my review of this year’s contenders. It was probably the worst analysis in history. Maybe now is a good time for an explanation. You might have spotted a trend that resulted in me not actually seeing 6 of the 9 nominees: The dreaded R-Rating.
I used to go to R-Rated movies all the time. That ended some years ago. My EC and I made a decision to stay away sometime back in the early 2000’s, and have managed to hold that line since then. I must admit, it has been hard, and still is. There is nothing more frustrating than a movie preview that looks fabulous, and then the dreaded rating screen pops up and tells you that it is rated R. Sometimes I hold my breath. Arrrg!
Many of you will disagree with our hardline stance, and that is your right. You have your agency to do whatever you want to do. Here is why we made the decision we did.
1) It is what I have been taught by my leaders. Back when I was engaged to be married, President Ezra Taft Benson said this in Priesthood Conference:
“We counsel you, young men, not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth passes is never the same afterwards. Don’t see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic.” (link)
Pretty blunt, right? I, (we) ignored that counsel for a long time. Since then, that counsel has been re-iterated and reinforced by countless leaders. I have looked, and to the best of my knowledge, that prophet counsel has never been rescinded. To me, if a prophet counsels me to do, or not do something, it moves from being a “good idea” to a simple question of obedience. I sustain our prophets.
2) It is what our youth are being taught. I have a hard time asking them to live standards that I am not willing to live. Here is what they are taught from the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet.
“Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit.”
You might notice that that presents and even higher bar than merely the rating. It is a tougher standard, and subject to interpretation. Here’s how I apply it: R, NC-17, and X rated movies are strictly off limits. PG-13, and PG need to be checked out, because the rating is not enough to let us know if it upholds our standards or not.
To help in this pre-screening process, IMDB has parental content advisories, as does the Catholic News Service. Websites like these can help us save time, money, and virtue.
3) The Spirit. Vulgarity, pornography, profanity, and violence all chase away the Holy Ghost. So does disobedience. I have found myself in the terrible circumstance of needing to lay my hands on someone’s head, or attend the temple, shortly after watching a movie that a Priesthood holder has no business watching. It is a lonely feeling trying to give a blessing knowing that you aren’t worthy, and the Spirit is nowhere to be found.
Simply put, if I abstain from R-rated, and inappropriate movies, I feel more prepared, and at the ready, should someone need me to exercise my Priesthood, or receive a prompting from the Holy Ghost.
A brief hypothetical could probably explain it better that I can: Pretend for a moment that I am sitting in the theater, watching the closing credits of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and I get a text on my phone. It is from one of the men I home teach. His request: If I could stop by ASAP to help him minister to his wife, who is sick. What do I do? Do I refuse my priesthood responsibilities, or do I go and stand there as a fraud – while 500 F-Bombs still ring in my ears?
…let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God. (D&C 121:45)
For some reason unknown to me, many people think the Academy Awards are important. They would see me as being willfully, and woefully ignorant, and completely out of step with popular culture.
Yes, I am out of step with Hollywood – and I couldn’t think of a greater compliment.
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I haven’t seen any of those movies. This year we watched Despicable Me 2, Turbo, Planes, Rise of the Guardians, The Croods… oh, right we have kids. My movie horizons are a bit limited these days.
In comparing the “relative” detriment to the soul of movies, I learned the best (worst?) example of using “artistic license” to tell a story from the book (97) and movie (03) “Cold Mountain”. It is an American Civil War story for those that don’t know.
Knowing it was a graphic war movie, the R rating didn’t surprise me. It was the 15 minute gratuitously sensuality scene that did. That is what got it the rating. Ironically, in the book, there is a 2 sentence paragraph which alludes to “something” happening. How they turned that into 15 minutes of graphic video is over the top.
I think that the gratuitous sex scene from Clint Eastwood’s “Pale Rider” should be the standard if a film maker feels the need include that type of content. If you don’t want to research it, think of the final scene of nearly every episode of “the Walton’s” without the audio commentary.
Love this! Just FYI, Kids in mind is an excellent app/website for checking movies. It ranks movie 1-10 in the categories of sex, violence and profanity and then gives very in-depth details of what “indecencies” are in the movie. It is the most detailed source I have found out there.
I am an “old Hollywood” movie buff and I still watch and own many. I have shown them to my family as they were growing up too. Though I love many modern films, seeing them through this perspective, has made me very choosy. We still enjoy seeing “Court Jester” with Danny Kaye or some other Classic as a family. Brings back great memories and no one is excluded, and can enjoy it without worrying about what’s coming.
Very thoughtful discussion. I like that. I see such ridiculous comments on news sites with very serious stories. It’s either a very cynical comment implying the journalist has lied, or the subject of his interview has lied, or there is a conspiracy here or just and and out ridicule of the topic at hand. There are no real thoughtful comments that would show someone has reflected on it at all.
Also, I watched many of the nominees this year, and was touched deeply by more than one. I grew up in a household that did not allow such content in the home–which I still find respectable–however, I have found myself feeling more whole as long as I occupy myself more with the story and the purpose of a film vs. what actually, in a quite literal sense, happens on or off the screen. Perhaps many of us can control the content of our own lives, but I find (as a young adult) that exposure to this [vicarious] living helps me understand adult themes in a way that has and does prepare me for dealing with these sorts of things in my own life. To each their own, yeah? I have to agree with some of the individuals that have identified some PG-13 movies as more harmful to the soul than your average R-rated flick. Perhaps if people paid more attention to the nature and purpose of the content rather than the rating set by an anonymous group of parents, we would treat movies more as we treat other pieces of art, such as the paintings and sculptures of Michaelangelo or the books we read. And perhaps we would hold violence on screen with the same accountability as we do sex or bad language.
Lots of ways to be “touched” without wading through the garbage that surrounds a good story or purpose that comes with all R Rated movies and many PG-13s. (I have also seen misleading and inappropriate content in PG and G rated films.)
***Correction:
Amy Adams grew up in a family that was LDS, but she has not been active in the church for the better part of two decades now. Calling her “Sister Adams” is pretty misleading, not to mention that American Hustle has a good amount of sexual content, f-bombs and side-boob. So…I guess the positive tone and encouragement is nice, however, calling her Mormon is simply inaccurate, unless you call her such by the loosest definition of the term.
Um. Yeah. You are the third person to mention that about Amy Adams. I was being facetious. (Although she is welcome back at any time.)
I will admit that I have a few R rated movies in my home on DVD. Mostly because I lived through the events depicted in them. I should probably figure out which box they are in and file them appropriately. My EC and I used to watch a lot of movies as a cool down after a long day, Not so much anymore, even TV is bad news. As far as the ratings, I usually look at PG13 as being more dangerous to my soul than R, and we don’t watch them anymore either. So we are limited to whatever my 2 year old grand daughter wants to watch.
do you want to build a snowman? 🙂
Thanks MMM and KATRINA.
Awesome post. I haven’t had a problem not watching R-rated movies since that is how I was raised. The challenge, for me, is when I look into PG-13 movies for content, I end up feeling foolish like I’m weighing how much smut is OK. So I go back and forth with those. But DANG! Those movies all look so GOOD!
Amy Adams has had several racy movies and while she was an active member until she was 11 she and her family left the church at that point. This being from an article where she is quoted in the Deseret News last June.
I had enjoyed her films until I saw Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, I had to turn it off.
I haven’t seen one of these movies. I love Sandra Bullock, but I had issues with her movie after reading the previews. I’ll wait for the video. The others, if they are R rated I won’t watch them. It is sad that the choices are made based on what Hollywood thinks is quality and not what the majority of Americans think is quality. Time and again the studies show that the most successful movies are PG and G rated. They make the most money and have the longest runs in theaters. My choice for best movie would be Saving Mr Banks, but it probably doesn’t count based on when it was released.
I stopped watching R rated movies years ago. Now I rarely see movies because I don’t want the trash in my brain. When people tell me how good a movie is and i “just have to see it” – I tell them – “if it is that good then it will be around in the celestial kingdom and I can watch it then”. 🙂
It’s the PG-13’s that I automatically eliminate. Their ickiness always seems to be gratuitous, while I have seen a few R-rated movies where the subject matter, such as slavery, was simply for more mature audiences. In general, I do not see R-rated movies, or PG-13, but there are a few that have swayed me. Amistad and Schindler’s list to name two.
Face it. At some point, we will have to give up lots of media, more than we do now…not just “R-rated”…because the standards are sinking so fast.
Anyway, after the theater shootings in Co two summers ago, I get all jittery late at night in a movie theater anyway. I can’t help myself…especially if its an action movie. I find myself constantly checking the exits…and the sides of the screen, thinking of an exit strategy.
One more, George Clooney. How is he not over-exposed yet? And, he really does look that good…in person…no make-up.
A conference talk in 2012 asked the question, “Would you sell your soul for a nickel?”. Two days later, I purged my home of all movies that were rated R. It was hard to get rid of some movies that i once considered great, but I decided not to nickel and dime my preferences with the Lord. I’m pleased to say that I haven’t watched an R rated movie since and really haven’t missed them. There are times when it is hard to turn down going to the movies with friends, and I’m sure they think I’m kind of “fuddy-duddy”, but if we decide once and for all to follow the counsel of church leaders, then the decision does not have to be made each and every time. It’s a done deal.
We (hubby and I) don’t watch pg-13s either. He is a convert, joined at 18, and in his teen years was “educated” by some older brothers with some stuff that took him awhile to repent of before his mission. After coming home from his mission he was in a Pg-13 movie, one of those that have just “that one scene” (“For the Love of the Game”). He walked out and hasn’t been to a pg-13 since. He says it just stirs up too much that he doesn’t want to re-deal with. It was an adjustment for me, I didn’t give up pg-13s till into our second or third year of marriage, but it was a good thing. So, we rarely have those “holding our breath moments”, is it going to be rated so we can watch it?? No, it’s not. Almost nothing is. In 2013 the only two movies we watched in the theater were Frozen and OZ, The Great and Powerful, oh and Planes at the drive-in. We don’t rent much either. 🙂
On the other hand an Aunt, whom I greatly admire, is an English professor. She reads all sorts of stuff that just depresses me. (I’ve also gotten great recommendations on uplifting stuff from her too.) She also watches many many more movies than we do, with a very nuanced eye to the ratings. Most of the time I’ve known her she’s been in Ward or Stake Auxiliary Presidencies. A very exmplery woman, despite (becuase?) of haveing more a nuanced media view than I do. I can see how one dark wouldn’t work for absolutely everyone–doesn’t mean we’re going to start watching pg-13s though. 🙂
A former college roommate of mine, Phil Boatwright is the Editor and Vice-President of Central Christian Publications, publishers of THE MOVIE REPORTER.hil formed The Movie Reporter not to debase or promote any newly released film, but merely to give the readers the content of each film (the reason for the rating), thereby helping film-goers decide for themselves whether the movie is suitable for their family’s viewing. As an alternative to an expensive and frustrating evening at the movie theater, Phil (a lifelong movie buff) presents suggested home videos for each member of the family as well at inspirational films available at Christian bookstores.
He is the author of the book, HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD VIDEO EVERY TIME, containing articles on Hollywood’s influence, addresses of the networks and film studios and over 500 films now on video.
I don’t see R movies either. Just wondering if the Book of Mormon were made into a movie would it be R for violence?
The made it into a movie – and it wasn’t rated R. I saw a few minutes of the DVD, and then went and did something I enjoyed more, like pulling weeds.
A brother in our stake was in a movie theatre when he got a phone call to come to the stake center for an interview. He was not on the normal interview list. He was sustained as stake president the next day.
And because someone will wonder, The Chronicles of Narnia, with his family.
Marsha, can you still get edited movies? I though the courts declared them to be a copyright violation, and that they were no longer available.
Amen, brother. Thank you for the reminder of the importance of making good choices in media!
I am so grateful for your comments . . . and for a husband with the same feelings for all these years. I didn’t always agree with him in the beginning of our years together, but can now look back and see the tremendous blessing that has occurred for both us, and the example for our children, and them now for their children. One thing we did agree upon that persuaded me was to always be obedient to the voice of the prophets. If the prophets said it . . . then we did it. No questions asked. I am so very grateful to have made this decision early on and for the tremendous blessing it has been to our family throughout the years.
Kristin
So a priesthood holder who sees an R-rated movie is a fraud?
A priesthood holder who leaves a pornographic, profane movie like the one referred to in the context given, and then rushes to give someone a blessing is, indeed, a fraud.
R rated shows are out for me. I’m so sick of “The Word” being used in movies. And Tom Hanks? No thanks. What actors do in their personal life is a big reason on whether I see their movie or not. Hanks is on my list. He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut.
I went to my first movie in 4 years yesterday with my EC. We saw Saving Mr. Banks and really enjoyed it. I like lessons in having an understanding heart. Also, we were young marrieds in Southern California in 1961,,,,memories flowed. About 1966 we took our 2 oldest to their first movie, Mary Poppins.
P.S, I printed out Bro. Robbins talk. Thank You!
I agree. Several years ago my EC and I also made the same decision to just “say no” to R rated movies (and MA rated TV shows, M rated video games, etc.). Here’s some context. I spent 20 years flying in the Air Force. I spent times in combat zones, and on deployments in some pretty interesting places and saw things that were pretty degrading, horrific, disturbing, and moslty sadly, real. During that time I also was the ‘designated driver” on untold occasions as I “babysat” squadron mates and fellow pilots while they participated in any number of activities, all of which would most certainly be considerd way “over the line.” I drank a lot of sodas and always justified myself with the excuse “Someone has to keep them safe so what better person than I to do it?” And though I always upheld my standards and lived the word of wisdom. However, I can tell you this, once something goes into your brain, even just unintentionally or in passing, you never completely get rid of it. It’s like a garbage can; when you buy it it’s nice and clean and shiny inside. But once you throw that first bit of trash in there, even after you “take out the garbage” there is always some remnant left, even if it’s just a slight smell or small stain. There were times when I was exposed to “garbage” simply as part of my job (violence, war, and other sides of the seamy underbelly of life). But since making the concious decisions years, or maybe decades, ago to not view R rated movies I don’t think I’ve missed anything, and I haven’t added anything to my probably already overflowing “garbage can.”
I actually haven’t seen any of the movies listed. My husband and I planned on seeing Gravity and Captain Phillips but haven’t had a chance yet. We too didn’t follow the council from our leaders for a while. I didn’t want to make a commitment unless I knew I wasn’t going to go back on it. Several years ago my husband was called as a YM president and I was pregnant and we decided it was time. It wasn’t isn’t easy. There has been times that we’ve sat down and looked at the parental warnings of an R rated movie and tried to rationalize that it is “barely R” or the content in it wasn’t all that offensive but in the end we have kept our commitment. It’s gotten easier though. Now when I find out a movie is R I’m disappointed not just because I can’t see it but because of the choices the people making the film. Ratings show that a PG movie makes the most amount of money overall. I feel when a group of people get together to make this kind of movie they purposely try to shock, desensitize and make people question their standards and morality.
It’s amazing how large one little light can grow into a beacon when combined with others who feel the same way. Sometimes we feel like we are trying to disperse the darkness of the world alone with our one little candle, but this post will show you how many of us feel the same way and as we demand better entertainment, someone will rise to meet that need. Even if we aren’t able to pull Hollywood to a higher standard, we know on Whom we rely. Strength in numbers, brother!
Hey MMM, we saw the same movie from this list! I made the horrible mistake of watching Silence of the Lambs while I was in college. It’s the last rated R movie I ever saw and that was 23 years ago. I felt dark for days after seeing it and scared for a long time. Those are not the feelings I want to have. I have never looked back.
I was sad to see that Saving Mr. Banks didn’t make the cut this year. If you and the wife haven’t seen it, it’s wonderful and will leave you feeling happy and hopeful. Bonus – Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.
Saw it. Enjoyed it. Not for kids.
Elder Lynn G. Robbins talk given at BYU, “Avoid It” was outstanding on this issue. He spoke of chocolate chip cookies and trying to resist them or to avoid them. He talked about movie ratings and just where the lines are. It was outstanding. Here is the link: http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2135.
Thanks for you excellence.
Thanks. I will take a look at this – I enjoy Elder Robbins.
I wish Martin Scorsese would go away. His continued presence, continued work, is an irritant to me even though I don’t ever watch his junk. Before I was really familiar with who he is/what he does, a couple of times people convinced me to watch a couple of his movies. I didn’t make it a full 20 minutes into either one. Yeah, the world is full of very bad people who say vulgar stuff and do terrible things. I have arranged my life so as to spend as little time as possible in the presence of such people–why on earth would I spend money to hang out with them voluntarily for a couple of hours?
I’m back in school, and being on a non-LDS college campus has thrown into stark contrast how very much I have lived out of the world. Most of the last decade I’ve spent almost all my time around other LDS parents of young children. It’s been years since my ears have heard much cursing at all. But in most students’ casual conversations with each other, it quite common for the f-word to be about every 6th word out of their mouths. And some days, that’s the least offensive thing I deal with. I used to get frustrated that so many movies had such terrible standards. Then spending more time in the secular universe reminded me that it’s a pretty accurate reflection of our culture. Sadly.
Was wondering if you saw The Saratov Approach and what you thought of it. I’m with you on avoiding the R rating – so no wonder I don’t go to the movies much. Also, so many PG-13 are also disgusting and not worth the admission price. Last movie I saw before The Saratov Approach was Lincoln and that one was pretty good, but that wasn’t even this year. I don’t even know who Amy Adams is but will have to google her now. Good post.
I really liked Saratov, and actually reviewed it on BonFide.
I do think it is important to note, that although Amy Adams grew up Mormon- she and her family left the church when she was 11. She has publicly stated that she is not against the church and credits it with shaping her value system, but she does not practice. She has left behind those covenants, and has been open about that- we need to respect that choice in her life.
I too avoid R-rated movies. If there’s one I really want to see, I have a Cleanflix player that edits the bad stuff out. In regard to the previous comment as to the hypocrisy of watching violence but not nudity, I would just like to say that violence in movies is not real. People don’t really die, however nudity/sexual situations are very real despite whether or not the people are “acting.”
I’ve got some input about this. I’ve taken a selection from a book called “The Whole Brain Child” by Daniel Siegel and Tina Bryson. In it, they discuss neurons in the brain called “mirror neurons.” It’s found on pages 123 and 124.
“In the early 1990’s, a group of Italian neuroscientists were studying the brain of a macaque monkey. They had implanted electrodes to monitor individual neurons, and when the monkey ate a peanut, a certain electrode fired. No surprise there — that’s what the researchers expected. But then a scientist’s snack changed the course of our insight into the mind. One of the researchers picked up a peanut and ate it as the monkey watched. In response, the monkey’s motor neuron fired — the same one that had fired when he had actually eaten the peanut himself! The researchers discovered that the monkey’s brain was influenced and became active just by *watching* the actions of another. Whether the monkey witnessed an action or performed that same behavior himself, the same set of neurons became activated.
“Scientists immediately began scrambling to identify these ‘mirror neurons’ in humans. And while there are far more questions than answers about exactly what they are and how they work, we are actively learning more and more about the mirror neuron system….
“At the simplest level, that’s why we get thirsty when others drink, and why we yawn when others yawn…. Mirror neurons may also explain why younger siblings are sometimes better at sports. Before they ever join their own team, their mirror neurons have fired each of the hundreds of times they’ve watched their older siblings hit, kick, and throw a ball….
“Now let’s take another step. Based on what we see (as well as hear, smell, touch, and taste) in the world around us, we can mirror not only the behavioral intentions of others, but also their emotional states…. We sense not only what action is coming next, but also the emotion that underlies the behavior. For this reason, we could also call these special neural cells ‘sponge neurons’ in that we soak up like a sponge what we see in the behaviors, intentions, and emotions of someone else. We don’t just ‘mirror back’ to someone else, but we ‘sponge in’ their internal states.”
My point in sharing this is to point out that it appears not to matter or not if the violence we see is “real.” Our neurons apparently fire the same as though we were performing the actions ourselves. The authors point out that mirror neurons will only fire if the act is something with some “…predictability or purpose…” so that watching someone wave doesn’t necessarily trigger the ‘wave’ response in your mind. However, I think violence does have some “predictability or purpose,” and therefore would trigger the same neurons as though we were performing the act ourselves, and additionally would “sponge in” the “behaviors, intentions, and emotions” of the people that are only “acting.”
I’m with MMM on this one. ANYTHING that drives away the spirit isn’t worth watching. Having said all of this about violence, I admittedly watch Chuck and Doctor Who. Anything more violent than that, however, I simply can’t stomach. I can’t even watch most murder mysteries (e.g. NCIS) anymore, even though that is one of my favorite genres, because the violence is too graphic for me — it almost overloads my system.
And I side with Tom, because I believe violence is just as pernicious as sexual expatiation, whether it is “real” or not in the movies we watch. (In Europe violence actually results in higher ratings that sex.)
End rant. Thanks for your patience.
Thank you for your rant. I think the mirroring element is probably true – to a point. I have probably seen people punch each other 100,000 times on TV movies and in real life – but I have yet to punch someone…
Maybe you just have excellent self control. 😉
Seriously, I see where you are coming from. I also am one of those believers that violence can act the way pornography can — it can push the viewers (perhaps especially young viewers) to seek physical reenactment, after they have viewed it so much that the ‘viewing’ does not trigger a strong enough neurological reaction. I think there is a great enough increase in adolescent violence to support (at least in part) this claim.
Having said that, I think there are many different aspects that would influence (or not influence) violent behavior. Is the action in self defense or open aggression? Is the violence coerced or voluntary? In other words, what is the ‘intent’ of the character? I am hypothesizing that this is one of the many tiny factors that would influence how the action is imprinted on our minds.
And I think the counsel is about the same as it is for pornography; avoid even the appearance of evil. Fly as high above the trees as you can. (I sure love Pres. Uchtdorf.) The *best* option is to avoid violent behavior (real or ‘fake’) altogether.
All science aside, your counsel is all we really need: Follow the Prophets.
I need to keep working on this, too.
I wish I had excellent self-control. (He says as he puts away the Cheetos.)
Thank you so much for posting this!! May I copy some of it to show to others?
Of course!
Just remember to cite the book/authors! (It is an excellent read!)
There was an Ensign article titled “It’s ‘Only’ Violence” a few years back. It’s always kind of stuck with me. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/06/its-only-violence?lang=eng
The one thing I try to keep in mind when deciding what I will watch is that I can’t “unsee” something, even if I leave the theater or turn it off.
I’ve been tempted a few times to buy a device that would edit movies I wanted to see. I finally realized that my English grammar-trained brain abhors a vacuum, and struggles to fill in the blanks, so I go through the ‘inappropriate’ words in my head until I find one that fits, thus making my movie-watching even worse than if the words are there. I believe this happens because of earlier exposure in my life to R-rated movies and books. My over-active ADD brain does what Katrina, in the post below, talks about. Mirror neurons. I think these are the same neurons that make me open my mouth and act as if I’m taking a bite of food when I feed my baby grandson but they are even more deeply imbedded.
I don’t want this to seem like criticism. It is not. I’m just trying to explain why I have to avoid situations and words that I know will stay with me and fall out of my mouth if I am not careful. My filters are hole-y.
If you are talking about the tv guardian, it actually has a clever workaround for this. The software mutes the television when a profanity (or even a word for deity if you have it set on that level) is coming. Then the software puts up the text at the bottom of the screen. It’s really quite clever. You are so busy looking down to the bottom of the screen to see what is going on that you miss looking at the characters mouths to see what they’re saying, and so don’t have a “place” to fit in a profanity. We had one for many years and were quite satisfied.
Me too. Though I do buy them in edited format (Yes, I know there are opinions about that as well) and have enjoyed many of the ones that had the nastiness cut out and I never missed one word of it (or sight). Well done, sticking to your ideals. We loved Gravity as well, very unique. Also loved that she got reflective about life, great scene. I do like Bullock.
I really liked this post… as I do most of your posts. I had no idea about Sister Adams. 🙂
A website I use often is kidsinmind.com. You have to be a careful because they detail the content contained in the movies, which can sometimes be just as bad as watching it.They rate on a scale of 1-10 how bad the sex/nudity, violence, and language are. I’ve used it enough over the years that I can tell right from the codes (ex. 4-5-2) whether I will still be able to enjoy a movie or not based on the “extras” they throw in.
I once aspired to be a movie critic but realized that not watching rated R movies would limit my viewing content. It’s a shame so many critically acclaimed movies are R rated. I really wanted to see Lone Survivor but when it came out I heard it has nearly 70 F Bombs. I knew I could not watch it and not have that word ringing in my ears after.
On a side note, I think it is a little hypocritical how many LDS movie goers are turned off by language and sex/nudity but are cool with violence in movies. I have been guilty of this too as I find myself rationalizing that a movie is only rated R because of violence but luckily there is none of the “naughty” content.
I didn’t see any of those movies either. I just get tired.
I’ll stay in the dark with pop culture. I don’t care.
To quote Morgan Freeman from the Huffington Post:
While on topic about race in America, the 76-year-old also revealed his reluctance to view Steve McQueen’s Oscar-worthy film, “12 Years A Slave.”
“I saw a television movie that was made a few years ago about the same character [Solomon Northup]. But I don’t particularly want to see it,” he admitted. “I don’t want my anger quotient exacerbated, you know? Things are bad enough as they are. I don’t want to keep punching myself in the face with it.”