Would You Rather See Heath Ledger...
...as a philandering fop or a cowboy's lover?
I like Heath Ledger; his broad grin, that twinkle in his eyes. He has courage and takes risks. He's the Thinking Woman's Aussie Bloke.
But I don't want to see Brokeback Mountain. I don't really want to see a relationship celebrated on the big screen that is not alligned with God's good purposes for humankind.
So I shouldn't want to see Casanova either, for God no more likes it when men do not honour the sanctity of marriage, whether it be defiling virgins or other men's wives.
Extend this standard of sexual morality to movies about the modern relationship; de facto-ing, and we can ask the same question: Should I watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and High Fidelity. The de facto relationship is the norm for most movies about relationships. We are forgiving with these kinds of movies because we identify, from two different sides, the relationship celebrated. It's a bit like a boy/girl friend relationship with its occilation of commitments, its fun and discovery. But it's also a bit like marriage, because they're sleeping together and they're living together. And if they break up, there will be as much pain as a divorce.
A natural question to ask here is, what does my act of paying $8 and walking into the darkened cinema signify? Does it signify that I endorse what the movie I am about to see celebrates? Does entertainment entail agreement?
One might argue that every movie contains evil, so if (as I am suggesting) I believe that watching a movie means that I endorse what it celebrates, then I ought not watch any movie. This objection misunderstands what it is for a movie to celebrate:
If I watch a horror flick, I am not endorsing the living dead, vampires, hexes or the gruesome murder of New England college students. Horror movies usually celebrate the triumph of the hero over the fearsome. Thus my act of watching shows that I endorse the courageous hero. So, for not every movie containing the immoral, must I endorse the immoral.
posted by The Borg @ 1:10 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
I don't really understand the last sentence?? :)
I understand what you're saying about endorsing something by spending and time on it. But I think it is possible to endorse good and disendorse bad in films. You can say "I saw a film, and I endorse what this character did, but I don't endorse what this other character did."
I guess part of the problem is when you want the adulterous couple to get together, because your emotions have been manipulated to see that as the happiest outcome. It's almost like doublethink. Adultery is bad, but adulterous couples should be happy together if their marriages suck.
The last sentence is my response to a possible objection I raised in the second last paragraph. It means: I am not cornered into saying that I cannot watch any movie containing the immoral.
I agree with you that you can be naunced in your verbal response to a film, but what I am more asking is: what does the act of watching a film represent, morally?
Yes, I catch myself barracking for the unhappy marrieds who have an adultrous affair (cf The Good Girl). Movies are evil like that.
The last sentence is an akward sentence, though. I'm sorry. I hope your eyes are okay. ;)
My eyes are okay. My brain just struggled with it for a while! ;)
I get what you're saying. It's tough sometimes. I know I've refused to watch, listen to, or do things because they represent things I don't want to support. I feel that if I give my time to it, I am supporting it in some way. This is not always true of course. But it's important, especially when if you're watching something you don't support, other people see you and may assume you support it. You know you can watch it without endorsing it, but others may not be able to make that distinction.
* SPOILER WARNING *
How do you determine what a movie is "celebrating" though? Especially if you don't watch it??
I haven't seen Brokeback, but I've been told it does not push a gay agenda at all. In fact both cowboys marry (women) and have children. They do not end up "together". So perhaps one could argue they ultimately make "moral" decisions.
My view is similar to that of Angus. We can appreciate the good in a flick (or any art really) without endorsing the bad. There is (I hear) much that is very well done in the movie - acting, direction, cinematography etc. These are all part of Gods good creation and are to be enjoyed.
Having said that, I'm really playing devils advocate. I dont have a strong desire to see the film.
Still, I think it's good you've raised the question. Most Christians don't seem to articulate their values in this area. They accept or reject art based more on a "gut" feeling than anything. I'd much rather intelligently discuss the issue and come up with guidelines...
(Oh, and I *never* wanted Jennifer to go with Jake in "The Good Girl". Adultery never seems like a good option to me in the movies. And Jake G was such a *dweeb* in The Good Girl. Tell me from a chicks perspective, did you find him attractive in this film?)
Throwing the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to artefacts of secular culture is the church's traditional approach, and is one of the main reasons there is such a divide between church culture and secular culture. Some people don't mind the divide, I consider those people baffoons :)
Christians as a whole have become a lot more sensible in later times when it comes to most cultural artefacts, films included. I say as long as you have your wits about you it's fine to watch pretty much any film, unless you can see a reason you personally would struggle with what is shown. I don't think it's possible to judge whether or not a story has value based on a logline.
While we don't want to be seen as endorsing values counter to God's, it's worth remembering God hung around with a tax collector, quite the scandalous move.
Side Note: I'm not saying you have to go see a movie where you're uncomfortable with the content.
Jack Twist gets his head bashed in at the end.
Hey - you said you didn't want to see the movie, so I thought I'd ruin the ending for you.
I agree with you that you can be naunced in your verbal response to a film, but what I am more asking is: what does the act of watching a film represent, morally?
Yes, I catch myself barracking for the unhappy marrieds who have an adultrous affair (cf The Good Girl). Movies are evil like that.
I think movies forms of moral instruction, just like the parables Jesus told, except from much less authoritative sources.
I recently became addicted to a TV series on DVD, and encountered the same thing you did with the movie. At the start of season one, all I wanted was for two particular characters to get together, the whole storyline was working towards it and it was a massive let down when it never happened. Then later on in the season (and then again in season two), they got together, and it was cheap, painful sex. I despised it because the writers wanted me to despise it, they wanted me to see this was just stupid meaningless sex.
Over the last two weeks that I have been watching this particular TV series on DVD, I have also been trying to make decisions about a particular girl in my life. She was someone I was really interested in pursuing a relationship with, and practically my only hope right now of romance, but I had hesitations because of her sexual history.
It may sound bad, but the DVDs I had been watching had an influence on my thinking. The reason I watched them wasn't for moral instruction, it was because they are funny as anything and make me laugh nonstop; however the moral instruction did slip it's way into my mind anyway.
Firstly, in making me remember how badly I would like to be that intimate with a girl, how I was made to have sex. Secondly in making me realise that cheap, easy sex would always end up painful, mechanical and repetitive.
This has nothing to do with The Ledge, but your previous post is freaking up the page template. It's making the blog column too wide and pushing your profile to the bottom of the page. Just though I'd let you know :)
I would actually like to see this film.
I read the short story by Annie E. Proulx and it was good, sad and powerful.
I don't believe that God is pleased with homosexual realtionships of any kind ( any more than he is pleased with adultery or fornication or (archaic word for sex out of wedlock).
However I have been friends with quite a number of people who are/were lesbian/gay/bisexual and I'm not put off by a romance between two men.
This may sounds inconsistent but somehow I think this way.
I am alss keen on seeing the Ledge acting a role he is obviously not going to find easy. I really enjoy Gylenhaal as an actor also and have heard that Ang Lee did good job.
You should see the film. You will see God in the mountains, in the blue skies, and in the sheep -- the lamb of God is present. Are we not all God's children? Jesus loves all, even those who live outside of the flock. If you miss this film, you will probably miss one of the most spiritual films to have surfaced in years.
I wonder if my proposal for a movie with Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba playing gay cowgirls will get anywhere..?
i agree with what shaun said.
time to get real and take our wits about us, not just in movies, but also in real life situations.
What a narrow-minded, biggoted thing to say. I am sure God and the bible represent tolerance, love, compassion etc... What kind of Chrisitan are you to pass a moral judgement on something you haven't seen? Are you so worthy that you are able to sit in judgement of others and be negative towards others and their choices just because they are different?
Anon, do you pass moral judgment on others and their choices because they are different? Do you pass moral judgment on others because they have different opinions to you?
If you answer no, why then did you call me biggoted and narrow minded? Surely you are being judgmental of "bigots".
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