Why I Go To Movies
*WARNING*
Just a warning before you get to far into this post: This is not intended to be a post that shows "How righteous I am." or "See how bad I was at one time.", but more of an evolution of thoughts and feelings towards movies as I've grown and (hopefully) matured. This will strictly be MY thoughts and feelings on the subject and is not intended to be taken as anything other than that. It is NOT a guideline on what you should or shouldn't be doing in your own life.
I'm not big into the "past transgressions" thing, so I'll try to paint an accurate picture the best I can without going into too much detail. With that, you'll see a few movies mentioned that are not in line with gospel standards and may have been seen at the theater, on VHS/DVD, Clean-flix, or edited on TV. Instead of trying to justify each one, just suffice it to say that it probably would have been better for myself to just let them go unwatched.
I'm sure some of you might think less of me after reading this post, but I'm OK with that. In fact I'm sure a few readers who know me pretty well might be surprised as to what I'm about to say. All I can say is that this is an evolutionary thing. I could feel completely different about this in the next couple of years, but the bottom line is that I'm continually striving to better myself and I still have a long ways to go.
I'll apologize for throwing in a serious post, but this is something I've thought a lot about lately and I just wanted to let it out in some way. I needed to take a break after the long Mt. Rushmore post.
*WARNING OVER*
Why I Go To Movies
I go to movies for the same reason that most people go to movies: to be entertained. I don't necessarily see it as an escape from reality. I do however want to feel some kind of emotion while watching a film. Whether it's laughter (The Wedding Singer), suspense (The Dark Knight), action (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), even sadness (Gods Army II). I've sat through too many movies that didn't evoke any emotion in me whatsoever (Transformers, Shrek the Third). I feel ripped off when I see a movie like that.
I also like a movie that catches me off-guard whether it's a surprise twist ending (Sixth Sense) or it has some new, unique qualities to it (Matrix, at the time). You would think that it would be pretty simple to be entertained, but it's not. Especially when you're not picky about what movies you see. I think you just set yourself up to watch a lot of movies that don't offer anything new that what has already been done.
My Movie History
I have always been a big fan of movies. At times I've watched a few movies in any given week. I had a couple of roommates in college who were big movie buffs and we watched movies all the time. I was getting into (and still do to some degree) who was directing what movies. Some actors I liked and some I didn't. Some directors constituted a "must see" while others were a "must avoid". I was into various movie techniques, ways movies were shot, cinematography, ground-breaking stories or effects, and things like that. I watched pretty much anything and everything. And for the most part I was entertained.
But this leads me to where I'm at today. I don't watch nearly as many movies. Partly because I don't have the time, but also because I'm becoming more picky in what I watch. I have found out that I'm spiritually sensitive about movies. I am affected by them. I can't honestly watch a movie with questionable material and not feel differently when it's over. In the past it didn't affect me much because it was pretty constant. After I stepped away for a while, I can now tell a big difference when I'm watching a show that isn't good for me. It is clear to me that I'm receiving a warning.
I have to give my wife a lot of credit because she has always been a pretty righteous person. She's not perfect, but if you compare our histories she comes across a lot better. After we married I figured it was a good time to be more sensitive about the movies I watched. In fact I remember taking Becky to "Zoolander" in Afton and she was appalled. I was laughing right along, but it was offending her. When the movie ended Becky was in tears. I felt bad that she felt bad. I didn't want her to feel that way. So I would try to be a little more weary as we chose what movies to see.
A couple of years ago Becky and I were watching "Stuck on You" about the the conjoined twins in the theater. It got to a part that I could tell it was going to get a little uncomfortable plus up until that point I thought the movie was pretty weak in general. We got up and walked out. It was the first time ever for me. I've always kind of taken the approach that once I've paid for it, I've got to finish the whole thing to get my money's worth. I didn't feel like I missed a thing walking out of that movie.
A couple of months ago we rented "Juno" and watched the first five minutes. "Juno" is a critically acclaimed movie that seemed like it was going to be good. After the first few minutes I turned it off. The sexual innuendo was bothersome to me. I'm sure the movie as a whole is pretty good, but I couldn't get past it. I know most of what happened in that movie is close to reality, but ultimately I didn't want to sit through it.
So in a nutshell, I've kind of done a 180 on movies. Maybe I'm becoming prudish or maybe I'm just getting old. Things that used to be funny aren't as funny anymore. It's just a personal thing for me and I don't blame others if they watch any of these movies or if they find entertainment in them. And I haven't necessarily cut myself off from all movies. In fact I've watched movies recently that some of you would say was just as offensive as the movies listed above. But it's something I'm working towards. I'm not sure what the end goal is, but I would hope it is something along the lines of avoiding anything that would offend the spirit.
Which brings me to "The Dark Knight". This movie is very dark and very far from wholesome. It doesn't deal with sexual innuendo, but is violent. It has senseless killings and is kind of a troubling movie. But I really liked it. It entertained me and I was engrossed. So you can see I still have the inner struggle and probably always will have. I don't have much use for a Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell movie anymore, but I'm still a sucker for The Lord of the Rings or a good action flick. It comes down to violence vs. sex. In my mind I can tolerate the violence part, but not the sex. That doesn't make it right, but that is how my mind justifies things at the moment. I guess it's still baby steps.
MPAA (The Rating System)
The rating system is the biggest fallacy of all. It makes it obvious that an "R" rating means that it will have something pretty gratuitous in it. It makes it easy to avoid such a movie if you're trying to avoid things such as violence, sex, or language. I can understand that and it helps my decision making on what to watch pretty easy.
A "G" movie is pretty straight forward as well. It will be clean and nothing should be offensive so you can bring the little ones to the movie. A "PG" is a little less straightforward, but it seems that it is pretty safe to watch. It seems like you hardly see any "PG" movies anymore. And the reason is because of the next rating.
"PG-13" is the sought after rating for most movie studios. This rating allows them to put certain things in the movie that doesn't constitute an "R", but enough stuff to give the movie some sort of edge. My problem with "PG-13" is that it's all over the place. Some of them are harmless, but others somehow escape the "R" rating.
I have no idea what the line between "PG-13" and "R" is. Do they watch two similar movies and say "This one had 8 scenes of violence, 4 F-bombs, and 20 sexual references so it gets an "R" while this one had 6 scenes of violence, 2 F-bombs, and 15 sexual references so it gets a "PG-13"." I think movie people try to push the "PG-13" line as far as they can in order to capture the teenage audience they would lose if it were rated "R".
Just a warning before you get to far into this post: This is not intended to be a post that shows "How righteous I am." or "See how bad I was at one time.", but more of an evolution of thoughts and feelings towards movies as I've grown and (hopefully) matured. This will strictly be MY thoughts and feelings on the subject and is not intended to be taken as anything other than that. It is NOT a guideline on what you should or shouldn't be doing in your own life.
I'm not big into the "past transgressions" thing, so I'll try to paint an accurate picture the best I can without going into too much detail. With that, you'll see a few movies mentioned that are not in line with gospel standards and may have been seen at the theater, on VHS/DVD, Clean-flix, or edited on TV. Instead of trying to justify each one, just suffice it to say that it probably would have been better for myself to just let them go unwatched.
I'm sure some of you might think less of me after reading this post, but I'm OK with that. In fact I'm sure a few readers who know me pretty well might be surprised as to what I'm about to say. All I can say is that this is an evolutionary thing. I could feel completely different about this in the next couple of years, but the bottom line is that I'm continually striving to better myself and I still have a long ways to go.
I'll apologize for throwing in a serious post, but this is something I've thought a lot about lately and I just wanted to let it out in some way. I needed to take a break after the long Mt. Rushmore post.
*WARNING OVER*
Why I Go To Movies
I go to movies for the same reason that most people go to movies: to be entertained. I don't necessarily see it as an escape from reality. I do however want to feel some kind of emotion while watching a film. Whether it's laughter (The Wedding Singer), suspense (The Dark Knight), action (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), even sadness (Gods Army II). I've sat through too many movies that didn't evoke any emotion in me whatsoever (Transformers, Shrek the Third). I feel ripped off when I see a movie like that.
I also like a movie that catches me off-guard whether it's a surprise twist ending (Sixth Sense) or it has some new, unique qualities to it (Matrix, at the time). You would think that it would be pretty simple to be entertained, but it's not. Especially when you're not picky about what movies you see. I think you just set yourself up to watch a lot of movies that don't offer anything new that what has already been done.
My Movie History
I have always been a big fan of movies. At times I've watched a few movies in any given week. I had a couple of roommates in college who were big movie buffs and we watched movies all the time. I was getting into (and still do to some degree) who was directing what movies. Some actors I liked and some I didn't. Some directors constituted a "must see" while others were a "must avoid". I was into various movie techniques, ways movies were shot, cinematography, ground-breaking stories or effects, and things like that. I watched pretty much anything and everything. And for the most part I was entertained.
But this leads me to where I'm at today. I don't watch nearly as many movies. Partly because I don't have the time, but also because I'm becoming more picky in what I watch. I have found out that I'm spiritually sensitive about movies. I am affected by them. I can't honestly watch a movie with questionable material and not feel differently when it's over. In the past it didn't affect me much because it was pretty constant. After I stepped away for a while, I can now tell a big difference when I'm watching a show that isn't good for me. It is clear to me that I'm receiving a warning.
I have to give my wife a lot of credit because she has always been a pretty righteous person. She's not perfect, but if you compare our histories she comes across a lot better. After we married I figured it was a good time to be more sensitive about the movies I watched. In fact I remember taking Becky to "Zoolander" in Afton and she was appalled. I was laughing right along, but it was offending her. When the movie ended Becky was in tears. I felt bad that she felt bad. I didn't want her to feel that way. So I would try to be a little more weary as we chose what movies to see.
A couple of years ago Becky and I were watching "Stuck on You" about the the conjoined twins in the theater. It got to a part that I could tell it was going to get a little uncomfortable plus up until that point I thought the movie was pretty weak in general. We got up and walked out. It was the first time ever for me. I've always kind of taken the approach that once I've paid for it, I've got to finish the whole thing to get my money's worth. I didn't feel like I missed a thing walking out of that movie.
A couple of months ago we rented "Juno" and watched the first five minutes. "Juno" is a critically acclaimed movie that seemed like it was going to be good. After the first few minutes I turned it off. The sexual innuendo was bothersome to me. I'm sure the movie as a whole is pretty good, but I couldn't get past it. I know most of what happened in that movie is close to reality, but ultimately I didn't want to sit through it.
So in a nutshell, I've kind of done a 180 on movies. Maybe I'm becoming prudish or maybe I'm just getting old. Things that used to be funny aren't as funny anymore. It's just a personal thing for me and I don't blame others if they watch any of these movies or if they find entertainment in them. And I haven't necessarily cut myself off from all movies. In fact I've watched movies recently that some of you would say was just as offensive as the movies listed above. But it's something I'm working towards. I'm not sure what the end goal is, but I would hope it is something along the lines of avoiding anything that would offend the spirit.
Which brings me to "The Dark Knight". This movie is very dark and very far from wholesome. It doesn't deal with sexual innuendo, but is violent. It has senseless killings and is kind of a troubling movie. But I really liked it. It entertained me and I was engrossed. So you can see I still have the inner struggle and probably always will have. I don't have much use for a Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell movie anymore, but I'm still a sucker for The Lord of the Rings or a good action flick. It comes down to violence vs. sex. In my mind I can tolerate the violence part, but not the sex. That doesn't make it right, but that is how my mind justifies things at the moment. I guess it's still baby steps.
MPAA (The Rating System)
The rating system is the biggest fallacy of all. It makes it obvious that an "R" rating means that it will have something pretty gratuitous in it. It makes it easy to avoid such a movie if you're trying to avoid things such as violence, sex, or language. I can understand that and it helps my decision making on what to watch pretty easy.
A "G" movie is pretty straight forward as well. It will be clean and nothing should be offensive so you can bring the little ones to the movie. A "PG" is a little less straightforward, but it seems that it is pretty safe to watch. It seems like you hardly see any "PG" movies anymore. And the reason is because of the next rating.
"PG-13" is the sought after rating for most movie studios. This rating allows them to put certain things in the movie that doesn't constitute an "R", but enough stuff to give the movie some sort of edge. My problem with "PG-13" is that it's all over the place. Some of them are harmless, but others somehow escape the "R" rating.
I have no idea what the line between "PG-13" and "R" is. Do they watch two similar movies and say "This one had 8 scenes of violence, 4 F-bombs, and 20 sexual references so it gets an "R" while this one had 6 scenes of violence, 2 F-bombs, and 15 sexual references so it gets a "PG-13"." I think movie people try to push the "PG-13" line as far as they can in order to capture the teenage audience they would lose if it were rated "R".
So as a result when I watch a "PG-13" movie I'm rolling the dice that it may or may not be offensive. The thinking used to be that if it wasn't "R" then it was OK. That doesn't ring true to me anymore. If a movie is "PG-13" I usually do a little more research to find out why. Sometimes I avoid it, but other times I still tell myself that it's OK because ultimately it's not "R".
In fact the way I'm starting to look at movies is not by the rating at all. A group of people in Los Angeles aren't going to tell me what is best for me by slapping some sort of rating on it. Therefore I don't have a hard, fast "no PG-13" rule. I still need to use some of my own discretion.
Where I'm at Today
We belong to Netflix and I have a movie queue. Six of the next seven movies are documentaries. I've found I prefer non-fiction to fiction on most days. Documentaries aren't immune from offensive material so I still have to be a little choosey. Becky gets disappointed whenever the Netflix envelope arrives at it's another sports documentary. She prefers chick-flicks. But because she isn't in the "movie loop" she has no idea what chick-flicks are out there and I don't clue her in. It's not until a neighbor or friend suggests some movie that she starts looking into it.
For those that are big movie junkie, I hope you don't feel like I'm calling you out. That was not the intent. This is me just thinking out loud and how I currently feel.
I think I know where I stand with movies right now. It still changes from time to time. Don't be surprised if I ask you to go to a movie and I suggest something that might have some offensive material in it. Old habits die hard. Speaking of Diehard.......
posted by Scott's Blog at Tuesday, August 05, 2008
8 Comments:
I feel like I've been around for this transformation. I remember before we got married I told Scott "R" rated movies wouldn't be a thing I wanted to participate in after we got married and I really "preferred" him not to participate either.
You can guess what he did, he watched every last one he could until the day we got married.
Since the arrival of kids in our lives there just isn't the time there once was. You can't be as spontaneous on a Friday night so that's really cut down on movies seen.
Some documentaries are okay but a good chick flick would be nice once in awhile. I think I need to have Stephanie email me a list of must sees so I can que up the Netflix.
Anyway, insteresting little thoughts going on in your head Scotty!
Great post, Scotty. And the Die Hard closing was awesome. This is such a great subject, but one that easily offends. It's a hard subject to discuss with other people. You did a great job approaching it. But I still felt guilty that you turned off Juno when I loved it. (insert me blushing sheepishly)
Becky, I'll get write on that list of chick flicks. There haven't been a whole lot that are good quality, then again "good quality chick-flick" might be an oxymoron.
As I was chatting with Dave at the family reunion, I realized that I'm coming to a point in my life that I think I would rather sacrifice quality for cleanliness. I echo your inner struggle, I still like teeny bopper comedies like "Can't Hardly Wait" and "10 Things I hate about you" not the best quality.
Dad kept on calling me and wanted me to tell him if a movie was okay for missionaries. I found this website that helps out. It give a rating from 1-10 on Language, violance, and sex. Here's the website if you're interested: http://www.kids-in-mind.com
I guess I'm a little late to this party, but it was a great post, Scott.
And while I've also seen some of this type of softening in my own tastes over the years, you are clearly a better man than I.
However, I will take Steph to task for this humdinger: "I think I would rather sacrifice quality for cleanliness."
The two aren't mutually exclusive. If you look hard enough you can find clean and quality. But, my personal belief is, you should steer as far as away from offensive as you should from poor quality. Both are harmful to your soul.
When I find stuff that is clean and good quality, I become a little obsessed with it. Just a little...
Hey great blog, was just surfing though blogs from my sister's (Amanda) to Stephanie's to yours. Thought I drop a quick hello if you remember me. I knew you from the good old days from Gillette. I went to school with Marc. Great insight on growing up and movie choices. Watch them at the drive-in then you can sleep if you don't like it. Well I'll catch you later
Zach "94
You are such a good writer. Seriously. I thought I would take a gander at your site. Ben refrains from the blogging world so I wanted to see what you had to say. And I must be honest that is the most words I have read without pictures in a long time (including text books!).
good stuff, scott. you should check out kids-in-mind.com. it's a great guide to help you determine which pg-13s are ok and which aren't. hope you are well.
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