Yesterday I went to the movie “The Rite” and shared with you some reflections on that movie in yesterday’s post. Frankly yours truly doesn’t get to the movies much. In fact the last movie I saw in a theatre was the “Passion of the Christ.” Yes, it’s been a looong time.
But as you likely know, one of the aspects of movie going is to sit through a number of “trailers” that are shown prior to the main movie. These trailers depict movies that are coming soon. I want to share with you a brief reflection on my experience of viewing those trailers.
My fundamental reflection is how dark and violent movies have become. I must have seen at least six trailers and every one of them was packed with extreme violence, anger, and very dark themes. Many of them featured sinister evil, most of them involved life and death pursuits, explosions, gunfire, dismemberment, and car crashes filling the screen of these trailers, one after another. This is film noir on steroids. How dark and looming the themes were. I have embedded some of the trailers I saw for your viewing “pleasure” at the end of this post.
It also strikes me how much these movies resemble video games more than regular movies or real life. People walk on walls, have magical powers, use exotic weapons, and appear and disappear at will. The landscapes are often surreal and some of the characters are not even human. Further, the pace of the movies seems unrelenting and the dialogue is staccato. We are rushed from one shot-em up scene to the next, and fresh, hot, close pursuit seems the point of it all. There seems little appeal to an attention span. I am sure that the filmmakers know their audience and, for those raised on video games (I was not, they came after my teen years) staccato dialogue, chase scenes, rapid pace and violent explosion after violent explosion may appeal. To me it seems very dark and the violence is extreme.
Call me out of touch. I realize I don’t get out enough. Call me stuffy, I am becoming old fashioned. Call me uptight, you might even be right. Maybe I should relax and say there’s no problem here, it’s just fantasy. But I would also like to argue that, due to the fact that I don’t have a steady diet of all this sort of thing, I have not become desensitized to the violence and darkness of modern action movies. Maybe it is worth being the odd man in the room for a minute. Perhaps it is important for someone like me to come from “another planet” or to “step off a turnip truck” and be quite surprised, even shocked at what is marketed. Maybe I am the one to ask with some exasperation, “What on earth is THAT all about?”
And I will admit, I have also been on something of a personal journey is this regard. When I was younger, especially in my 20s I was like most men my age. I loved a good action movie with something of a “high kill ratio.” Blowing up stuff, chase scenes, etc. appealed to me. But somewhere in my journey I heard the Lord say to me, “It’s not good to find that sort of thing entertaining.” Indeed, real violence is horrifying. Actual murders are awful. Even low speed car crashes also cause great injury. In the movies, our hero walks away from the crash scene. But in real life car crashes cause, broken bones, back and neck injury, neuropathy, even paralysis and death. It’s not “cool” at all.
Real Death – In my last assignment I lived in a very tough neighborhood. There were murders every week. And two people were killed right on my Church grounds. It was pretty awful to see a young man lying on my parking lot who had just been shot to death. He had died in a gunfight that took place on our grounds even while the children were at recess just on the other side of the Church. I remember, I left the bullet holes in my Church window unrepaired for a long time in silent protest to the violence. There was also a woman who was stabbed to death in front of my rectory. I still remember the crime scene tape and her lifeless body lying there. She was well known to all in the area as one of the neighborhood beggars. She had her troubles but basically she was a sweetie. Violence like this was no movie. Real people were killed. Real children were threatened by nearby violence. This was no cartoonish movie, it was real violence, real murder and real threat.
Somewhere in the years that have transpired, I have lost my taste for violent movies. I have stopped finding them exciting, entertaining or even all that interesting. I am not on some crusade to end such movies, but I do rejoice that they no longer appeal to me. I think that is grace at work. Deep in my heart I always knew there was something wrong with enjoying movies that featured violent killing.
And so, there I was yesterday in a theatre. And suddenly the lights went down and the screen lit up. But the light flickering on the screen seemed very dark. And I thought of the words of Jesus who said, Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matt 6:22-23).
So, how say you? Should I just “lighten up” (pardon the pun)? Am I being too severe? Are these movies just good fun? And remember, it’s not just their violence, it is their dark themes. Recall too, I am trying to start a conversation here not pontificate. When it comes to cultural trends there are always going to be different views, even among believers. I am interested in your views.
Here are some of the trailers I saw yesterday:
I think it is interesting that you are writing about the previews and picked that up b/c I also saw “The Rite” yesterday too and was thinking the exact same thing about the pre-views. My good friend turned to me and said, “who comes up with this stuff”? It is pretty stupid! Especially, with ‘The Priest” movie preview which was totally disgusting! The group I was with had a priest with us. He was sitting one row in front of me and I was pretty embarrassed.
Yeah, it was a wierd set of trailers. Very dark. Brooding and dark.
i immediately wanted to agree with you but then I had to put the breaks on myself. ‘Hold it’ What about all the cowboy and indian movies annd the vietnam movies and others like it. Such as the Alfred Hiotchcock films. And if we are really honest some of the cartoons that we grew up with ere even more violent. I used to watch Bullwinkle every Saturday morning followed by Dudley do right. These cartoons were full of violence. My point is each generation will have it’s culture of violence. We as Christians are the light. Just be in the World and not of the world. If you do not want to go it’s OK OR TAKE A FRIEND TO COVER YOUR EYES on the bad parts. Finally you are in a weird position because you are a pastor. I think you may have to see a few of these objectional films. But maybe not. That’s your choice but I think you have a steong mind.
Yes, I know what you mean. But these films are even darker. I guess my point is that the darkness is getting even deeper. Some of the Vietnam stuff was dark to be sure, but, fact is Vietnam WAS dark. Movies like that were recording something real. It was a horrible nightmare. Cowboy and indian stuff was (theoretically) depicting historical stuff. But this stuff is made up darkness seemingly for the very sake of darkness.
One more thought then I’ll take my position as a student. From Cain and Able to the crucufuxion of Jesus man has always been attracted to 3 things AND violence is one and the other two are sex and power. i don’t think you can get around it. It’s our sinful nature. Ddo I like it. NO.
In my experience, I think the ONE thing that defines sin is a will to wield power over one’s life. Period. Full Stop. All other sins are variations on the will to wield power to suit one’s self. What say you?
I did not click on the trailers … I’ll take your word for it. So you can call me old-fashioned as well. We take in a movie at the theatre once a year or so but rent them mostly. Our general fare are children’s movies, historicals, lives of the Saints, documentaries, silly cartoons and things my husband watched when he was a child. It is a family activity and we are always able to talk about things if anything upsetting is on the screen.
For the very reasons you have mentioned — real violence — we have shielded our children from these because we do not want them desensitized to it. For this same reason we do not have video games, nor do we watch TV. We read. We talk about the news. It does not have the same impact as the visual images. I want our children to be children for a bit longer, their innocence protected. They needn’t know about everything just yet. As they grow up, they will see enough real horrors and be properly horrified to do something about them.
This taste for violent movies — is it predominantly attractive to young men? Or is it cultural? I wouldn’t think it would appeal to women. Ex. The most recent movie we saw in a theatre was Inception. I liked the concept but did not like the execution — too violent. Lots of special effects, not much story, and in the end, I did not care about the characters.
I too usually see a few movies each year via DVD. I just don’t have time to go the theatre. I think you are right to protect your children for a longer time from all the visual imagery of the world. They will eventually see it of course and will surely have more than enough of it thrust at them when they are adults.
I tend to enjoy actions movies, so long as they stay “fakey.” Once it starts getting realistic, it loses it’s appeal – blood, gore, and in general the effects that violence actually has, hold no entertainment value for me whatsoever.
I do tend to be mildly entertained by the kind of fast paced action movies that are not dark, involve lots of non-personal explosions, and maybe even the kind of hand to hand or sword fighting that ends up leaving the people involved either tired and slightly disheveled or off screen. (Examples: The Princess Bride, I Robot, Pirates of the Caribbean). I did not have much patience for the new(ish) batman, or even the Borne Identity. Avatar didn’t bother me an awful lot from the violence perspective. I have no desire to see any of the movies with trailers posted above, though I may end up seeing Thor with friends (for reasons that don’t have much to do with the trailer, I suspect that it may not end up being all that dark.)
In some action movies, the violence ends up being just a kind of slap stick with special effects – about as similar to real violence as the sport fencing is to trying to kill someone with a sword. Generally useless and I’d say harmless. I’m not sure if it has a general desensitizing effect or not; I tend to think not because I do watch the “silly” ones but have not been convinced to accept or tolerate even the darker movies, much less the actual violence the darker movies are about.
So the “silly” action movies I’ll watch. But when the movies start becoming dark – attempting to blur moral lines so that there is in fact no real good guy, when emotional things start getting mixed in with violence that’s way too realistic, when, in fact, the movie presents violence as it really is – actual (somewhat) believable people causing actual believable harm to actual people – and calls it good, acceptable, or ambiguous, then it becomes a movie I don’t want to see. For that matter, it can call it bad and I still won’t want to see it, I’ll just think the movie is more stupid than evil.
Then again, I’m a 20 something male, and have been fortunate enough to never experience any sort of real violence. There’s a partition in my mind between movie violence and real violence; neither brings to mind the other. If that were to change, from exposure to results of real violence or anything else, then I could easily see the “silly” movies no longer seeming so silly.
Yes, dark is really more the point I’m making even than the violence. Batman is a perfect example. A very dark movie. The light-hearted TV show I remember was recast in the movie series as a brooding, dark drama with very sinister figures. Even Bruce Wayne was tormented. So told me that this was the tenor of the comic strip, but I never read comics.
I live in a family that is very TV and Film “aware.” Don’t get me wrong, my wife and children are good people, church-going, kind and filled with the joy only grace can give. We try to be good Catholics; sometimes we are. But our lives are filled with the constant “buzz” and “chatter” of news, tv programs and movies. I feel overwhelmed. At one time early in our marriage, I took the position that we should have no television in the house. Then I agreed to one in a cold study. I came home one evening to find my wife huddled under a blanket. I felt terrible. Of course, we now have two girls, two cats, a dog and SIX televisions—complete with DVR, HD and whatever else comcast uses to enhance our “viewing pleasure.”
I share all this by way of context. As I get older, I realize that the Letter to Diognetus is more correct than not…we must learn to live in the world, but not be of the world.
There is a measure of all this nastiness that, as JJ rightly observes, merely reflects the nature of a sin-filled world. The city of man is nasty and brutish. Our media—news, television, film, art—reflect that essence because we identify with it at a certain level. This is especially dangerous in a democratic culture, where mass media is the ruling principle. The media and art in a liberal, democratic society will both reflect and shape our mores, as Toqueville so correctly noted.
But in between storming out of the room (and ignoring it) and refusing to engage it (and pontificating about it)—both of which marginalized me and my opinions within my family, I had to learn the lesson of Diognetus. I had to live a life of Christian values. I had to offer alternatives, ask questions, raise the issues—constantly work to bring my family back to what I sincerely believe is the real pathway to happiness. We must of course speak out against these things, but our lives must be an example of what we are “for” or our words will fall (rightly) on deaf ears.There are shows we do not allow ourselves and our children to watch, there are limits (things that we can’t obviously do in the larger world as well), but this is a constant daily battle—not one great war in which all is won or lost forever.
As a side note, grace is at work in the connection you draw. In the Fr E book we discussed yesterday, he devotes considerable time to the connection between the power of evil, the need for more priests trained in the Rite of Exorcism and the rise of a fascination with the occult and the demonic in our culture. The decline of a generalized Christian ethic and the rise of this preoccupation with evil is not concidental.
So, onward spirtual warriors!
BA
I understand the struggle you describe. Fr. Robert Barron at Wordonfire.org has a great ability to take movies and find the gospel in them. He is very gifted in this regard. He has a lot of movie reviews at his sight and on youtube. I admire his ability in this regard and wish it were something I could do more of. I am actually asking the Archdiocese of Washington to try and engage someone to assist at this blog who is more culture-saavy than I who could do something along these lines: creatively find Christ in what is “out there” and point to him. In the end I think Fr. Barron has well applied the Diognetus paradigm you cite.
As for your last point, I am in complete agreement.
There is a deeper problem than “violence is not nice” People are looking for more and more stimulation of various kinds. Drugs and sex are a related problem. But more and more of these things do not ultimately satisfy. Mother Teresa said “In the stillness of the heart, God speakes.” Down through the ages contemplatives have realized that it is reducing outside stimulation that leads one inside to God.
I thnk you are right on target here. We are hyperstimulated and it seems to have an addictive quality in that we require more and more of the thing to attain the effect. We are in real trouble in that we have lost the value and the gift of silence and stillness. So much of the noise we don’t even notice any more. I was quite surprised after 9-11 to notice how quiet it was outside when all the planes were grounded. The silence was quite strange. Flying airplanes apparently make more background noise than we think.
With all this hyperstimulation prayer is next to impossible for many.
I too am put off by the loud, frantic, and violent trailers that have become a prerequisite to any movie I might go to see. JJ’s comment brings to mind the insights on culture that Gil Bailie has drawn from Rene Girard’s anthropological work. Bailie and Girard place the crucifixion in the context of the role violence and human sacrifice have played in cultures throughout history (http://www.gil-bailie.com/).
Thanks for this link. I will have to look at the site more, it looks interesting.
I also seldom go to the movies – I don’t care for explicit violence, I don’t want to see people having sex, and I don’t want to hear an expletive every 45 seconds.
I’m right there with you, Msgr Pope. Stuffy, uptight, and old-fashioned.
A pretty good summary of the movies !
It seems intuitively obvious that violence in TV, movies and video games would lead to violence in real life, but apparently that’s difficult to show in actual studies. In fact, it’s possible that violent movies lead to less violence in real life. See, e.g., http://www.econ.berkeley.edu/~sdellavi/wp/moviescrime08-08-01Forthc.pdf.
Of course that’s not the only measure of whether violent movies are good or bad.
Agreed, I don’t argue that violence in the movies necessarily leads to more violence. I think, as others have commented the movies are more reflective of a trend in our culture of being preoccupied with evil and violence (as well as sex). My post strayed a bit too much to the violence aspect whereas my broader concern is with how “dark” the themes and settings are. What does this say about our culture is the question before me.
There is a tremendous variety in modern movies. Not everything is violence, sex, excess. Though more than the fair share of widely popular releases are, and I realize that it’s harder to access movies outside the mainstream if you’re in a small town in Nebraska than in Washington (Netflix helps). Movies, like any art form, reflect as well as shape the entire human experience. Avoiding the art form altogether seems irrational to me; so, I’m glad that you go to the movies, Msgr.
One (seeming) trend that I’ve noticed is the rise in popularity of movies that deal with core humanity issues (justice, moral code, the purpose of life itself) with strong reference to some sort of extra-human lifeforms, power, etc. Think of vampire moves (the ‘Twilight’ series) and more general fantasy movies (the ‘Harry Potter’ series). My thesis is that this genre of movies reflect how even in this secular age we can see how God hard-wired us to find Him. Of course many of these movies are utterly unChristian in many respects – but what else explains, in an age of (supposed) reason, logic, and science, millions of people spending money on movies with seemingly irrational and moralistic overtures?
It used to be that you could pick out the good and throw away the bad but now alot of movies are just not worth seeing.
However, I would say not all dark movies of late have been without a moral conscience. For me, movies like No Country for Old Men I think were vivid in their depiction of sin and darkness to show how truly awful and hellish things can get if we live in darkness. While at first I thought that movie specifically was without any deep meaning, philosophical or theological, but then I realized it was all about greed- that deadly sin that did indeed destroy and warp many of the characters in the movie (save the good cop, played by Tommy Lee). It’s tough to see a movie like that though, and maybe that’s why the Coen Bros. toned things down a little when they made True Grit, but I think that such a depiction can be seen in a positive light if only we learn from it not to imitate and incorporate into our lives the darkness and sinful actions of the bad guys, and the bad decisions of some of the lead characters that they may regret later, but come to an understanding of how truly bad our lives (and that of those around us) would be if we live in darkness.
Another thing is that I usually try to use movie reviews (especially from the usccb and pluggedinonline), and not just trailors, to judge a movie, especially since movies like “The Rite”, where the trailor seemed so awful and contrary to my faith that I would have had no desire to see it save the Catholic reviews of it seemed to generally support it. I don’t know why trailors these days seem to bring out the worst in movies; my theory is that the controversy caused by such previews might be thought of as a way as bringing more people into them.
Such seems to be the general obsession in the arts these days- controversy, violence, anti-heroes, moral ambiguity, faith and doubt, etc.
I make a distinction between a story in which there are evil deeds or evil characters and a story which is evil itself. Schindler’s List was a movie in which there were many evil deeds and evil characters, but the evil was not CELEBRATED; the same can be said for many other movies — not least of all the Passion of the Christ. There are, on the other hand, stories that I have read (and undoubted movies, too) in which one evil deed follows another, the process is celebrated, and there is no appropriate comeuppance at the end — which, by the halfway point, I am looking for and expecting as some sort of justification for the nastiness the story has already put me through. Such a story leaves me feeling unclean.
Msgr.
I dont believe you are the only one appalled at modern day choice of movies available to view a very high prices. along with expensive popcorn and ridiculously large drinks.
The content of films at ones local cinema are usually available to entice young people because I believe studies have shown the movie going population has dropped significantly now that we can see a movie on our computers, TV, and even our phones. Hence, film makers tend to draw people to theaters with amazing visual affect, like people walking on wall, people appearing and disappearing with loud and quite creative visual affects.
However, in an effort to participate in this conversation, I thought I would put my “2 cents” in.
Blessings
Rebecca
I find that with the movies, like all entertainment and life in general,it is best to enforce a personal discipline so as to avoid immersing myself unnecessarily in the “muck.” There are times one MUST do so, but I know from hard experience the reality of the danger of becoming accustomed and numb to negativity and the culture of death when one is exposed to it, let alone immersed in it.
Keep in mind that the movies for which you saw the previews were more violent and “action-packed” than average movies because they were targeted at people who will pay to watch “The Rite”. When I took my kids to see “Tangled” we saw previews for prom movies, teen dating movies, “Gnomeo and Juliet” (yes it’s as dumb as it sounds) and whatever Yogi Bear movie is coming out.
That said, I don’t at all think you’re off-base. We justify our love of violence because it’s “fake”, but I fear that if we didn’t have the technology to make fake violence we would satisfy ourselves with real violence, a la the Roman Colosseum. There’s something spiritually wrong with us when we like to watch hatred, revenge, and deliberate infliction of pain.
Even with the technology to produce fake violence, many still seek real forms for their entertainment- professional boxing and the even worse “Ultimate Fighting” league being bad examples.
OH! Just watched the trailers you posted! The priest movie was really scary and definitely not a movie I will ever see. I stay away from demon movies and probably would not even consider The Rite, if you had not reviewed it.
Actually, having seen the priest trailer, I dont think I will see the rite either. I rather leave Exorsim to the experts .
Well, I think the last theater film I saw was also the Passion of Christ, and I still remember at the end of the film how the theater was completely silent for about five minutes, the film was that powerful.
So I do not watch many films, though sometimes I watch an older movie on DVD. I’ve also been recently going through a lot of sheet music from the 40’s and 50’s time frame. Lyrics and become so much more explicit and violent it is almost mind boggling. I like some of the older films, like with Bing Crosby, where the actors had dancing and singing ability. How about making more movies that rely on skills such at these, and that allow an actor or actresses wit, charm, grace. and humor to shine through.
I prefer to stay home and read a good book. As a matter of fact I just ordered Cardinal Wuerl and Mike Aquilina’s new book ‘The Mass: The Glory, the Mystery, the Tradition’
The trailer can be seen here:
http://www.adw.org/about/lead_TheMass_wuerl.asp
You can purchase here:
http://www.nationalshrineshops.com/browse.cfm/the-mass/4,1654.html
I got mine! Got it on Kindle
My husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas. Perhaps that’ll be my first book on it…If I ever figure the darn thing out.
Cynthia the Luddite
Cynthia – I got a Kindle, too – it’s great!! I love it!! It’s already paid for itself in free books. If you want to get my email from Monsignor, I’ll help you figger yours out 🙂
A few months ago I told my husband that I felt the Holy Spirit was nudging me to stop letting the filth of what was coming into our home through television. We don’t watch a lot of television by today’s standards but even some of the lighter shows (like HGTV) were starting to offend me. Increasingly, I found the darker themed shows and much of the evening news stole my peace, sometimes for days at a time, so I stopped watching them and stopped reading anything that contained violence. It took a little while to get him and my children on board but we stopped our cable subscription and now have about 7 channels to choose from and also Netflix. We just agreed the other night that it wasn’t near as difficult as we imagined it would be. I think you are right Father, it was grace at work in us that helped us to see how unhealthy spiritually it was. It’s so nice not having to “work” the remote and police it all anymore.
Perhaps one upmanship in movies has grown to the point where only the magically more than real can transcend anymore. At any rate the reference in the title about light and darkness reminds me of something which I once read. Something which may help those who are so deep in darkness that that all seems hopeless for them.
There is only one thing which one can seek and find in total darkness. It is a thing which is easiest found in total darkness.
The light.
These movies are intended for mature audiences who can tell the difference between good and bad. You are exaggerrating this a bit. These movies are not in of themselves “evil” to see. They are entertainment for those of us who enjoy action film. This may not be your bag, but i don’t have a problem between going to Sunday Mass at 10:30 AM and attending any one of these after. You may and I respect your point of view. But that’s all it is. A point of view.
RJ
“good and bad” Could that be rephrased to good and evil, since the word “evil” is used 2 sentences later? Maybe you take us directly toward the point. In Genesis 3:6&7 we are shown how we gained knowledge of good and evil and, upon becoming aware of nakedness, the discoverers hid selves with leaves.
Yet we flounder with debate about what is “good” and what is “evil” as morality goes up or down and we even debate which is up or which is down. It would seem that knowledge of good and evil is not understanding of good and evil for; if we truly understood the two concepts; would we need these debates? Would we even need rules as validation and support for those who did good became overwhelming and for what was evil faded away?
Perhaps the indulgence in The Garden wasn’t sinful in itself – just a matter of jumping the gun by several thousand years. As unfulfilled predictions start to come to pass (Matthew 24:19 Mark 13:17 Luke 21:23 seem to describe the increasing toxicity in mother’s milk and fetuses as a result of pollution from industrial, nuclear waste and gm foods) perhaps some are receiving revelations of understanding the twin concepts we’re ready for.
You do well Robert in bringing this to light (with your inspirational mentioning of good, bad, evil) which shows how glorious and perfect God is as He causes what everyone does to serve His will and remind us not to judge.
Perhaps the first of His gift of the 12 Steps introduced a beginning to the many adaptations already in place so that we will soon be ready to admit that we are powerless over hiding who we are (with false ego and dishonest humility having replaced the leaves) and that judgement makes our lives unmanageable.
Steps 2-12 could then conceivably open ourselves to God’s guidance as He teaches us to act and react to everything with true goodness and never need to judge.
God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit surely has done well in raising us, His children. Thousands of years of His patience.
Speaking of the Trinity a feeling woke me a little earlier than usual this morning. We often say “the” for all three members of the Three but the Father and the Son are often called Him or He; but not so much the Holy Spirit. And our mannerisms seem to me (only my opinion) to reflect the impersonal aspect of our regard for our Advocate, Counsellor or whatever the different translations call Him.
Would He waken me an extra hour or so early this morning to tell me in a symbol; which I drew and saved; about the “understanding” of good and evil and to express a lack of happiness in the same symbol about our phraseology describing Him as if lacking in personality?
I don’t know but, He’s welcome to do so any morning.
Don’t stop with movies. This is also why my TV is rarely on (except for EWTN)–not even the news (if it’s important enough, it shows up on New Advent). I do not want to see sex outside marriage, skimpy clothing, cutthroat behavior, and a total absence of a moral life normalized. Movies attack us with violence, TV with depravity. Even the cooking shows have succumbed–I even stopped watching Top Chef when they introduced a “story line” about a homosexual relationship between two of the contestants. What that has to do with chopping onions, I don’t know, but there you have it….on the plus side, I have listened to a lot of great music, read a lot of great books, and spent a lot of quality time with my groom these past years….
I agree with much that’s being said. But I think also that we are missing an important moderating issue here, which is marketing technique. The multiplex theater principle in major markets is simple: Pay to see an R-rated movie you will see previews tailered for R-rated movies and for a marketing strawman of an R-rated customer’s desires as well . Stated this baldly what i have said is over-simple,certainly. Movie marketing is getting more and more sophisticated about targeting particular audiences, but the principle has been around a long time. If you own or rent a classic old movie in a deluxe dvd edition, it may have a wide range of trailers as an extra, so you can see how Hollywood trailer emphases changed for the same film for audiences in Spain compared to audiences in in Italy 50-60 years ago. Works the same in book publishing. I remember 1950s bodice- ripping cover-art for a paperback of A Fairwell to Arms at the local drugstore book rack as a kid in Minnesota; that sort of treatment only changed when it dawned on the publisher that Hemingway had won the Nobel prize. Where I grew up I expect the fleshflashing cover sold it better than the respectable revision.
I have taken my grandchildren to a few movies that I considered safe. I did not plan on the trailers that were shown. Violence and sex! And the volume is overwhelming. My grandson was 9 at the time. I tried to distract him, but it was hard. It is embarrassing for adults without the kids. As result, we go to few movie theaters. DVDs are safer. The theater owners have some responsibility here. It is not just the movie makers. They should not use such trailers at times when “kids” movies are being shown. One theater manager told me that they have no control or ability to do anything even lower the volume. As a kid I loved going to the movies. Now, not so much.
I think we have to keep the statement of Jesus in context. The context of the cosmology and mythology of the bible. The bible is the continuation of an ancient dispute between the Followers of the Serpent and the followers of the Sun and the Father of the Sun(the Father can be located in the heavens). The Serpent can only be viewed at night, the sun can be viewed in the day. And with the sun comes light and photons. Photon’s enter your eye at night also but not to the degree that they do when the sun it at its height. This is why the bible states the sun(son) of God is the light of the world. Now there was an ancient division that originated in Egypt between those who would follow the sun and those who would follow the constellation Drago. The position of the great pyramid reveals that at one point the Egyptians followed both Drago in the north and Orion (the Father) in the south. But just the civil war in America, their soon became a division between the north and the south. In time, Akhenaten proclaimed the Sun to be supreme over all other celestial dieties. This led to further division and too many followers of Akhenaten migrating out of Egypt, taking their knowledge of the sun and it’s purposes with them. This is the priest hood who would pass this knowledge down through beautifully written mythologies that would always star a solar hero. These stories are laced with scientific knowledge. They contain, astronomy, precession of the equinoxes,biology,harmonics, quatum theory, wave function and Alchemy. And Jesus’s (The solar hero of brought in the Age of Pisces) statement in Matt 6:22-23 has everything to do with the scientific study of the Sun of God and the roles all star’s played in man being made flesh here on earth. This is talking about the study and path of the Sun, the study of light. The study of Sun leads to life, all life and were ever the Sun is, there life will be also. Draco the serpent rules over the constellations that surround the northern pole star. And if the ancients would have continued to follow Draco toward the north, they would find themselves in a frozen wasteland. There is no significant amount of plant life, trees and other needed items for the continuation of life in the north. Jesus was telling them to follow him, the Sun of God. Increase the amount of photon’s your eyes recieve so that you can see clearly and not be blinded by darkness. It’s pretty much just basic science.
Vision begins when light rays are reflected off an object and enter the eyes through the cornea, the transparent outer covering of the eye. The cornea bends or refracts the rays that pass through a round hole called the pupil. The iris, or colored portion of the eye that surrounds the pupil, opens and closes (making the pupil bigger or smaller) to regulate the amount of light passing through. The light rays then pass through the lens, which actually changes shape so it can further bend the rays and focus them on the retina at the back of the eye. The retina is a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains millions of tiny light-sensing nerve cells called rods and cones, which are named for their distinct shapes. Cones are concentrated in the center of the retina, in an area called the macula. In bright light conditions, cones provide clear, sharp central vision and detect colors and fine details. Rods are located outside the macula and extend all the way to the outer edge of the retina. They provide peripheral or side vision. Rods also allow the eyes to detect motion and help us see in dim light and at night. These cells in the retina convert the light into electrical impulses. The optic nerve sends these impulses to the brain where an image is produced.
As for me, I find no issue with violent movies, look at the bible itself, it’s full of violent acts and traitorious deeds. David sent a man to sure death so he could still his wife. Cain murdered his brother. There is rape, murder incest and all kinds of horrible deeds all within the word of God. Samson was pretty much a mass murderer. Yet we read these stories to ourselves and our children on the daily. Yet we find no problem with this violence and find fault with the violence in cinema. I don’t have a problem with the violence in movies. It doesn’t affect me because I live in the light of the Sun of God. I know who I am and where I came from. I know my celestial origins and I know my life will end and I’m at peace with that. I know I have no control over what the current system can do to me, and I’m at peace with that. I desire nothing but see beauty in all things and I’m at peace with that. I judge no one and no thing, and I’m at peace with that. Now if violent movies disturb you in your current state within your journey with Christ, then by all means, stay away from them until you come into complete knowledge. But if your eyes are always seeking out the scientific knowledge of God, you may find that as I have, that I don’t have time for much else. I’m too busy contemplating, the make up and origins of stars, harmonics, the 9 realms mentioned in the bible, 2012 that’s hidden in the bible, lunar and solar eclipses, biology, botany. The list goes on and on and will never end. These things evenutally lead one back to the spirit, the most unknowable mystery. And as we know, God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth:John 4:24. The study of the spirit in scientific circles is called the zero point field,higgs field or the matrix. All things have there place, the biblical writers used violence to convey themes of cosmological importance within their stories. So do story tellers today. And by the way… Thor is one of the few movies I did see and I thought it was a wonderful redemption tale of the Norse version of the Sun of God. The story of Thor is just the Norse version of ancient science. They followed the Sun as well as the Father, although they called their Father, the All Father Odin. Loki, Thor’s brother is representative of the Moon. The rainbow bridge is that band of the milky way we can view in the night sky, in the bible it’s know as the mountain of God(due to it’s high arc in the summertime, which the sun reigns on top of ) and the river of life(due to its wave function as it changes positions through out the hours, days and months of the year). This is why Moses(Sun or Solar hero who brings in the Age of Aries) is shown bringing fourth water from a rock. So don’t always judge a book by it’s cover. Like the bible the movie Thor contains both voilence and wisdom. In closing if you don’t like violent movies then don’t watch them but watching them has nothing to do with light entering your body, the sun and photon’s control that.
Here is the same statement above with some additions to my above statements to make things clearer.
I think we have to keep the statement of Jesus in context. The context of the cosmology and mythology of the bible. The bible is the continuation of an ancient dispute between the Followers of the Serpent and the followers of the Sun and the Father of the Sun(the Father can be located in the heavens). The Serpent can only be viewed at night, the sun can be viewed in the day. And with the sun comes light and photons. Photon’s enter your eye at night also but not to the degree that they do when the sun it at its height. This is why the bible states the sun(son) of God is the light of the world. Now there was an ancient division that originated in Egypt between those who would follow the sun and those who would follow the constellation Draco. The position of the great pyramid reveals that at one point the Egyptians followed both Draco in the north and Orion (the Father) in the south. But just the civil war in America, their soon became a division between the north and the south. In time, Akhenaton proclaimed the Sun to be supreme over all other celestial deities. This led to further division and too many followers of Akhenaton migrating out of Egypt, taking their knowledge of the sun and it’s purposes with them. This is the priest hood who would pass this knowledge down through beautifully written mythologies that would always star a solar hero. These stories are laced with scientific knowledge. They contain, astronomy, precession of the equinoxes,biology,harmonics, quatum theory, wave function and Alchemy. And Jesus’ (The solar hero of brought in the Age of Pisces) statement in Matt 6:22-23 has everything to do with the scientific study of the Sun of God and the roles all star’s played in man being made flesh here on earth. This is talking about the study and path of the Sun, the study of light. The study of Sun leads to life, all life and were ever the Sun is, there life will be also. Draco the serpent rules over the constellations that surround the northern pole star. And if the ancients would have continued to follow Draco toward the north, they would find themselves in a frozen wasteland. There is no significant amount of plant life, trees and other needed items for the continuation of life in the north. Jesus was telling them to follow him, the Sun of God. Increase the amount of photon’s your eyes receive so that you can see clearly and not be blinded by darkness. It’s pretty much just basic science.
Vision begins when light rays are reflected off an object and enter the eyes through the cornea, the transparent outer covering of the eye. The cornea bends or refracts the rays that pass through a round hole called the pupil. The iris, or colored portion of the eye that surrounds the pupil, opens and closes (making the pupil bigger or smaller) to regulate the amount of light passing through. The light rays then pass through the lens, which actually changes shape so it can further bend the rays and focus them on the retina at the back of the eye. The retina is a thin layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains millions of tiny light-sensing nerve cells called rods and cones, which are named for their distinct shapes. Cones are concentrated in the center of the retina, in an area called the macula. In bright light conditions, cones provide clear, sharp central vision and detect colors and fine details. Rods are located outside the macula and extend all the way to the outer edge of the retina. They provide peripheral or side vision. Rods also allow the eyes to detect motion and help us see in dim light and at night. These cells in the retina convert the light into electrical impulses. The optic nerve sends these impulses to the brain where an image is produced.
As for me, I find no issue with violent movies, look at the bible itself, it’s full of violent acts and traitorous deeds. David sent a man to sure death so he could steal his wife. Cain murdered his brother. There is rape, murder, incest and all kinds of horrible deeds all within the word of God. Samson was pretty much a mass murderer. Yet we read these stories to ourselves and our children on the daily. We find no problem with this violence and find fault with the violence in cinema. I don’t have a problem with the violence in movies. It doesn’t affect me because I live in the light of the Sun of God. I know who I am and where I came from. I know my celestial origins and I know my life will end and I’m at peace with that. I know I have no control over what the current system can do to me, and I’m at peace with that. I desire nothing but see beauty in all things and I’m at peace with that. I judge no one and no thing, and I’m at peace with that. Now if violent movies disturb you in your current state within your journey with Christ, then by all means, stay away from them until you come into complete knowledge. But if your eyes are always seeking out the scientific knowledge of God, you may find, as I have, that I don’t have time for much else. I’m too busy contemplating, the make up and origins of stars, harmonics, the 9 realms mentioned in the bible, 2012 that’s hidden in the bible, lunar and solar eclipses, biology, botany. The list goes on and on and will never end. These things eventually lead one back to the spirit, the most unknowable mystery. And as we know, God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth: John 4:24. The study of the spirit in scientific circles is called the zero point field, higgs field or the matrix. And this study of the heavens…isn’t this what Jesus was telling them to consume their time with also? Let’s look at the verses that come before Matthew 6:22-23
Mat 6:19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
Mat 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
So before Jesus told them about light, he told them were to seek it. And where do photon’s come from but the heavens. It is the study of these things: Astronomy (subatomic particles, the 7 atomic elements, stars, galaxies, solar systems and planets),biology, botany, harmonics, precession of the equinoxes and quantum theory which lead to a complete understanding of mind, body and spirit. This understanding brings the light of love, peace and contentment no matter how violent and murderous an age we find ourselves in. For what will you change with your protests. It is God who changes man’s hearts not protests, demonstrations or rebellions. We need to learn to sit back and let God and the passage of time bring humanity into perfection. The Israelites were always rebelling against the systems they lived under and they always got their butts kicked by the system in the process. This is a battle that God fights not us.
Now that’s look at the rest of what Jesus said to the people in Matthew 6 so that we may a complete understanding of what Jesus was saying regarding the scientific operations of the universe.
Mat 6:22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
Mat 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Mat 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
Mat 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Mat 6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life [fn]?
Mat 6:28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Mat 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Mat 6:31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Mat 6:32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
Mat 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Mat 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
So we worry about things that are of no importance in the grand scheme of things. We should be spending our time seeking the will of God. And where can the will of God be found?
Mat 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So get out your astronomy text books. Look at the table of elements. Find out how stars are formed. Find out how our closest star, the Sun of God came into being. How does the carbon atom come into existence? How did carbon life forms manifest themselves on earth? The study of the heavens is how you learn of God the spirit’s good and perfect will. I found peace through this knowledge of the heavens and of self. I do not worry about what I’ll eat or drink or whether I’ll live are die. I’m at peace with death, for in death there is only rebirth. And I certainly don’t worry about violence and murder in real life or in cinema. For all these things must occur until the fullness of our current cycle is complete and all things began anew.
So…All things have their place, the biblical writers used violence to convey themes of cosmological importance within their stories. So do story tellers today. And by the way… Thor is one of the few movies I did see and I thought it was a wonderful redemption tale of the Norse version of the Sun of God. The story of Thor is just the Norse version of ancient science. They followed the Sun as well as the Father, although they called their Father, the All Father Odin. Loki, Thor’s brother is representative of the Moon. The rainbow bridge is that band of the milky way we can view in the night sky, in the bible it’s know as the mountain of God(due to it’s high arc in the summertime, which the sun reigns on top of ) and the river of life(due to its wave function as it changes positions through out the hours, days and months of the year). This is why Moses(Sun or Solar hero who brings in the Age of Aries) is shown bringing fourth water from a rock. So don’t always judge a book by it’s cover. Like the bible the movie Thor contains both violence and wisdom. In closing if you don’t like violent movies then don’t watch them but watching them has nothing to do with light entering your body, the sun and photon’s control that.
Well, I think, especially in this second chapter you’ve strayed too far from the Biblical world and have an overly developed sense of how the pagan world “influenced” the Biblical one. Your premise is far too underdeveloped for the sweeping conclusions you make.