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Let's go to a movie and grab a burger. This familiar scenario
is repeated countless times on Saturday nights. But which movie? The choices
are almost endless. Science fiction, action, Westerns, comedies and love
stories all abound. Does it really matter which forms of entertainment
we choose?
Today there are 31.6 million 12 to 19 year olds in the United States—the
largest generation ever (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) with plenty of buying
power. Last year, U.S. teens spent an estimated $105 billion and influenced
their parents to spend an additional $48 billion (Teen Research Unlimited).
The choices made by teens are thus very relevant to merchants. Perhaps there
has never been a time in which so many young people have had the leisure
time plus the money in their pockets to just have fun.
Choices, choices, choices. What movie, CD or video game should I spend my money on this time? What is cool and what is going to be exciting and "fun"?
According to one author, "Most television programming is insipid, illicit, and idiotic" ("How the Bombarding Images of TV Culture Undermine the Power of Words," Modern Reformation, January/February 2001, Douglas S. Groothuis Ph.D., p. 39). It is obvious to those who have been watching TV and movies for a few years that there is more violence and sex than ever before—actually, quite a lot more. Every major network has a show, often in prime time, which features a gay actor or actress. Are these shows, which admittedly entertain and stimulate people, really good for you? Are the big screen's latest flicks appropriate for Christians to watch?
In 1939, Rhett Butler, talking angrily to Scarlett O'Hara in the cinematic blockbuster, Gone With the Wind, appeared without his shirt and also used the word "damn." The audience was shocked. This epic movie about the Civil War was considered controversial because of this one word and shirtlessness. Today, nudity or partial nudity is normal and the use of expletives is so commonplace that some characters would have almost nothing to say if you deleted curse words.
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