Is it really only entertainment?

[USCGrad90]

I am doing my undergraduate thesis on the media and specifically how it could affect our morals, attitudes or even behavior. As a Christian this is something I think about a lot. I would love to hear how other Christians approach this important issue.

You should look into methods of mind control, brain washing, and torture used during war time. One thing I have found is that in some cases, subjects are exposed to graphic images. The brain is initially repulsed by these, in some cases to the point of sickness. As the same images are presented over and over again, subjects come to accept what they are seeing, to the point where they are no longer repulsed by it.

I think it is very clear that media has done this same thing by repeatedly showing what is considered violent, sexual, or profane, over and over, it has come to be gradually accepted by society. I remember Horror movies from the 80s being very scary, but compared to what you see now, they are very tame. In the cases of pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and many other issues, Hollywood has taken agendas to introduce this as normal and acceptable.

The real question may be: "Does media reflect society, OR does society reflect media?"

 

[CounselorForChrist]

I never liked slasher movies. BUt I didn't mind tv shows with gore for example. Such as Dexter. Dexter never bugged me or changed me. Although I didn't care for his sister's constant use of the the F word. And the occasional nudity wasn't need. Thankfully they toned that down the last few seasons before it ended.

But then there are shows like Breaking Bad or Game of THrones. Those I felt changed me. Something about the shows never sat well with me. So I stopped watching them and felt better. I still watch Hannibal now that Dexter is over.

I think my mind is fine with Dexter and Hannibal because being into psychology I find the characters interesting. What drives them to do what they do? Want makes them unsociable? What will they mess up while doing? Probably could have been a good profiler since I love this stuff. . Where as shows like GoT was not about characters like that. Its just made to be vile, violent, sexual, swearing filled. No real purpose other then entertain. The characters just "Are".

 

[Chainless]

There's no question it affects us. Consciously and subconsciously. That's the whole reason there is such a huge ad push. We (and they) know is affects us and that's why they spend millions and millions on commercials.

Think about this: Commercials are so effective and proven to influence us and they only comprise maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of the time we spend watching (less in many cases). How much more do the actual shows we're watching effect us. We watch 15 minutes of ads and 45 minutes of the actual program. There is huge science behind this stuff.

That's why I am extremely careful about what I watch.

 

[CounselorForChrist]

I never see commercials anymore thankfully. I just "get ahold of" *cough* the shows after they air so I can watch without commercials. Mainly because commercials are pointless to me and also they take me out of the "mood" of the tv show.

 

[Serendipity..]

I never see commercials anymore thankfully. I just "get ahold of" *cough* the shows after they air so I can watch without commercials. Mainly because commercials are pointless to me and also they take me out of the "mood" of the tv show.

Netflix

 

[CounselorForChrist]

Well I do use netflix too. I also use downloadable methods too. Of course not sure why I am acting weird about it. The shows I download are free shows on tv (not cable) like Grimm.

 

[Meanstreak]

I'm convinced that shows highlighting homosexual characters have helped to "normalize" homosexuality in culture and make it acceptable and in some instances encouraged. I think "Will and Grace" was pretty much the first prominent show with a starring homosexual character. It was obvious to me that the message of the show was "Wow, gay guys are really cool and not the effeminate sissies you may have thought they were."

What I'm seeing now is the proliferation of these reality shows highlighting polygamy, i.e. "Sister Wives" and "My 5 Wives." I believe we will see more of these over time which will, again, serve to "normalize" this previously considered "taboo" behavior and move it into the acceptable mainstream. Soon after, we'll see laws forbidding polygamy start to go away as well. It's not a far reach into your imagination to see what the next step is after that.

 

[FaeryChild]

Fascinating thread!

I agree that there is a relational link between media (TV, music, etc.) and personality, but have always believed that the relationship goes in the other direction than is often thought. In other words, I believe that people are drawn to things in media which reflect who they already are and things that are dystonic will not be enjoyable to them.

For example, I listen to a lot of depressing music and I also struggle with depression. That isn't a coincidence. But I don't think any artist has ever made me depressed. I struggled with depression and that led me to be attracted to depressing music (even depressing Christian music). We seek to normalize what is inside us by having it reflected on the outside.

Violence is appealing only to someone who is already violent, etc. So, I'm in the "media reflects society" camp. If we look around and see that our media is excessively violent, we need to become less violent as people first and then violent media will lose meaning. Same for pornography and other things which may be taken as signs that society is sick. Which, of course, it sometimes is...
Looking to what is popular on TV, in the movies, on the radio, etc. is a good way to know what society is doing wrong (and right!). It isn't all negative, there's a lot of good media and a lot of good in society.

 

[MDCSWildcats86]

To answer your question, "No, it's NOT just 'entertainment'."

In re Glee, the series creator is gay, as are some of the stars/roles (sometimes both). As such, they do NOT see loaded words like "tolerance" as a two-way street.
This is why I don't watch Glee, period.

In fact, an openly gay newspaper writer on cable TV admitted he sees the T-word as one-way, and slurred those who think otherwise.

This is what we are looking at from the other end, folks.

 

[ananda]

Yes, one might think that one can safely ignore immoral references or language while watching TV or other media, but the constant bombardment of the mind with those ideas and practices slowly but surely wears down the conscience until one day, the person will realize that such immoralities no longer seems so offensive in their eyes.

I have no doubt this is by design.