It's almost Halloween. I watched a horror movie. To some of you that seems perfectly normal. To others of you, you might be surprised if not a little disappointed to hear I watched one (or two). Either way I feel a sense of guilt about watching a horror movie and I wonder why.
Now I'm tempted to write an entire post about what constitutes a horror movie. Is it the presence of grotesque violence? However, most people would argue that Saving Private Ryan is an important historical movie, not a horror movie. So maybe then it has to do with the occult or senseless killing.
But then again, I've read some interesting articles about why horror movies connect with people and how they can truly reveal what scares us that we often refuse to face (mainly death). Moreover, I'm also tempted to write about why people are drawn to horror in a society that is often a distance with war, disease and even death (many of us have never seen a dead body that wasn't well presented in a funeral home or church).
Yet, rather than using my head I will simply use my stomach. All I know is I felt gross afterwards, I felt dirtied. I know it's not popular, especially in Southern California to critique media and whether a Christian should partake in movies, T.V., music, etc. However, just because we can build up a tolerance to simulated violence, sex and fear, does that mean we've spiritually matured or simply dulled our senses? How much do we really want to blur the line between what we can tolerate if not enjoy on screen and what we can tolerate and ignore in the real world. I am the biggest hypocrite because I watch a lot of T.V. and movies, but I'm afraid to stop asking these kind of questions.
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