We are into the time of year where any rational parent will take their television and lock it up, throw it away, or just smash it. In the Senses Novels, there is violence and even a little insanity, but it is never gratuitous and, it is always in context. Can the same be said of the generation of ‘slasher films’ that seem to pervasive throughout this season?
Horror is a genre that I am very familiar with. I am ashamed at times to admit that some of my inspiration comes from one of the great horror writers of the last century. But even back then, the terror always had a reasonable ‘back-story’ to it. Today, from what I have seen, and I really don’t watch much of it, what is called a horror film is nothing more than an excuse to fill the screen with scenes of people being mangled and blood flowing like a river.
As a parent, I would not allow my children to view horror films. What would be the point? They do not depict any form of reality that a child will ever have to deal with. The only purpose in allowing someone that has not reached the age of reason to view this kind of movie is some self-justification for watching it yourself. Now, I hear a cry going up, “But I enjoy those kinds of movies.” My only question to people who say this is, “Why?”
What could possibly lead a person to enjoy watching others getting slaughtered for zero purposes? These movies aren’t about war or natural disaster, they are about wanton killing for its own sake. As an author, I understand the use of the death of a character in some unique fashion, but it is to make a point, not to feed some primal desire for murder.
Christians who watch these types of movies baffle me the most. Why would a follower of Christ fill themselves with this kind of garbage? I watched a video recently where they talked about, of all things, movies and the effect that they have had on society. The person, who had worked in the movie industry, pointed out that film had become one of the most potent weapons the enemy has. She verbally took the other person she was talking to through the history of how movies and television have slowly eroded the morals so plainly laid out in the Bible. It is to the point where someone from the 1800’s would not recognize anyone today following Biblical standards at all. Some call this ‘moral evolution,’ the truth is, it is a de-evolvement to a time when we had no moral guide.
My advice to parents today is to not let the slide into chaos go any further with your children. You won’t be able to control what they watch or what they do in a few years, but you can help set the course today. Hid them away from the barrage of awfulness that this particular time of year seems to heap on all of us.
I am praying that all of you are having a good week.
KM
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