By Chuck Gartman

“Freedom!!!” William Wallace cries in the last scene of “Braveheart.” The sound and pathos reach out, grab you, and capture your emotions. A similar thing happens in the movie, “Independence Day,” starring Bill Pullman, who plays the President of the United States. His speech as the troops are preparing to attack the aliens is one of the best fictional inspirational speeches I have ever seen or heard. Old movies, to be sure, but the principle of emotion-grabbing is common to nearly every movie.

Don’t forget the subtle advertising in movies, either. Have you seen a Pepsi can or a bag of Doritos or a Starbuck’s shop in any movies recently? If so, you may have been influenced to buy some of those products. All this is to say that movies have a tremendous impact on the lives of youth. They capture our imagination, our emotions, and our actions. We can’t ignore that influence. As Youth Leaders, we need to remind our students often of this influence.

One person has said that we either have to engage the culture or it will engage us, so the thoughts in this article relate to the former statement. I believe there must be some intentionality about our movie attendance. For me personally, I love movies, but if I am not careful, I will let them influence me in adverse ways, so we need to guard our hearts.

Think with me about Hollywood’s view of the world. If we are not intentional about our movie watching we may be drawn into the lifestyles the movies are portraying. All of the following statements are in direct opposition to our Christian’s world view.

1. Sex has no consequences and it’s definitely ok outside of marriage
2. Bad guys win without consequences—consider the numerous reality TV shows now.
3. Christians are naïve and often misguided buffoons.
4. A beautiful body is a good body.
5. You can’t have fun without drinking alcohol or using tobacco in some form.
6. Life is boring and you have to do extreme things to make it interesting
7. The dishonorable is honorable.
8. More violence and horror is better.
9. Religion is a crutch.

With the preceding thoughts as the backdrop here are a few thoughts about intentional movie watching.

1. Work at building a screening system into your mind. What I mean by this is that you need judge everything that goes into your mind via movies (and other media, for that matter) by Christian principles. You obviously cannot know and practice Christian principles unless you are reading/studying the Bible, praying, worshiping, and meeting regularly with other Christians in fellowship.If something on the screen is wrong—whether it’s a word, an action, an attitude, or lifestyle, judge it as it is—wrong. Then when you find yourself in a similar situation you will already know what is wrong and can refrain. Of course, the opposite is true as well. If something is good, judge it as it is and you will be prone to act appropriately when you find yourself in similar situations.
2. “De-emotionalize.” Identify emotions that draw you into movies—fear, sensuality, concern, violence, etc. When you feel yourself being drawn into an emotion that you know is not a good one for you as a Christian, acknowledge it, and intentionally say to yourself, “I will not be influenced here.” Be careful to be aware of the subtle messages, as well, because they are many.
3. Avoid extremes. Just because a movie has a certain rating doesn’t mean that it is to be avoided at all cost. (You would have missed The Passion of the Christ, Braveheart, The Matrix, and Gladiator, just to name a few, if you have that reasoning). It does, however, require wisdom and discernment from God as you watch it. (Please do not use this as an excuse to go see every “R” or “PG-13”rated movie in town—some of them are just not appropriate for us a Christians. Visit www.screenit.com or Focus on the Family’s “Plugged In” for some guidance in this area).
4. Remember to pray a lot. Ask God to show you His truth in all that you watch and hear.
5. Remember that you end up being what you think, so Paul’s message to us in Philippians 4:8 is a great ending to this: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what is admirable—if anything is praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

Used by Permission, LifeWay Christian Resources Portions of an article, “Movie Watching Guide,”  written for Collegiate Magazine, Summer, 2006.

Chuck Gartman is the Youth Ministry Professor at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX. He is also the President of “Go To” Ministry, Inc. Need someone to train your youth leaders in effective Bible study leadership? “Go To” is your solution. For more information call 806-535-4684.