In Hollywood, Some Religions are More Equal Than Others

[nmoerbeek]

Preferences in entertainment will vary. I agree there are some excellent options from Ignatius Press. The crux of the matter is whether we will continue to fund Hollywood's values of deviancy, Catholic bashing, and greed; or whether we choose to financially support cinematic efforts that emphasize virtues and good moral decisions.

Every time a movie is selected for viewing you are supporting that choice with money either directly or indirectly. That's Free Will and ultimately our choices will be judged by God.  What will you do?

That is a false dilemma, there is no Kingdom of Hollywood, not every film produced by Hollywood espouses deviancy, Catholic bashing and greed.  It is not difficult to avoid evil films if one takes the time to read a movie review. 

[formerbuddhist]

How about just not watching movies or TV altogether, or perhaps just being extra cautious in ones selection?

[Cyriacus]

There are already enough decent, time-tested older movies, so that when one is inclined to see a film, one can avoid offending good taste. With recent films, much of the popularity is due to heavy advertising or the fickle dynamics of "hype." Most of what is made is just not worth remembering, let alone sitting through. I'd rather wait 15 years or longer in order to get a fresh perspective, removed from the buzz, so that I can spare myself from the overrated dreck Hollywood consistently shovels out.

I suggest working through the classic films distributed through the Criterion Collection and viewing the films on  the National Film Registry (NFR). Even then, the films are not necessarily of great artistic merit; they may just be shoddy in a particularly conspicuous way, like the Elvis movies. :sneaky:

[MiriamB]

Preferences in entertainment will vary. I agree there are some excellent options from Ignatius Press. The crux of the matter is whether we will continue to fund Hollywood's values of deviancy, Catholic bashing, and greed; or whether we choose to financially support cinematic efforts that emphasize virtues and good moral decisions.

Every time a movie is selected for viewing you are supporting that choice with money either directly or indirectly. That's Free Will and ultimately our choices will be judged by God.  What will you do?

That is a false dilemma, there is no Kingdom of Hollywood, not every film produced by Hollywood espouses deviancy, Catholic bashing and greed.  It is not difficult to avoid evil films if one takes the time to read a movie review.

Movie reviews by those same movie critics who heap 4 stars on deviancy such as "50 Shades of Gray" and "Brokeback Mountain" - hardly a reliable resource or false dilemma. Hollywood has its own marketing and PR machine and few people know its involved it seems. 

The sheer level of greed and money as well as the liberal agenda of Hollywood establishment has elicited a justified backlash against its immorality in the past 5 years. Gone are the years when uplifting and Catholic entertainment held equal footing with secular plots. Instead of The Bells of St. Mary's" and similar uplifting plots, Hollywood portrays nuns and priests as either buffoons or perverts.

Christians have noticed. They are taking action and creating independent films that address modern secular issues and moral Christian response to thee issues. Excellent case in point: October Baby portrayed the abortion issue using a realistic premise, excellent actors and even the priest was portrayed as a man of wisdom and compassion. This movie also was a financial success. Good and uplifting present day Christian movies are viable.

BTW: another excellent pro-life movie in theaters now is The Giver.

[JubilateDeo83]

Preferences in entertainment will vary. I agree there are some excellent options from Ignatius Press. The crux of the matter is whether we will continue to fund Hollywood's values of deviancy, Catholic bashing, and greed; or whether we choose to financially support cinematic efforts that emphasize virtues and good moral decisions.

Every time a movie is selected for viewing you are supporting that choice with money either directly or indirectly. That's Free Will and ultimately our choices will be judged by God.  What will you do?

That is a false dilemma, there is no Kingdom of Hollywood, not every film produced by Hollywood espouses deviancy, Catholic bashing and greed.  It is not difficult to avoid evil films if one takes the time to read a movie review.

I remember reading movie reviews for Brokeback Mountain by the USCCB when it came out.  If you compare the USCCB review of that film to the one they did for the Passion of the Christ, it actually rated Brokeback Mountain higher.  It's a loaded system and I wouldn't trust it.

I did see Brokeback Mountain because I was a college student at the time majoring in Communications and it was for film class.  Spiritually, it was a bad movie.  Everything in it was designed to make you feel bad for those two poor men, and ignore the fact that they were cheating on their wives and ruining their families.  Cinematically, it was very well done… the way Ang Lee's films often are.  I'd rather watch Sense & Sensibility, though :)