It never ceases to amaze me what this world calls entertainment. And I'm not going to launch into a lecture about how entertainment used to be so much better, because even though I feel that way in a sense, I know it's not completely true. Just take a look at the Romans; they loved coliseum fights. That's not exactly what I would call good and wholesome entertainment. It seems as if mankind has always taken pleasure in watching sex and violence and other things we say we really should be so interested in.
Today in my Mass Communication and Society class, we had a "guest professor", a woman who is a doctoral candidate for the school of journalism. She was talking about interpreting media messages, and she asked the class to share what some of our media "guilty pleasures" were, that in spite of our background and knowledge, we still enjoy these things. Her example was America's Next Top Model, which isn't too terrible, but then some of the examples that were given by students... good grief! One girl was talking about a show that she likes and she said, "They do all kinds of crazy stuff on this show. And I know it's bad... but I just can't help but watch."
And to think I almost raised my hand to share that Hannah Montana was my guilty pleasure, which I'm not "supposed" to be watching because I'm 21 and not 12!
But that's not to say that I have never taken interest in anything I shouldn't be interested in, but I do try to stay away from it, which is exactly why I watch Hannah Montana (and other Disney shows). But even "kid" shows and movies aren't exempt from indulging in a little vice here and there...
It's ironic how you can watch a new movie or show made for kids and think that it's terrible, but then if you go back and watch something from your childhood, you realize it wasn't as wholesome as you remembered either! If you don't believe me, watch Pinocchio! You'll be amazed!
So where do you draw the line? Should we be legalistic and keep the TVs away? I say let's just be wise and discerning. If you what you are watching affects you negatively, whether it be by the way you act or think, I think it would be best you stay away. In Philippians 4:8, it says that we should only think about "whatever is true... noble... right... pure... lovely... admirable... excellent or praiseworthy". Tonight in my focus group (small group/Bible study) we'll be talking about how God made Himself so clear to the Israelites and gave them exact instructions for the smallest things, but now we rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance. And that's exactly what we have to do when it comes to this...
Anyhow, I definitely did not mean to make a sermon out of my story for the day, it just sort of happened! I hope everyone had a good St. Patrick's Day and avoided being pinched!
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