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One suggests that a 16-year-old defy her father and pursue the person most
incompatible with her (The Little Mermaid). One implies that all first
dates should end with a kiss (Aladdin). One distorts American history
beyond recognition in an age when students need prompting to name our
nation’s first president (Pocahontas). No, Disney films are not
automatically OK just because they are made by Disney. And conversely, some
films with sexuality or violence need those elements to make important and
truthful statements. As Christian author Ken Gire says in his book
Reflections on the Movies, “I would rather be told an R-rated truth than
a G-rated lie.”
The problem is not so much the presence of violence and sexuality in film,
it’s how the violence and sexuality are played out as they are. Each film
needs to be evaluated according to its own special design. For example,
many of the so-called “teen slasher” films should be decried and condemned
for the way explicit violence and sex are used for effect, purely to
arouse. The typical romantic comedy, by way of contrast, often uses
isolated instances of implicit sexuality to entice and attract to the
theater its primary audience - young adults. We need to recognize the
difference between films that have no redeeming value and those that simply
lack consistent taste - regardless of the ratings that may be attached to
those films. Not only this, we need to recognize that there may be other,
perhaps more dangerous messages in films than the violent or sexual ones.
How many films do you know of that were rated “R” because of graphic
materialism (or envy, or pride), for example? Let’s at least be consistent
and judge a film’s merit, or lack of, on its ability to convey truth with
artistic excellence, and not just on its rating.
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