I just watched the last 15 minutes or so of a movie with my daughter. She was watching it when I came into the room where she was. She navigates Netflix better than I do. Because we set up her own profile, I don't worry about her getting age-inappropriate content like nudity or cussing. But what I as a parent wish I could filter for is themes explored in movies. Or messages promoted by this move. Or worldview. But then, I doubt she'd have anything to watch at all.
Have you watched kids' shows lately? Maybe they are not that much different than our shows. But as a mom, I watch them with new eyes. In this article, Eric Metaxas reminds us that "every film has a worldview message, for good or ill." It is true. Every book, every show, every movie, every person has a worldview. And it shows. It comes out in the words we write, the scenes we film. And of course, we see them, take the messages in, and lodge them in our memory. Shows (both on TV and the silver screen) have the ability to influence the culture.
Some of you scoff. Check out these 10 movies that changed the world.
TV shows have messages for their viewers. They do not just reflect the culture. And what messages are we telling our young children? What was the message the sages behind this particular show wanted to tell my daughter? Just follow your heart. Nothing new there. This was the major theme of Romanticism.
Not ROMANCE, Romanticism. The Movement. Romanticism was started in the second half of the 18th century (AKA Age of Enlightenment) along with a host of other -isms. It was kind of a reaction against the stoic Rationalism and Aristocratic ideals. In a nutshell, it placed enormous value on strong emotions. Like Naturalism, it idealized untamed nature and all things "natural." If you followed your heart and your passions, you would find your true self and your true path.
Does that sound like every kids' movie to come out in the last 20 years or what?
But, when we look at the reality of life, we understand that choices have consequences. And our hearts are fickle. Our emotions play tricks on us.
In this movie, the young protagonist, an orphan, wished to be a dancer. She failed to practice, failed auditions yet because she had heart she ended up getting the lead in the ballet. With little to no instruction, she could dance and complete jumps others more experienced had tried, but could not do. She danced on rooftops, on the tops of chairs. And of course, she got the boy, and a family too.
From what I saw of it, it was a cute movie. But like everything else, it should cause pause. I needed to talk to my daughter and remind her that we don't follow our hearts, we follow God's plan regardless of what our heart says.
I don't cheat on my husband when I see some handsome guy. My heart may say I want to, but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. The Bible calls that emotion lust and tells us to run from it, not give in to it.
I don't hit my neighbor or my children when my heart is super angry at them. We have laws about that and the Bible says "in your anger, do not sin."
There are days when I am overwhelmed and tired of bringing in firewood. I don't want to cook a meal and I have no desire to homeschool. Since my heart isn't in those things, should I just skip it? If a new momma misses her old life of partying and staying out with friends if her heart isn't really into motherhood today, should she just go do whatever her heart desires?
Yes, I am being absurd, but that is the essence of what we are saying to kids over and over again in these movies. Don't ask your parents. Don't ask any adult for advice. Just follow your heart! Don't worry about laws or consequences, it will all work out if you just follow your heart. You can travel for days up an ice-covered mountain all alone to find your sister. You can talk sense into her because you care so much for her. You can break all of your parents' rules and do your own thing - and in the end, if you just stay true to your heart, it will all work out and your bumbling parents will figure out that you were right all along.
Blech!
I'm not saying all kids' movies are crap.
I'm not even saying we need to stop watching the movies and TV shows.
I'm just saying we need to talk to our kids about this stuff. They need to know that not only are the stories not real, the messages are bunk, too! Some of the messages they are bombarded with do not hold water in real life and they do not live up to God's standards.
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