Cinematic obscenity and the assault of young minds
“Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world” (NLT) Ephesians 5:3-5
In just a century after the display of uncensored nudity by Audrey Munson in the movie, "Inspiration", the entertainment industry has careened out of control. From Hollywood to Bollywood, Nollywood, Ghallywood etc. hardly a romcom goes by without a sexual scene. Pornography, which was considered abominable has become the new normal in our movies. We seem to have lost the battle on censorship. Just think of these lines that I cuddled from an article published in the "Economist":
"The future of obscenity law is murky and uncertain. Modern moralists worry about the ubiquity of porn—stuff that nobody even bothers to argue has artistic merit. But some brave teachers are trying to make a virtue of it. Sexually explicit material can also be used to spark classroom discussions on topics such as safe sex and gender equality, as some teachers in Denmark are already doing. The hope is that talking frankly will mean that when it comes to issues like sexual consent, the next generation will know it when they see it".
The imagination of millennials in this current generation and the future generation is under assault. Given the unfettered access to the internet and to all kinds of ever-evolving technology, I shudder to think about how young people and even adults can keep their minds pure. But there's hope! Just as Lois and Eunice instilled the fear of the Lord in young Timothy (2 Timothy 1:5), parents, guardians, preachers, and all people responsible for the spiritual and moral development of the current and future generation should arise. Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a Scottish writer, politician and patriot once said "Let me write the songs of a nation - I don't care the one who writes its law". Let us purify the minds of our young ones with the word of God and good reading so that they can be critical thinkers and filter the information they get access to. If we can do that successfully, we don't care how the world writes the laws on obscenity.