Darkness is desired more than dollars? ...........Parables 651

August 24, 1999

According to one statistic, Hollywood makes 17 times more restricted or R-rated movies than it does G-rated flicks yet films for general audiences make 8 times more money. Go figure.

The obvious question is “What makes movie producers crank out reels full of sex and violence if they do not make as much money as films without them?” In a culture that places high value on making money, this is abnormal. The Bible may say “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” yet according to these statistics, there must be another root.

Sometimes those who produce pornography call it “art.” Do those who produce R-rated movies consider themselves artists of a sort? We question the motivation of artists who paint nudes. Are they perverted or not? Yet most of us know the difference between a Michelangelo and a Hugh Heffner. A playboy bunny is not the same as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Or maybe they have a hidden agenda? The more fearful among us would say these films are part of a conspiracy to destroy the minds of our youth. We can agree Hollywood doesn’t seem to care much about what they feed into anyone’s mind, but isn’t the box office competition too keen to grant movie makers a desire to band together with subversive motives?

Does social pressure make them do it? Is the demand for blood and smut loud enough to make the squeaky door thing a motive? If that were true, do they measure demand by noise over box office receipts? Society is sending a message in money but Hollywood seems to ignore it.

Or do they care what anyone thinks? Obviously, some in the motion picture industry are not into pleasing the public. Maybe they operate under the theory that if viewers see this stuff often enough and long enough, it will become more popular and more profitable. Are they that dumb? It seems economics and popularity have little to do with this strange statistical phenomena.

Perhaps another, more sinister reason lies behind their production. Could it be that some of them simply enjoy watching their sexual or violent fantasies come alive on the screen? Could it be that their deepest urges and desires, not generally allowed in society, find an “acceptable” expression in film?

Some would say no, it is simple ignorance. If producers only understood statistics, or even the ramifications of what they are doing, they would stop. Smut and violence would cease. Does education stop a glutton from eating that extra helping of chocolate cheesecake? Or is there an inner drive far more powerful than either ignorance or education?

This is the core of our human dilemma. We have high aspirations to be artists, to change lives, to please people, to be strong against the things that hurt us, yet who of us can say that our aim is always high? Sometimes we pick the wrong thing. Sometimes we simply spiral downward into evil without any obvious motivation other than we want to do it.

We forget that the root of evil begins with our sin nature. We enjoy doing what we know we should not do. Sometimes people claim, “I can’t help it” but those who choose evil are not interested in getting help — unless it enables them to have their cake and keep their waistline, or it allows their self-expression and earns them accolades.

Jesus came offering help to those who struggle against evil, yet He understood people. He said, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Every one who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

Money is not the main issue for those who like sex and violence. Instead, they find they can enjoy their passion by producing (or watching) it on film. Take note: these films are viewed in the dark. Also note: evil disappears if the Light is bright enough.