The 2000 film Gladiator follows the story of a fictional Roman general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), in the 2nd Century AD of the Roman Empire. He is betrayed by Emperor Commodus and catapulted into the life of a simple, but exceptional, gladiator. We follow his journey from defeat to fame, and along the way one scene bears a chilling resemblance to our current climate of entertainment.
In one of the smaller arenas that will eventually take Maximus to Rome, the disgraced general battles five other gladiators before a packed audience. It’s a gruesome, bloody, but brief battle. Maximus slaughters all five, decapitating the final foe with unnerving precision.
The crowd is quiet, muffled by the unexpected brevity and brutality of the killing but, at the same time, infatuated by Maximus’ expertise.
But the crowd is shocked when Maximus voices his disgust. Once a principled soldier who fought for the honor of Rome, now he is killing men in a contained arena for the pleasure of the depraved crowd. He hurls his swords into the stands of spectators, and he stretches out his arms and shouts at the crowd, “Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” And in a final show of contempt for what this has come to, he spits on the ground and marches out of the arena.
And such is entertainment today. Apart from the Bible, our culture has no objective standard for what constitutes art, and we are confused about what is good and beautiful. Truth has been sacrificed on the altar of amusement. So we think we are participating in art when our most profane instincts are tantalized. We cry out for “entertainment,” and Hollywood obliges by giving us the worst of human nature.
Since the coronavirus has cable networks on their heels, the streaming services find themselves in the perfect position to take advantage of the public’s insatiable desire for “entertainment.” Already producing original content, Netflix and other services are leaping into the gap, paying actors and entertainers exorbitant contracts, and providing productions that reflect their own visions for entertainment rather than simply streaming what others have already created.
Add to that our human confusion over what qualifies as art or beauty, and the overall disdain Hollywood has always had for truth, goodness, and boundaries, and our culture is ripe for the continuing evolution of “entertainment.”
Or at least Netflix thinks so. That’s how we got “Cuties.”
That Netflix would offer a film that sexualizes preteen girls should not surprise us. And we should have seen it coming. Alongside the demise of art, we have been simultaneously downgrading children and elevating sexual license. Driven by feelings, preferences, and the impulse to amuse, Hollywood is convinced that when the crowd wants to be entertained, it yearns for the base, the brutal, and the perverse. And the more perverse, the better.
Even so, why should Christians care what Netflix shows or what we watch? You can just turn off the TV. I do. Or cancel your Netflix account. I did. So, should we care what Netflix passes off as entertainment?
Yes, we should care for two reasons:
- We should care because we have a calling.
Christians are called to be the conscience of the culture, to keep waving the flashlight of truth in the middle of the darkening moral landscape (Matt. 5:14-15). Each generation of the church is that generation’s moral voice, even if that culture is crumbling into depraved chaos (Matt. 4:17).
This is a matter of obedience, but we are consistently disobedient because we have been conditioned to favor popularity over obedience (2 Tim. 4:3). But the pursuit of popularity cannot coexist with our calling. You are either popular or you are a light in the darkness. You will almost never be both (John 15:18).
But if the church does not stand for morality, who will? And if the church doesn’t cry out against the exploitation of the innocent in the name of entertainment, who will?
Not the industry itself. Among the most disturbing and disappointing realities arising from the controversy surrounding “Cuties” is the deafening silence of the #MeToo crowd and the celebrities tied to Netflix, who watch from the arena bleachers but evidently don’t want to get involved. They have abandoned these children. And what about the parents of these children? Who knows. But we have a calling. We have to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves (Prov. 24:11-12, Matt. 18:14).
But speaking up doesn’t mean we have to be caustic, unkind, or constantly berate our friends and neighbors (Titus 3:2). We point out that we want the culture to be good and to do good. Christians are called to be role models of doing good things (Titus 3:8). Few things impact the moral conscience of the culture more than Christians who produce good works.
- We should care because it matters how we are entertained.
Have you ever wondered why we like to be entertained in the first place?
The pursuit of entertainment reflects the story of our creation and our purpose. God designed people to be fully satisfied in our relationship with Him. But the sin of humanity corrupted that desire and now we turn to other means to satisfy that yearning. Now in our confused condition, we seek to satisfy the depravity of the fallen nature. We substitute the temporary whims of entertainment for the sustainable joy of a right relationship with our Creator (Phil. 4:4).
And the Bible routinely warns believers to protect their most precious resource, their minds (Prov. 4:23). The avenues of entertainment we focus on will infiltrate our spirit and impact our choices, our productivity, and our walk with Christ. So, in Christ, these desires are to be renewed and transformed–turned back to the pursuit of the One who initially captured our imaginations and called us to recognize beauty as what He defined, created, and provided for our pleasure (1 Tim. 6:17, James 1:17, Ps. 145:9).
Christians tend to respond to the perversity in cinema in two ways, neither of which are biblical nor helpful. On the one hand, in our contempt for what we see in pop culture we spit on the ground and walk away, turning our backs on the culture we were called to inform and influence. On the other hand, we join in as a part of the audience, both fascinated and repulsed at the same time.
But the Bible gives us another alternative. A biblical worldview informs us of what it means to be human, and we should influence those around us with this insight. Pretending that a film like “Cuties” is good entertainment diminishes the whole human race. The Bible reminds us to replace the profane and mundane with what exalts God and elevates our lives to the places He desires. We can choose to grovel in the mess, or to grow in the grace of God (Phil. 4:8). But we cannot do both.
The culture might provide the depravity that they pass off as entertainment, but if we don’t know the difference and we participate alongside a lost and corrupt culture, as if living for Christ makes no difference in our choices, the problem is not first with the culture.
It’s with us.
Bob
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this important matter. The takeaway for me is the reminder that we cannot be both repulsed and fascinated by these forms of entertainment at the same time. This is how we know the problem is not with the culture, but as you say, “It’s with us.” God grant us grace and mercy!
Brian Davis
So true! Thank you Brian!