A myopic individual recently wrote to “Dear Abby” with half of a valid argument about the influence that movies, television, and books have on our society. She published his letter (and commended it) on Sunday, March 10th. Since such “wisdom” frequently is repeated in society, his letter deserves a response.
He argues that the entertainment media do not influence our young people. If it did, “please tell me what books Cain read before he murdered his brother Abel. What soap opera did Lot’s two daughters watch that influenced them to get their father drunk and commit incest? And what vile movie prompted the woman at the well to take up a life of dissolution?”
On the one hand, he demonstrates beyond any reasonable objection that the entertainment media are not responsible for all of our social ills. Cain apparently originated the idea of murder since such an evil deed was entirely outside his range of experience. In doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Satan who had never seen evil, period, in any form–until he instituted sin by rebelling against God. Certainly, people do not need to be prompted to transgress; we can be genuinely inventive.
On the other hand, this truth hardly proves that television or movies have NO effect on those watching. Has not the author of this article read about the recent toll booth bombing, which was imitated from a scene in a movie? Has Abby never heard of gangs following the lead of a television show by setting an elderly person on fire? Just because sleazy characters don’t need an evil deed set before them as a pattern to follow doesn’t mean that they won’t duplicate one that they see. Many times, it has been discovered, life imitates “art.” Just as some may be too quick to credit the media for society’s ills, others seem too anxious to discount their influence.
The next error the letter-writer revives is that the media merely reflect society. “The media do not set the trends–they follow them.” Oh, really? So Madonna was just copying current “styles” with all her bizarre garments? And, pray tell, what part of society is reflected by the language one hears in TV sitcoms (and the multitude of sexual innuendoes)–fraternity houses? Sorry, but the entertainment media can not be absolved from responsibility by a few worn-out assertions that they don’t set trends. As stated before, it’s a two-way street.
There’s a Market For It
“If no one bought tobacco, apples, or potatoes, no farmer would raise them. If there were no demand for smut, no one would go to the expense of providing it, because without profit, there is no incentive.” Ooh, such logic! Please dispense a few more gems! [Abby appreciates his “common sense.” It’s common, all right, but sense is not the correct noun for common to modify.]
So, because there is a market, that justifies it, eh? Isn’t there a market for marijuana, cocaine, LSD, and other illegal and harmful drugs? Yes, and isn’t there a market for child pornography? Why, yes, there is. And might there be a market for murderers? Why, we have heard of “hit” men, have we not? In short, invent the most disgusting, vile, despicable things imaginable, and eventually THERE WILL BE A MARKET FOR IT!
So what does that prove? If anything, the conclusion of the matter is that we should have no laws whatsoever (this is only “common sense”). Far be it from Americans to quench the profit motive. And those do-gooders that would try to censor risk-taking entrepreneurs (such as those who show XXX-rated pornographic films in their business “establishments”) should just shut up, mind their own business, and leave everyone else alone.
Peers Only?
The letter-writer affirms that we get many of our ideas from peers, from “friends among us.” With that fact there can be no argument. The Bible says: “He who walks with wise men shall be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Pr. 13:20). Proverbs 1 contains a lengthy warning for young men to avoid falling in with the wrong crowd (8-19). The New Testament states it this way: “Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33).
But are peers the only ones who exercise any influence over us? What about parents? Aunts? Uncles? Someone five to ten years older than we are? What about Bible school teachers? Preachers? Those older than we are who exhibit genuine wisdom? It would be difficult to evaluate the exact amount of impact that a school teacher, policeman, or some other public figure might have had upon us. We may be inspired by a great many people.
The same thing holds true for books, movies, and television. Who does not imitate words, expressions, and attitudes from these media? Anyone who remains skeptical might want to explain the origin of the following terms: “Cowabunga, dude,” “Don’t have a cow, man,” “Sock it to me,” “Excellent,” or preceeding every sentence with the word like. “Well, isn’t that special?”
The Missing Cliche
About the only thing missing from this “Dear Abby” column is the trite expression, “If you don’t like it, turn it off,” as though social problems will be eradicated if we all just pretend that none of themexist.
Well, let’s suppose all decent people refrain from seeing the current crop of television shows (actually, it’s not difficult). How will that help if the little neighbor boy talks with a foul mouth around other children because his parents refuse to monitor or discipline him? And what if the ten-year-old boy across the street (inspired by his daddy’s videos of Pamela Anderson or some other shameless beauty) decides to attack a little girl on the way home from school?
None of us lives in a vacuum. It is worse than naive to think that when the sewers back up, if I wear a clothespin over my nose, the neighborhood won’t stink. Where did Lot’s daughters get their brand of immorality? Could it have been from the town they lived in, which was full of perversion? Andwhy was it full of corruption? Perhaps because the new family (Lot’s) was told to mind its own business and let others do what they wanted to? John Donne’s “no man is an island” meditation cannot be applied only to positive societal concern at the expense of eliminating its detrimentalelements.
Another fundamental flaw of being a moral isolationist is that permitting the moral garbage to pile up validates it. So some people do not subscribe to HBO or the Playboy Channel. But there is amarket for it, after all. Many participate in such “services”; so they must be all right. Young people especially live by the credo, “If it’s legal, it must be all right.” It’s time that something was done aboutpornography and blasphemy. “Just turn it off” doesn’t work. Decency and morality is everybody’s business.