What movies can we watch?
Question
Hey there Gramps,
I have a question for you if that’s alright. So I’m a convert to the church and I remember one of the first things I learned in seminary was that we don’t watch rated “R” movies. Which seems legit, given the raised amounts of violence, nudity and profanity. Then they said that we could watch PG-13 movies if it wasn’t too bad. Now that has always confused me. Is it okay to watch something if it swears a little, but still has a great over arching message? Where’s the line?
Wyatt
Answer
Dear Wyatt,
John Taylor shared the following story:
“Some years ago, in Nauvoo, a gentleman in my hearing, a member of the Legislature, asked Joseph Smith how it was that he was enabled to govern so many people, and to preserve such perfect order; remarking at the same time that it was impossible for them to do it anywhere else. Mr. Smith remarked that it was very easy to do that. ‘How?’ responded the gentleman; ‘to us it is very difficult.’ Mr. Smith replied, ‘I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.’” (“The Organization of the Church,” Millennial Star, Nov. 15, 1851, p. 339).
So rather than telling you where the line is, the Church has opted instead to follow Joseph’s example by sharing correct principles. You can find these in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. In the section on “Entertainment and Media” we read,
“Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit.”
Now govern yourself. Draw your line and stick to it! You will find that you feel uncomfortable with vulgarity that others are ok with. Walk out anyway. You will be shocked at the immorality that others give a pass. Turn off your TV anyway. You will be surprised that some are offended at music that you find perfectly reasonable. Be polite and change the station. The courtesy of self-governance goes both ways.
Gramps
I’ve always had somewhat of an unanswered opinion/question/comment on this topic. If the scriptures themselves were accurately and fully put to movie form, it would be rated NC-17 by way of violence alone, and even rated X because of some of the profoundly graphic sexual content described in the scriptures, particularly in the Old Testament. This seems to be a rare but genuine case of doctrinal conflict that the church has yet to fully address.
“…anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable.”
Do the scriptures present the immorality and violence therein as acceptable? Or do they point to it as a highly undesirable consequence of poor choices? That might make the difference.
Personally i find that “doctrinal conflict” has more to do with my lack of understanding and study of a subject than it does the subject itself. Seek and knock after those answers and the doors will be opened to you. Don’t wait for an answer to come out and bite you get on your knees and start hunting it down. They are out there.
I think the answer by Gramps is sound. In the previous version of For the Strength of Youth, the church actually did draw a line on R-rated movies. They appear to have realized that was problematic and have updated the current language to reflect that. I suspect part of the problem is that when drawing a line on, say, R-rated movies, it inadvertently gives license to watch anything “below” an R-rating. Anyone who watches many movies knows that many PG-13 movies are indeed worse (more obscene, more suggestive and even more degrading and raunchy) than many R-rated movies. Hence, they removed the line.
The best recent general-authority talk I have read that deals specifically with this is in 2013 at a BYU devotional by Robbins in the first quorum of the seventy. Here is the link. It is an excellent talk: http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=2135
I remember President Kimball stressed not watching R rated movies. Some people reveled in the idea of watching bad movies that were not rated, or movies that were PG-13 etc. There is a rumor (I’ll call it nothing more than that) that a general authority (named in the rumor, but I’ll leave the name out here since I’m not authenticating it at all) was seen in line to see a particular R rated historical war movie (again, I’ll leave the specifics out). The story goes that someone confronted him about it and he responded that each person has to decide for himself, and his his view the movie’s benefits as an accurate retelling of history made it worthwhile to see, and the violence wasn’t gratuitous. In addition to that, the church is a worldwide church, and drawing the line at R rated isn’t necessarily applicable to all the other countries or cultures where a different type of rating scheme is in place.