Last week we considered our attitude to media. You cannot take the right actions without first having the right attitude. Laws and rules don’t help without a renewed heart and mind. So implement change in your mind before you implement change with your hands. One follows the other but what you do follows very closely on what you think. First, have the right attitude toward media and the garden of the mind.
But what about some practical tips for media consumption. Well let me share with you what I do to help me manage what I watch and therefore manage what I think about.
Firstly, I limit the time I spend watching video streaming services, and of the given video streaming services I only have Netflix. That’s to say, there is only a limited amount of media I can watch because I only subscribe to one service and what it offers. I don’t want to endlessly watch shows. I want to read and write, and spend time in community. I want to game, and exercise and do a range of other things. So I limit myself to one service and its limited content. And even then, I don’t use it a lot. I basically never use it alone, but always watch shows with friends and mostly with my wife. In one sense this is because I don’t want to eat my whole birthday cake on my birthday. I want to enjoy the cake for the next week or two. I want to pace myself and get the most out of it. So I only have Netflix and even then I manage the time I spend watching it.
Secondly, and most importantly, I pre-emptively screen every TV show/movie that I watch on IMDb’s parents’ guide. I have a list of shows and movies and they only make the list if I’ve screened them beforehand for any sexual contact (particularly). I’ve been practising this meticulous process for some time now and it’s basically become second nature to me. I don’t at all trust the tags or content ratings provided by the shows themselves. They are too general. Nudity might be forensic nudity and not sexualised nudity. Sexual references might not be sex scenes, but they can be so vivid and perverse regardless, very little is left to the imagination. Some shows say they only contain strong violence. But as I look at the IMDb parents’ guide, so much sexual content passes through the radar seemingly undetected. The IMDb parents’ guide also has different levels; mild, moderate, severe. If anything makes it into the severe category, it is immediately out. I’m not going to watch it. Even if it’s just one scene in one episode, the whole series doesn’t make the cut. If it says it’s moderate, it’s not going to make the cut. These scenes are often, “implied sex.” Contributors might say, “you can only hear them but you can’t see them”, “it’s happening in the background but it’s out of focus”, “they start undressing each other but the scene only lasts for a minute until it cuts away”. It doesn’t make the cut. The director knows exactly where your mind is going and what its thinking. If the IMDb parents’ guide says the content is “mild”, then I have to read it carefully. Because these are just ordinary people who are filling out the parents’ guide. They have very interesting ideas and very different standards at times to myself. What is “mild”? I like to watch a lot of anime, so “mild” might be, “every female character has large breasts and tight clothing”, “some characters grab females breasts, but it’s only for comical effect”, “a shot of a fully nude lady from behind, but you don’t see any breasts.” This sort of stuff is not going to make the cut, but it is still considered “mild” by many. So I would be reading it carefully. Other times I can put up with “mild” content such as, “two people kissing”, “two people kissing passionately”, “crude sexual humour”, “scene with a naked woman’s silhouette in the shower, although nothing explicit is seen”. I have to make a wisdom call on these things. And I have to consider the genre of the show or movie. Action movies tend to be more liberal with their sexual content, leaning towards the side of eye candy. Crime shows tend toward a tense atmosphere, so sexual content may not necessarily be sexualised content. These are the kinds of considerations that I want to be making before I watch any show or movie.
Finally, I am experimenting with Netflix and limiting the content it shows me to Australian ratings M+ and below. I am not sure how long this will last, as some MA+ content is rated as it is due to action violence more than anything else. Nevertheless, I am curious to see how this goes and it’s actually quite an effective way of limiting content of a sexual nature. But it’s still crazy to see what kind of sexualised material is only considered M+. (As a side comment, I’m particularly talking about sexual content obviously. You might apply what I am doing to violent content, or supernatural content etc. Generally speaking however, I think action is more permissible than sexual content. But that’s a whole other discussion.)
Perhaps that seems rather dramatic to you. But I, “Do [not want to] conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [my] mind.” (Romans 12:2). I’ve set high standards for myself because God has set high standards for me. And I’m better for it; a clean and clear conscience, peace of mind, better relationships with people, and most pertinent to the topic, greater enjoyment of what I watch. Isn’t that the whole point? Only watch the best stuff. If you only watch the best stuff (the cleanest stuff, the most well thought out stuff, the most story rich, ingenious writing), then get this, you will be watching the best, more well thought out, story rich, ingenious shows and movies. Isn’t that what we want? The answer is not always an obvious “yes” given what people watch these days. Consumer culture churns out algorithmic violence and sex. And then consumers wonder why the fast-food gives them colon cancer, diabetes, constipation, and a range of other undesirable conditions. But for the person who moderates what they watch, eating only the best food for thought, will you not reap the benefits? Moderating your own content with particularity will pay dividends.
However, it does come with some drawbacks. Besides the obvious amount of work you have to put into considering what you will watch, there is the fact that you will miss out on some critically acclaimed and renowned shows and movies. There will be conversations that you are not able to engage with because you are ignorant – and that, intentionally so. In fact, I was looking for some crime-dramas/detective stories recently, and heaps of the highly ranked and recommended shows contained explicit nudity and sex. I’ll be missing out on some of the best crime fiction/detective shows there are. And if you adopt higher standards, then you will too. At first this will be annoying, and it will continue to be annoying (although less as time goes by). But consider it a badge of honour. You have a higher calling, you have high standards. Don’t put up with trash, throw it out. Better still, don’t bring it into the house in the first place.
“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5–6)
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