TV and Movie ratings aside...

[Bini]

We've had many discussions about whether a Mature or Rated-R TV/movie is automatically inappropriate for LDS to watch. Though there's been opposite opinions, many agree that a TV or movie rating alone, doesn't necessarily equate to "bad". While you might not want your 13-year old to see it, you are comfortable and see nothing wrong with you or your spouse watching it, for example. That said, I think everyone agrees that content categorised as "pornography" by the creator/s IS inappropriate for viewing.

The question: Are there any TV series or movies, regardless of rating, that you feel is outright inappropriate for us as LDS to watch? That means, you wouldn't feel comfortable having your children OR you see it. Is there one that we would all agree on?

I was talking to my niece, and she and her husband just bought the Game of Thrones series, and are excited to watch it. For those of you unfamiliar, it contains graphic but simulated (though uses real and full nudity) sexual activity. (My husband and I had watched it but never finished it to the end.) I told her what to expect so she wouldn't be shell shocked. They are Temple newlyweds. She seemed to understand but didn't seem to take my heed very seriously as it has received nothing but great reviews. After sitting on this conversation with her, I began to think about my own TV and movie choices. If I am okay with watching graphic but simulated explicits, where do I draw the line when it comes to non-simulated explicits? Especially, when often times there is little difference between the visual of simulated and non-simulated. I recently, through another forum, was told about Nymphomaniac that stars Shia Labeouf from Transformers. It is supposed to be an "artistically" directed movie about a 50-year old woman's sexual journey, and incorporates non-simulated sex with the actors, including the aforementioned actor. Some of my forum ladies want to see it solely because of Shia Labeouf's role in it. It's funny how my view has changed a bit on this stuff because I'm pretty liberal about nudity and sexuality. And anyone that knows me, knows that I'm all for "artistic presentations". As an ending note, I am not condemning anyone that chooses to watch either of these. I'm just sharing some of the personal changes I've made.

[Crash]

I said in another thread that I am not that spiritual, though I do have a strong testimony of the church.

I do watch Game of Thrones, watched Breaking Bad, and I watch The Walking Dead. That said, I HATE the violence and gore in these shows. I've considered not watching them anymore because of it.

I think the principle behind what we choose to watch is that if it doesn't invite the Spirit to be with you, it is probably not a good idea to watch it. It is about the Holy Ghost's ability to speak to and prompt church members.

As an adult, I can discern between good and bad quite well but I will never allow my son to watch such things. His mother excoriated me for letting him watch Poltergeist even though he loved it and wasn't scared. Children can't discern between good and bad as well, and I have found that even though things might not affect me that much, except the gore parts (I think those are unnecessary), children will see them and be affected by them differently.

That is my take on it, anyway.

[Backroads]

Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies. My daughter will not be watching it until she is 17.

I read as many Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones' book series) as were published when I was in college and LOVED the series. So my husband and I watched the first season and were really quite disgusted. The books were no doubt just as sexual, but I can jump past written scenes. Plus, I'd say the tv series was a lot more gratutious in nature.

Yes, I'd say that series is too inappropriate. Perhaps if they weren't so pushy about the sex.

[The Folk Prophet]

Seems to me that there is, based on many conversations I've had, read on forums, etc., a real misunderstanding about how sensitive the Spirit is.

But, granted, it's a complicated thing. We have been warned against relative morality. But what is and isn't "offensive" is clearly relative to some things. Offensive things are cultural in some ways. Like exposing an ankle. At one point, quite scandalous. Nowadays, it's quite proper to have an ankle exposed even at church. Not offensive at all.

But it does seem like there is a certain level where this moves past that cultural mores. I personally can't very well see it ever becoming appropriate to attend church buck naked, even if walking around naked in public becomes acceptable...a direction society seems to be heading.

Regardless, the bottom line on entertainment is, if it offends the Spirit, stay away. I would dare bet that all of us continually excuse things that we should not in this regard. And I would dare bet the level where we should be is way, way below the line where we actually are. IMO, Game of Thrones should not even be on the consideration list. Not even close! Your basic sitcom in today's day and age should not even be on the consideration list.

As for the hard line where we'd all agree. Impossible. I am ultra, ultra conservative. And yet, there is music that I find acceptable that my parents think downright evil. We just read things too differently. There is good reason that our leadership has not given us a hard line in these things. The line we draw for ourselves requires careful prayer and consideration.

One other thought. We can't be sensitive to when something offends the Spirit if we don't actually have the Spirit with us. If we're walking around casually offending the Spirit in most of what we do without thought, we sure won't notice when it leaves.

[notquiteperfect]

One thing you (and others) may want to consider is that everything is energy. If a person surrounds themselves with negative energy (i.e. hate, anger, violence, etc.) than there will be negative consequences. The highest energies (emotions anyway) are love and gratitude which better health is a result of. You may also want to know that some people have the ability to sense where your energy is at and may choose not to be around you if it's lower than what they wish to be around.

[skippy740]

Some shows on television that I refuse to watch are Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother. They are just too graphic and absurd for me.

Although I do enjoy watching Big Bang Theory myself, it's not a show I would want my children to watch. I don't want them to think that such relationships outside of marriage is okay.

[The Folk Prophet]

Some shows on television that I refuse to watch are Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother. They are just too graphic and absurd for me.

Although I do enjoy watching Big Bang Theory myself, it's not a show I would want my children to watch. I don't want them to think that such relationships outside of marriage is okay.

I love the Big Bang Theory! I agree with you on it though. Sometimes I think I really shouldn't watch either. But, as you right point out, I'm not likely to be influenced by it like my kids might be. I say that...but does that mean I'm not influenced by it. Moreover, is it uplifting me?

Difficult to say.

[bytebear]

It's unfortunate, because you can tweak storylines to make them more appropriate. I hate a movie that throws in cuss words for no real reason.

[Bini]

One that I think is a joke are these teen parent reality shows. I think how they're setup just glamorises what isn't the typical outcome for a teen mother and or father. They bother me and although I've got an episode here and there, I think it's pure rubbish to be honest. I wouldn't want my daughter to sit and watch that crap.

[dahlia]

One thing you (and others) may want to consider is that everything is energy. If a person surrounds themselves with negative energy (i.e. hate, anger, violence, etc.) than there will be negative consequences.

f

Good point. I can't pinpoint a particular movie, but there are films that I've seen and won't see again, or new films that I think will just make me angry and serve no useful purpose, not even entertainment.

That said, I watch films and TV that interest me. I had no problem with 'Breaking Bad' - 'cause it's TV, not real life. It spurred conversations with my son about choice, behavior, etc. So for me, not only was it good entertainment, but provided an opportunity for us as a family to talk about how we want to behave, even if things are not going well.

I haven't seen 'Brokeback Mountain,' not because of the homosexual element, but because it shows married people breaking their vows. All of my friends just see it as a gay movie, it's all right to be gay, struggles of gays, etc. To me, that's not the point. There are other people, families, involved whose lives are shattered by the selfish behavior of the main characters.

Same thing with 'Pretty Woman.' Never saw it, not because the main charterer is a prostitute, but because it encourages the 'someday my prince will come' fantasy thinking by women who need to work on improving themselves, not wait for some man to take them away from all of their problems.

[Guest]

Good point. I can't pinpoint a particular movie, but there are films that I've seen and won't see again, or new films that I think will just make me angry and serve no useful purpose, not even entertainment.

Good Will Hunting comes to mind. A super awesome storyline ruined by f-words every 2 minutes.

That said, I watch films and TV that interest me. I had no problem with 'Breaking Bad' - 'cause it's TV, not real life. It spurred conversations with my son about choice, behavior, etc. So for me, not only was it good entertainment, but provided an opportunity for us as a family to talk about how we want to behave, even if things are not going well.

I saw a few of these last Saturday. I'm not sure what I think about it. It's this layer of it's bad but it's done for a good purpose so it's all good whereas his partner is just all bad. I guess it would be much better if they actually have a higher level of good to compare Walt against... okay, I guess his brother-in-law is that good although I can't help but equate him to the Sopranos dude.

I've walked out on movies. Saving Private Ryan is one - I can't get past the first 5 minutes. There's this movie with Nicholas Cage in it - I think it was called 8mm - I walked out on that one and exchanged my ticket for Shakespeare with Gwyneth Paltrow in it and I walked out on that one too. Walked out on both movies on the same day and I was not LDS at that time.

Several church members group partied to Hancock - everybody walked out after the prison scene except me and my husband. Same thing for Pitch Perfect - they all walked out, I stayed. Same for This Means War - they walked out, I walked out too because my son walked out, not because I chose to walk out.

So yeah, we have different levels of what is appropriate. But, as far as rating goes, I mostly avoid R and is selective of PG-13. I think the Church advice to take out the wording about rated-R movies is not so you can be "looser" on the guidelines but so that you won't think it's PG-13, must be appropriate... and also to include those in countries that have different ratings.

Edited January 27, 2014 by anatess

[Windseeker]

I banned my daughter from watching How I met your Mother and Gossip Girl after seeing a couple of episodes with her. I allow them to watch The Office and Parks and Recreation which can get edgy but in general it's not all about hooking up like those other shows. I don't let them watch anything from MTV (ie. Jersey Shore etc..).

We don't allow Family Guy or South Park starting 3 years ago, even though the humor appeals to me, just way too cynical.

We do allow the older kids to watch Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

We encourage shows like Psych, Sherlock and Merlin.

My wife and I watch Burn Notice as well which has allot of scantaly clad women in allot of in cut scenes but it's not much different then going to the beach down our road, and its not overly done imho.

[The Folk Prophet]

My wife and I watch Burn Notice as well which has allot of scantaly clad women in allot of in cut scenes but it's not much different then going to the beach down our road, and its not overly done imho.

From the age of (whenever I hit puberty) through to (whenever my libido calmed down ever so slightly in the last few years) this show would have been a bad idea. Now-a-days, I agree with you. I still avert my eyes though (something I'm more capable of doing at 42).

[Just_A_Guy]

Just_A_Girl and I are too much of cheapskates to pay for cable or satellite--have been for our whole eleven years of marriage--and we just got Netflix in the last year. Having been AWOL from television for the last decade, most of the new TV series that are available via Netflix strike us as frankly shocking.

We started, at various times, Lie to Me, Bones, Downton Abbey, and Chuck; and ultimately felt like those shows just weren't worth it. At this point, other than kid cartoons (bless the creators of My Little Pony!), we pretty much limit ourselves to Everybody Loves Raymond, Psych, Once Upon a Time, and (our guilty pleasure) White Collar. And really, if you think about it, each of those shows have issues too.

[The Folk Prophet]

...other than kid cartoons (bless the creators of My Little Pony!),...

Phineas and Ferb!!

[Maureen]

My kids (in their twenties) and I like watching How I Met Your Mother. We especially like the little teasing endearments towards Canada and Canadians. One scene with Robin (who's Canadian) talking to her dad (who's Canadian) about New York City and how she loves living in NY and her dad can't figure out what's so special about NY. He's says "It's just like Edmonton minus the arts and culture." :)

M.

[Vort]

In general, I enjoy Adventure Time and am fine with my kids watching it. But the last one I saw, "Apple Wedding", where Treetops the elephant got married again...to the pig...with her mother making out with one of her ex-husbands in the background...I have to admit, the Weirdness Factor on that one was dialed up so high that even I was wondering about it.

[SpiritDragon]

Before you brought up this post I was naive enough to believe that there would be a consensus among members of the church about what is inappropriate to watch, I can now clearly see this is not the case.

I personally find nothing on TV worthwhile these days. It is all vile and has crude irreverent overtones in the humour (or lack thereof).

There was a period in my childhood when the Simpsons was banned at my house, but it didn't hold. My parents were right to ban it though... we didn't benefit from watching it in any way. I mean we had our laughs, but it also has a lot of crude humour.

In general I find it quite simple to lay out rules for what I should not watch. If there is any nudity it isn't appropriate. If the language is out of hand it isn't appropriate (I generally operate with a 10 swear rule, after 10 I usually leave), I also find no place for crude humour, sexually suggestive tones, excessive violence.

A disclaimer so as not to be hypocritical: I have watched movies and shows that by my own rules are not acceptable. On rare occasions I feel it may have even been worth it. Truly, though I mostly think the entertainment business is one of Satan's best tools to keep us distracted from things that actually matter.

[skippy740]

Yes - Phineas and Ferb is great! So is Burn Notice! (I equate Michael Westen to the greatest Boy Scout that could ever live. )

I watch The Mentalist as well as Hotel Impossible on the Travel Channel. I've been growing tired of Chef Robert Irvine on Restaurant: Impossible with his immediate yelling and criticizing of restaurant owners. He didn't use to be so judgmental at the beginning of the show. I think it's wearing down on him.

We're kinda starting to get into Doctor Who... but I'm really trying to limit my television time.

Oh, and I love watching Star Trek reruns - all of the series.

[carlimac]

Just_A_Girl and I are too much of cheapskates to pay for cable or satellite--have been for our whole eleven years of marriage--and we just got Netflix in the last year. Having been AWOL from television for the last decade, most of the new TV series that are available via Netflix strike us as frankly shocking.

We started, at various times, Lie to Me, Bones, Downton Abbey, and Chuck; and ultimately felt like those shows just weren't worth it. At this point, other than kid cartoons (bless the creators of My Little Pony!), we pretty much limit ourselves to Everybody Loves Raymond, Psych, Once Upon a Time, and (our guilty pleasure) White Collar. And really, if you think about it, each of those shows have issues too.

Uh huh! We've all been sitting around watching Everybody Loves Raymond when a topic comes up that we just don't feel comfortable having our under 12 daughters watching. I basically don't watch anything but Downton ( I'm 3 episodes behind at this point) and news channels. Sometimes HTV although that gets repetitive and the weather channel if there is some juicy event going on. I never know what anyone is talking about when the conversation goes to TV. My husband watches sports and Big Bang Theory. I only hear it from afar and it just sounds stupid.

[Traveler]

There is very little on TV that I feel can be recommended. A while back I decided to exclude anything that took the L-rd's name in vain. One by one I eliminated almost everything on TV (even news and sports) - with the exception of General Conference and BYUTV programing.

Another problem I have is that I have studied Joseph Goebbels (Hitler's propaganda minister). He stated that the most effective form of propaganda is entertainment because it is possible to change someone's mind about things without them realizing that their opinion has changed. He was particularly fond of humor in entertainment - saying that anything a person will laugh at they will eventually embrace over time. He also stated that who ever controls the entertainment of the masses controls the masses.

If Jesus came by my home, I seriously doubt that he would request that we watch much of anything on TV or go take in a movie. I do not think he would forbid but I am certain he would recommend that the ratio of scriptures and other literature to TV and movies would be greater than what presently is going on. I also think we would caution away from the popular things of the world --- hmmmmmm perhaps he already has done so symbolically.

The more I think on this the less I am inclined to offer much if any of my habits as any kind of an example.

The Traveler

[Guest]

I personally find nothing on TV worthwhile these days. It is all vile and has crude irreverent overtones in the humour (or lack thereof).

There is very little on TV that I feel can be recommended. A while back I decided to exclude anything that took the L-rd's name in vain. One by one I eliminated almost everything on TV (even news and sports) - with the exception of General Conference and BYUTV programing.

The Traveler

I can name at least 20 right off the bat.

NFL, College Football, NBA, College Basketball, <Australian/US/French/Wimbledon> Tennis Open, 5PM news, 6PM News, 11PM News, (I've never heard the Lord's name used in vain in these programs), Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, The Price Is Right, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Minute to Win It, Ninja Warrior, America's Best Dance Crew, Singing Bee, America's Got Talent, Top Gear, Brain Games, Jeff Corwin Experience, River Monster, PBS Concert Special, Rachel vs. Guy, Love it or List it, Curb Appeal...

I can go on and on and on... and I'm not even including the spiritual stuff like the MoTab Concerts and Conference talks and 700 Club.

There's tons of good stuff on TV. Just like anything else - you get to make a choice on how you spend your time... especially nowadays when you can watch any TV show at any time of the day. So, it's 8PM on a Monday night, you get to take a pick - do you watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Family Guy or Love and Hip Hop or Top Gear or Rachel vs. Guy or Brain Games or Anderson Cooper?

Lots of choices - good and bad and everything in between. They're not all vile and crude and irreverent.

Edited January 28, 2014 by anatess

[Guest]

If Jesus came by my home, I seriously doubt that he would request that we watch much of anything on TV or go take in a movie. I do not think he would forbid but I am certain he would recommend that the ratio of scriptures and other literature to TV and movies would be greater than what presently is going on. I also think we would caution away from the popular things of the world --- hmmmmmm perhaps he already has done so symbolically.

The more I think on this the less I am inclined to offer much if any of my habits as any kind of an example.

The Traveler

If Jesus came by my home, I'm quite certain he would sit down and enjoy watching Bindi the Jungle Girl with us on TV while having His dinner. He'd be making lessons out of it like telling us how every living thing on the planet is his creation and that Bindi is doing a great job showing them off so my family can appreciate them. I can even imagine Him watching one of those Morgan Freeman narrated shows on the Science Channel and explaining to us how yes, that one is how I made the earth, no that one isn't - close but not quite... over his freshly squeezed lemonade.

Because... just like our Articles of Faith says - what is good and of good report and praiseworthy is not limited to scriptures or other literature written on paper. TV and movies are just as good literature as paper writings. And there are tons of people making very good use of that technology in line with our Spiritual goals.

[notquiteperfect]

Unless you're recording everything and can skip the commercials, those should be considered as well, imo. Sometimes they're just as bad or even worse than the show!

[Traveler]

I can name at least 20 right off the bat.

NFL, College Football, NBA, College Basketball, <Australian/US/French/Wimbledon> Tennis Open, 5PM news, 6PM News, 11PM News, (I've never heard the Lord's name used in vain in these programs), Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, The Price Is Right, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Minute to Win It, Ninja Warrior, America's Best Dance Crew, Singing Bee, America's Got Talent, Top Gear, Brain Games, Jeff Corwin Experience, River Monster, PBS Concert Special, Rachel vs. Guy, Love it or List it, Curb Appeal...

I can go on and on and on... and I'm not even including the spiritual stuff like the MoTab Concerts and Conference talks and 700 Club.

There's tons of good stuff on TV. Just like anything else - you get to make a choice on how you spend your time... especially nowadays when you can watch any TV show at any time of the day. So, it's 8PM on a Monday night, you get to take a pick - do you watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills or Family Guy or Love and Hip Hop or Top Gear or Rachel vs. Guy or Brain Games or Anderson Cooper?

Lots of choices - good and bad and everything in between. They're not all vile and crude and irreverent.

Perhaps you and I have a different take on what constitutes taking the L-rd's name in vain. Without going into listing specific moments in many of the programs you listed - just last night my wife was watching "Love it or list it" while I was cleaning up the kitchen. The couple highlighted in the particular broadcast walked into their home with new upgrades and excitedly exclaimed, "OH MY ---!"

The Traveler