Enjoy Movies, Without Watching Them!

The last time I watched a movie from beginning to end was the third installment of The Lord of the Rings. So it's been a long time, especially for someone with a college degree majoring in Broadcasting and Film.

Film is a wonderful medium for artists. It has a vast canvas, where layers and layers of stories, emotions, characters, themes, symbolism and other artistic elements can be packed in.

And that is one of the reasons I hardly watch any movie anymore. I don't see movies as much as entertainment, but as a work of art to be moved, experienced, analyzed and researched to death. With the life stage I am in, I can't, and I am not willing to commit my very limited free time and energy to do so.

Another important reason is that as a Bible-believing Christian, I'm wary of what goes into my head. Garbage in, garbage out. With a corrupted mind and sinful heart, I can hardly afford to actively put in more God-dishonoring language nor images in my head. There are movies out there with incredible directing, superb acting and beautifully shot, but the profane language and scenes of gratuitous graphic sex/violence ruined them for me. It's one thing to be in a sinful environment to minister and serve, but there's no eternally value to analyze why the director composed the shots in a certain way.

But that doesn't mean I need to detach myself completely from movies. I watch movie trailers, read movie reviews and spoilers, and even watch a few clips from Youtube if they look promising.

Not only it's interesting for me to keep up to date with what kind of movies are out there, it helps me to continue to know and understand the worldly culture, help me to relate to others without endorsing nor becoming like it.

There's a whole other discussion about how Christians should relate to the secular culture. But that's another post for another day.