Hi! I'm Nate Marshall. I am a film enthusiast and Teacher. This site is for you to discuss any films on your mind.
All Rights Reserved Nate Marshall 2008
Aug
1
Yea I just ordered my copy. go HERE. OK im a geek but how is it possible to resist this. And the bonus is proceedes go to Charity!! Im so freaking happy! Harry Potter news just keeps getting better. Go see the new trailer here!
Jul
31
Sorry for the comments section being funky for the last week or so. You can now post comments without waiting for approval. That was a overlooked menu in WP I didn’t see.
Jul
31
So due to some missunderstanding of my message caused by my terrible writing I would like to present this again. This version is much the same but more clear in its intent and purpose. Thanks!
So when you say porn most people think of sexually explicit romps viewed by college kids and creeps. and I guess we could say yea that is pornography. but I have been having discussions with people about the media lately and what we decided is that there are more than one type of porn. Let’s start with a definition to work with. I’m going to state that porn is something designed to distort reality (read: Goodness Truth Beauty) intending to create a sudden and heightened physiological reaction in the viewer. This by definition should be a bad thing. I think most people agree on this.The reason that it is wrong isn’t in the actual acts or events but in the representation of reality. The reality of Pornography is damaging to the viewer if they begin to think the real world is like the porn world.
The first type of porn is the obvious easy to avoid pornography. It is intended to arouse the viewer sexually and draw a compulsive audience. It has that specific purpose and intent in its creation. The reason that it is so powerful is that it has shadows of truth in it. Sex is good, men and women should enjoy a sexual relationship. But obviously we are no supposed to be marketing, selling or watching it. At the very least porn cheapens sex and makes it boring. One of the bigger problems that sexual pornography is that with prolonged exposure the distortion of reality is inevitable. If sex becomes a performance or an instrument of personal pleasure instead of a relationship and a communication of love and a expression of Christ’s love for his church then we have lost the whole meaning of sex.
So what other kinds of porn are there? There are a few subjects that can stray into the porn arena that usually are not really considered porn but should be.
Movies have a history of dramatizing violent acts. I don’t think there is anything wrong with this in and of itself. Violence in films can have it’s use and serve a purpose. Heck the bible has some of the most incredible scenes ever of battle and carnage. Though the current trend in films is rather disturbing. We have taken the reality of violence and distorted it into something that audiences seek out for pleasure. This is disturbing from this filmmakers perspective because this constant distortion of violence changes the audiences perception of violence in standard films. The thing is that films like Saw and Touristas, and Death Race distort reality, and to a culture of people immersed and saturated in violence pornography The Godfather turns out to be silly and ineffectual in its message. The most terrifying scenes are now Laughable to my students because they have been exposed to horribly graphic violent acts. Violence pornography does not just ruin the current films on the market, they actually affect the classics when viewed by modern audiences and this is nearly intolerable to me personally.
The news media has been in the business of propaganda for a long while now (like when it started…or before). I will leave it at that for this one. (as a note Colbert and Stewart get a free pass because they are satire not “news” although yes most people my age get their news from them). Sadly most news suppliers are only thinly veiled propaganda machines with agendas reliant on creating sudden heightened reactions from their viewers. At least The Daily Show and Colbert Report are honest about what they do. Don’t tollerate being lied to or decieved, don’t let a talking head distory reality in your home.
This type of porn is what I like to call the Hallmark channel porn. This type of media is designed to represent a world that does not exist. This type of media is purely created to infect you with constructed realities designed to withdrawl the highest possible phisiological response from the viewers as possible. this cathartic emotional enema is nothing more than a cheap drug. This is damaging because with prolonged exposure viewers will start to look at the world in the same way that the hallmark channel represents, and they will yearn for those carthic moments in real life. When they dont get them they think there is somethign wrong with their reality so they go back to the media to fill that void. This creates the same vicious cycle that all of the above create.
This is the one that bothers me the most. You know the type media that I am talking about by now. As a Christian it bothers me that this type of media has become the most recognizable part of christian culture. these films represent a world that is only fractionally true. It presents a picture of being a christian that is false. It shows Christianity as a push button answer to all the worlds problems. The scary part is people are acclimated to this type of Christian media and fall into the false reality the same as others fall into sexual or emotional pornography. This one is the most terrible in my opinion becaus eit deals directly with our creator and redemer. if our perception of him is manipulated by these films, and we are no longer able to see reality clearly then we could danm others by our actions and words. we could lead others astray so easily with this type of media and exposure to this media. my only comforting thought is that the bulk of this pornography is so poorly made that it should be obvious how false its reality is. but when we make emotional christian pornography it can be like a drug for some people.
I’m not sure what can be done to reduce the effects of these types of pornography besides education people about personal responsibility. I think it is important to show people that there are some very dangerous types of pornography that are equally as damaging to society and to yourself as any other. These should be avoided and spoken against. We should not tolerate it in our community and if we see people consuming this type of media we should speak to them in love and do what we can to help them rehabilitate themselves to the truths of the world. Our goals should be to help those struggling to see the truth and have been led astray by harmful worldviews that can corrupt their life.
If you are finding yourself as a consistent viewer of one of these take some time to consider the way you view the world, and honestly evaluate your actions. If you find that you are affected by this media in your everyday life you may have a problem. I know it sounds silly and a little to serious but I believe that the last three forms of pornography mentioned are the most prevalent and dangerous because they are not commonly thought of as dangerous and have been accepted into society.
Be strong and call out porn when you see it and drive it from your life. Refuse to be manipulated any longer. Reality is not a construct it is tangible Truth! Don’t let something take that away from you.
Bring your thoughts to the table!
Jul
29
I’m Back from Lake Powell and I cant wait to get started again. I have 3 posts (possibly more) on the way
I’ll leave you with the titles to titillate your taste buds.
The first one will be comming tommorrow in the late afternoon.
Jul
22
As if we were not sure. Here is the link TMZ
The picture are meant to make you think they were taken “on the scene.”
OK wait I’m getting the news flash right now…yes…uh huh…yes it seems that they were taken on the scene…of the freakin’ MACHINIST!!!. . . So apparently Christian Bale does not look like a homicidal heroine addict every day? who would have known. Not the readers of TMZ.
Wow how evil do you have to be?
