Bonus: Giving a &*%$
"Christian film critics and readers weigh in on hearing no evil, and what makes language in film wrong, right, and R-rated."
Jeffrey Overstreet | posted 7/01/2001 12:00AM
5 of 5
Conclusions on Cursing?
Clearly, as with nudity, the answers don't come easy. There's no mistake—it grieves God when someone uses his name in vain, or uses idle words, and it should grieve us as well. But is it Christlike to shut the door and turn away from the sin of the world? We are to take up our cross daily. Feeling Christ's grief is part of sharing Christ's glory; the more we become like him, the more the sins of others—and moreso, our own—should sting. The early church was a place to which sinners ran, where they found acceptance, welcome, and encouragement. Like missionaries spreading our arms to a foreign culture, we must learn to understand the language, however difficult or flawed it might be, and then we must serve in humility, aware that there is sin in own language, our own hearts, no matter how many four-letter words we ever say. Close the doors, ignore the culture's art and expression, and how will we know their feelings, their hurts, their specific needs?
I also find it interesting that bad language, sexual impropriety, and violence onscreen are so unbearable to so many, and yet other sins such as lying, inappropriate anger, pride, and selfishness can be found in the tamest of children's stories, right down to Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. A Christmas Carol turns loose a Scrooge who demonstrates all kinds of evil right in front of our eyes. Surely his selfishness is exaggerated and hardly tempting (or is it?), but the more we draw near to God, the less tempting all the rest of these should become.
"Dirty words" get used as blunt instruments, with little thought to what they actually mean. They do mean something. There is a time and a place for them to be carefully employed, like guns, for a precise objective. The saints have indeed used harsh language, but if they did so correctly, they were actually "speaking the truth in love." Otherwise, such bad-mouthing reveals weakness, flaws, dangerous haste (which, in the course of a story, might be revelatory of a character's personality). Sharp words used out of place are tools of violence.
Which brings us to part three of our series.
Next week, we will raise questions about violence in the movies. The silver screen is showing us more violence all the time, even inventing new varieties. When should we take notice, and when should we shut our eyes? When is the cinema exposing violence, and when is it committing violence?
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