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Mormons & R-Rated Movies

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Years a Member: 22

In another thread we have discussed if it is enough if the prophet says so.  I have been told that the prophet has said we shouldn't go to R-Rated movies.

1.  Can you provide me with the reference to this?  In other words did he say no to R-Rated movies specifically or did he say something less specific and members have interpreted it to mean R-Rated movies.

2.  Do you then follow this counsel?  Why or why not?  This sort of comes under the heading of "The prophet said so, is that enough," But now it takes it a step further.  

I know many good members, some of whom have served in Bishoprics and are currently on the High Council in my Stake.  They attend R-Rated movies if they feel the reason for the rating is such that they can justify it in their own mind.  

I know of a situation where a young man in the Ward worked at the movie theater when several men with significant callings within our Ward and/or Stake came in and purchased tickets from him to an R-Rated movie.  This caused him a good deal of confusion because his parents had taught him that the prophet had said we shouldn't go to R-Rated movies yet here were these members of the Bishopric, Elders Quoram Presidency and High Council, going to an R-Rated movie.

Also, are these ratings used in all countries or just the U.S.  If the rating system is different in other countries, what is the determining factor there?

Movies R-Rated and Mormons

I can't give you any reference, but I have often heard it.

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2.  Do you then follow this counsel?  Why or why not?

I guess this is one of the areas where I am a bit rebellious.  I do watch some R-rated movies.  I know other people who absolutely won't.

Some PG-13 movies are worse than any R that you will ever find.  Some R movies are some of the best you will ever find, in every way.  We have one, Beyond Silence that is a German movie.  There is no violence, no bad language, and far less sexuality (no nudity) than in most television shows.  It is a beautiful, touching movie.

My thoughts on putting a blanket statement about whether or not to watch movies based on ratings is that by doing so we are letting someone else decide for us.  That is, we will let the ratings board, a group of anonymous, faceless people, use standards that we know almost nothing about, to make our decisions for us.  I think this is submission of our agency to someone else.

If these were inspired people, prophets, etc, I might think a little bit differently, but probably not.

I am responsible for the choices I make.  Perhaps I should choose not to watch any movies at all.  But I don't choose that way.

I will give some examples.

The Matrix.  An excellent movie, filled with tremendous symbolism.  I don't know if the writers and/or director had any idea of how powerful the symbolism is or not.  But it is a powerful movie.

Air Force One.  Explores quite a few issues, including loyalty and betrayal.  Otherwise, just a rousing adventure.

Beyond Silence.  About a young woman in Germany.  She is a gifted musician, playing the clarinet.  Both of her parents have been deaf since birth.  The movie explores her drive to become professional, attending special schools, etc.  Since her parents have never heard music, the struggle is between her parents' good, righteous desires for her, and her excellent, righteous desires for her own life.

One the other side -
Disney.  I love Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, even the Little Mermaid.  But come on.  Even the G movies have such historic and cultural distortions as to cause a person to really think before letting little children watch some of them.

Captain Planet.  Granted this is a cartoon show.  But this is some of the most invasive, politically correct trash I could imagine.  They are interesting, somewhat adventurous stories, but they portray essentially all technology and progress as evil.  They also teach a form of nature worship, including the concept of Gaia.


The point is, some of the things that the ratings board judge to be perfectly acceptable for our children are really quite bad.  Some of the things that the ratings board judge to be bad aren't.  Yes there are objectionable elements.  There are objectionable elements to The Quiet Man.  If we are going to watch movies at all, then we need to set our own standards, do some research, and make the decisions on our own.

I understand what the Prophets are/were saying.  I can't and don't disagree with them at all that we need to avoid some of these elements.  I just don't trust the judges, especially when they seem to work hand-in-hand with the movie industry to define deviancy downward.

NightHawk

Mormons & R-Rated Movies Studies Doctrine Mormon

I'd have to say that i'm not a great follower of that rule as well.  If its a bad movie i won't watch it, but alot of my favourite movies are R-rated....Black Hawk down for example.  There are alot of pg-13 and movies like Matrix 2 which are far worse in sexuality and stuff than alot of R-rated stuff.

Movies R-Rated and Mormons

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I guess this is one of the areas where I am a bit rebellious.  I do watch some R-rated movies.  I know other people who absolutely won't.

Does this mean that you recognize and accept that the prophet has said not to see them and choose to anyway?  Or, in other words, in this case it is not enough?  What I mean is, I guess, have you prayed about it and feel it isn't necessary or you just choose to ignore the suggestion or command or whatever it is?

I really like your examples!  I know of a few movies I saw during my long period of inactivity that were (are) rated R.  Whenever I discover a really good movie that I enjoyed which is rated R, I always think how glad I am that I saw it before reactivating.  ;D

One of the reasons I ask about the quote is because I wonder if we shouldn't just be doing exactly what you are, judging on our own.  Especially if this same rating system doesn't exist in other countries.  How are they to decide, but to judge on their own.

On the other hand, while it may not be a perfect standard, following the ratings guidelines and deciding not to see R-rated (if in fact, that is what the prophet has said to do) is probably better than going to movies regularly that contain a lot of violence, bad language or nudity because we misjudge.  I know from personal experience that as you allow yourself to be exposed to this stuff on a regular basis, it loses it's shock value and becomes normal to you.  Then it no longer seems bad, but the damage is done.

I know some people, who on their own, have decided not to see PG-13 and some won't even see anything except G.  I am not that extreme, but I believe in following the Prophet's counsel, so if he has indeed told us not to see R-rated then for me, I don't want to see them.

What about the influence a priesthood holder has on others when he is seen at these movies by either new converts or the Youth of the Ward.  Do you think a mixed message is being sent?  Do you think a Priesthood holder has any responsibility to others to set a good example?

Movies R-Rated and Mormons

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There are alot of pg-13 and movies like Matrix 2 which are far worse in sexuality and stuff than alot of R-rated stuff.

I know people who won't go to an R movie if it is rated that way due to sexual content, but they feel violence or bad language is o.k.

I am not sure if I agree with this.  I think it all offends the Spirit.  I know that I used to have a pretty foul mouth and used all kinds of "colorful" language.  Now when I hear really bad swearing, it shocks me in a way it never did when I use to use it myself.

I, too, wanted to see Black Hawk Down.  :(

I am not trying to change anyone's mind and I don't plan to change mine, but I really enjoy discussing why people make the choices they make.  Because we are all different and just because I make one choice doesn't mean everyone else should be expected to make the same choice.   I enjoy the enlightenment that comes from the discussion.

Also, sometimes I wonder if I might be too extreme so I enjoy hearing how others live their lives "in the World but not of the World" so to speak.  How we balance the Gospel with day to day life.

Mormons & R-Rated Movies

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Does this mean that you recognize and accept that the prophet has said not to see them and choose to anyway?  Or, in other words, in this case it is not enough?  What I mean is, I guess, have you prayed about it and feel it isn't necessary or you just choose to ignore the suggestion or command or whatever it is?

I recognize and accept what the Prophet has said.  Basically, although I don't like this part of myself, this is where I am rebellious.  I choose to see them anyway.

I haven't prayed about it.  I just choose to watch some.

I will agree that I/we shouldn't see them.  But, that is based on the idea that we shouldn't see ANY of them.

If the language, sexuality, or violence is so bad in an R-rated movie that it will have an adverse effect upon our spirituality, then shouldn't we also be rejecting the revisionist history, the casual acceptance of out-of-wedlock sexuality, the acceptance of homosexuality, or the anti-capitalist, anti-establishment, anti-Christian messages so prevalent in PG and PG-13 movies?

How about Blast From the Past (one of my favorite movies).  One of the main supporting characters is homosexual ("Thanks for being so happy").  Or Sweet Home Alabama, in which the main character has been living with and sleeping with, a man who eventually asks her to marry him, all while married to another man.  How about Shallow Hal, which I have have not seen, and don't really have any desire to see.  It is rated PG.

Sorry, I can't even think of any more movies right now.

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What about the influence a priesthood holder has on others when he is seen at these movies by either new converts or the Youth of the Ward.  Do you think a mixed message is being sent?  Do you think a Priesthood holder has any responsibility to others to set a good example?

Now, this is probably the best question yet.  Because I occasionaly watch an R-rated movie, and own a few, my children don't think twice about watching them.  We own The Matrix, and my 9 year old son has watched it several times.  My oldest son, 17, has watched Dogma, and we have discussed the basic philosophies within it.  Yes, it has some of the worst language in any film, but the concepts and philosophical underpinnings are brilliant.

It is not a good example for a member of the priesthood, especially a leader, to be doing this.  That includes me.

Now, to one more item.  Language is frequently brought up as being a major concern in R-rated movies.  Let me tell you - the language in my 4th grade class, in a Mormon community, over 30 years ago, was much worse than anything in Dogma.  By the time I was in High School, I could have taught all these movie makers a thing or two about language.  Do you think that hearing Linda Fiorentino use that language is going to have a greater effect on my 17-year-old than hearing it all day at school?

So, I will go back to my original thesis.  We need to set our own standards, and abide by them.  We need to research movies, using reliable sources, then make decisions based upon our standards.  Otherwise, we had better just reject all movies, all TV, and all other media, including this one.  Because they are all objectionable in one way or another.

NightHawk

Mormons & R-Rated Movies

Hollywood and the movies industry in general is making very hard for everybody to watch a movie without foul language or sex scenes. Even movies made by LDS directors have several problem with them.
Look at the cartoons nowdays, my 3 years old son loves the Power Rangers and they're always fighting and he starts to play with his toys fighting with each other : and this is a show for children! : Same with disney shows that were accused for such a long time of being racists since they never have black people on them...so sometimes we make a big deal about a movie whether is rated R., G or PG but we don't realize that the shows our kids watch on TV every day are even worst than the ones in the cinema!.
I am not a cinema lover, actually, I hate to go to the cinema (I can't stand sitting down for 2 hours or more just for a movie) so I usually watch the movie years after on television  lol so I don't really know before hand whether was R or PG . But I totally understand the Prophet's view about rated R movies, but it's sad to say that besides Sesame Street there is almost no shows that cannot be consider 'R'.
One of the movies I loved the most was 'Schindler's List' and I'm sure it was rated R.

Mormons & R-Rated Movies Mormon Doctrine Studies

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but it's sad to say that besides Sesame Street there is almost no shows that cannot be consider 'R'.

Didn't Sesame Street recently include a homosexual couple in it?

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One of the movies I loved the most was 'Schindler's List' and I'm sure it was rated R.

This is an excellent example of what I have been trying to say.  By allowing a "ratings board" with only 5 types of descriptions, to make the decisions for us, we give up our agency.

"Don't ever watch an R-rated movie" seems like an awfully broad statement.  Again, it means that we must trust a group of faceless people who may or may not have standards similar to our own, to make the judgements for us.

In England there is a rating system that uses completely different standards from the US system.  How about Germany?  Italy? France?  I can guarantee you, after spending 6 years in Europe, that the standards are completely different than here.  Movies that are rated R for sexuality in the US are shown on television, uncut, in Europe.  In Europe, Schindler's List was required watching for students, at least for a while.

So, what do we use to judge?  I say we have to ask God.  I know a man who has taken that exact tack.  He explained to me that he spent a day in deep, powerful prayer.  He was trying to get his life in order.  While praying, he learned that he must avoid R-rated movies, unless the Spirit suggested he go to them.

Just something to think about.

NightHawk