Do Television Shows/ Movies Affect The Way We Think?

[Jus10]

I was watching Smallville last week, which I think is a great show (love Superman in general) and right after a show called Supernatural comes on. Well I knew of the show but never watched it. I was up and awake and decided to check it out. The episode seemed interesting. These two brothers I guess fought supernatural forces. An angel came down and assisted them and talked about weapons of heaven being stolen.

*tongue in cheek*

I watched some of it, interesting, but didn't keep my interest. The preview for the next episode came up and one of the botheres turned into a vampire. :bigfrown
Okay, the show introduces heaven and angels and God and Satan... then vampire and werewolves and witched and whatnot.

Then I heard their last names... Winchester. A friend of mine (unsaved) had a dream once about an appocolypse (sp?) in which he was asked to take the mark of the beast. The Winchester brothers were in it.

First time I heard this I assumed God was trying to speak to him through his dream and use the opportunity for me to share Jesus, which I did. He received the message and thanked me, but that was it, didn't convert, nothing.

After watching this show, I understood that the dream was more than likely manifested because he watched the show, hence the Winchester Bros being in his dream.

This got me wondering, do shows like this affect the way we think? A better question would be does television in general affect the way we think?

In a sense it's like a viual form of music... some music makes us perk up, while other types of music make us angry, or depressed, or excited.

Here's a quote I just read ouot of the Ghosthunters thread:

TV, movies, and the like can lead a person to 'believe' in an alternate reality. It effects the mind. Our minds are where the battles of the flesh and the soul take place. One wars with the other and our mind is the battle ground. Some people do not like this battle, so they numb it by 'thinking on' things that seem 'neutral'.

Christ is clear when He tells us that we are either for or against Him. There is no neutral ground. Neutrality is against Christ. Movies, TV, and such may not look 'bad', but they do have an influence on your mind. Use discretion. If it does not seem peaceful to you while watching something, then do not watch it.

This quote is talking about television shows or movies in general. It was in answer "should Christians watch horror movies?"

I want to know the thoughts of other believers in here. TV shows... movies... have they ever affected your mood, made you think something, made you dream something? With shows like Supernatural, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer, even thought they are fiction do you think it could ruin the truth of the afterlife for non-believers, new believers, even mature believers?!?!

Thoughts?

 

[King99]

The mind is a powerful thing, and we are able to believe/not believe whatever we want to.

Whether it's television shows or movies, they are all meant for entertainment and do affect our moods. If you are watching a scary movie, the objective is to scare you. Therefore, afterwords you may be a little jumpy, think you see things, or have a bad dream. Or, if you watch a feel-good show about helping people, afterwords you may feel joy, and be uplifted. You may want to go out and help someone or try and be more giving.

These moods however don't last forever. It is the initial reaction to what was viewed, and some people act on those feelings and some people don't. I don't think we should not watch certain things for fear of changing our beliefs/attitudes, because if you truly believe in something, no matter what you watch, you should still have those beliefs.

 

[Sparkey]

Excellent question and pardon the paranoia in my reply but...

Consider that television is only part of the mass media campaign launched against our collective psyche. Newspapers, commercials, movies, political campaigns (from all sides), lobbyists and many others are also servants to those forces that are pitted against God.

Your question speaks of the Agenda-Setting Role of the Mass Media in the Shaping of Public Opinion and when we stop and wonder what has been given more value in modern man, the Word of God - or TV, we (every one) should be ashamed.

Would it be fair to say that we have Wicked above us and Liars on our Right?
Such a sad state of affairs, but let us not leave it at that. The LORD is on the throne and is more than able to accomplish everything that He has declared. We live in an age were we witness the setting of the stage for the final things of God. I'm excited to see it.

~Sparrow

 

[Lance_Iguana]

Yes and no.

Yes because everything we do, including movies, music, books, living etc., effect the way we think. Our mind obsorbs what we see and makes us think. A good show or movie will make you think. Especially about ethical questions or about what you really know. Its engaging. Dreams on the other hand are just random information our brain spews out while we sleep to help eleviate stress.

No, because the show can't make yo do anything. The impact a show has someone is based on their own critical thinking skills. If Someone watches the show J@ck A$$, then goes and has his friends throw bowling balls at him, its not the show's fault. its the fault of the person who goes out and didn't think about why they had warnings on the show or what happens when you get hit by a bowling ball.

If a person changes their views completely after watching a tv show or movie, maybe they didn't actually have that strong of a grasp on what they thought they held onto in the first place. Maybe they never thought of the situation the movie or show presented.

That's pretty much the gist of it.

 

[Nathan]

I want to know the thoughts of other believers in here. TV shows... movies... have they ever affected your mood, made you think something, made you dream something? With shows like Supernatural, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer, even thought they are fiction do you think it could ruin the truth of the afterlife for non-believers, new believers, even mature believers?!?!

Thoughts?

Well...I know I was already quoted.... But I thought I would just answer from another viewpoint.

Think about when you were a kid, think about any kids you may see. I find it interesting to watch my kids play. They will watch a 'cartoon' and then imitate it in play acting. Do they know the difference? Oh sure. They are just 'playing' around for a while based on it. I used to do it all the time. It, in and of itself is not evil. But does it stop there?

I think of these 'reality' shows. My wife loves to watch H&G t.v. She 'dreams' of a big kitchen, she loves to cook. Some people spend their time dreaming of things like this all day long. When confronted with reality, they 'cope' by thinking of how things could be. I find it interesting to read in Hebrews this particular passage;

Hbr 11:9-10 "By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God."

We know from the OT that Abraham believed God about this "land of promise". Yet when he arrived in the land, he pitched a tent. He saw all the other buildings around him. He could have very easily built at least a shack. But it says that he was looking forward to the city whose builder was God.

I say all of that to say this. Things we see as 'harmless' do have an effect on us. What is the first thing you would think if you saw someone living in a shack 12' x 12' with a simple tin roof, no garage, no nothing? You, as would I, would probably think they were 'poor'. And they may very well be! But what happens? We have almost been duped in todays "churches" that being poor, to that extreme, means you do not have God's favor. Why? Do they come right out and say it? Nope. Its called reverse psychology.

All you have to do is 'muddy' the water in what people think is the way things are, and then leave it up to them to come to their own conclusion. So, we talk about giving, about blessings, about things that God will give us. And it is usually talked about as "physical things". Now let me stop right here and say this is not true of all churches. Bear with me.

But the Bible is very clear. This present world, here and now, is going to be destroyed. Jesus went so far as to say don't even worry about what you are going to eat, wear, or where you going to sleep! Huh?? I mean come on, aren't we told that the basic 'needs' of mankind are "food, clothing, and shelter"? So was Jesus being sarcastic?

No. He was not. He just knew the tendency of man to 'worry' and/or 'dwell' on these things, and when we do that we look to the 'physical' or Biblically known as 'fleshy' things. Is it "evil" to think about food? No. And none of the rest either. But what it can do is lead to temptation to 'get' those things.

Now. Lets return full circle to the question at hand. If shows now days teach and preach that living a life of at least somewhat modest possessions, is 'happiness' and 'contentment'. Then what happens when you loose your job? What happens when you loose your house in a fire? What happens when someone hits your car door in the parking lot? You get sad, you get angry, you get mad. What happens when your child comes down with cancer? We ask, "why God, why???". Are we not supposed to? I am not saying that at all.

We are humans, we will feel hurt. But if we are constantly intaking into our minds one reality, and then another comes along that is completely different. It causes confusion and uncertainty. It leads to questioning and a drive to grasp onto something we can "believe in". What can happen is by allowing t.v., movies, and music to constantly show us one thing, when the opposite happens, we tend to think its not right. That something is wrong.

We have already lost touch with 'reality' today. We build bigger and better 'church' buildings, bigger and better houses, our lives are filled with lots and lots of 'stuff'. Are all these things evil? No. They are inanimate. They can be neither good or evil. But what is going to happen when they all get stripped away from you? Or...your given an ultimatum to choose them over something else? Its all about influences. Do not believe me? Think about how people used to live less than 100 years ago. Ok, now think about how people lived 2000 years ago. Now think about how the "fathers of faith" lived over 3000 years ago.

A lot has changed. More than that, a lot has changed in the last 50 years. Why? There is a control factor going on. Change ones 'thinking' and you change their actions. We know faith is an action of what we believe. Change one's "faith" and you change their action, and we as Christians know then that it changes one's eternity. It all links back to the mind/soul.

Jesus said it this way;

Mat 6:22-23 "The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

T.V., movies, music....they are not evil, but they ARE luring, enticing, motivating, captivating, they can, do, and will have an effect on the person watching and listening to them. It is the same as eating. You cannot eat something without it having an effect on you one way or another. Does it mean you will sin? Not necessarily, but it can lead to it.

Jam 1:14-16 "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

T.V., movies, music, books, games, etc, are all apart of the 'mental/spiritual' mind. Some can be physical, but for the most part it is all mental. The mind is the 'bedroom' where desire is conceived. Ever planted a garden? Did you purposefully plant weeds in it? Did they come up anyways? Did you just leave them?

Why would we consider our own minds any different than a garden.

 

[jasoncran]

if not then why doest it matter if a certian group is depicted one way or anothers.

is it good to laugh at sin?
each must decide what the limit of tv and media must be . i have no secular music in my car. nor do i watch tv. the wife does.

i will comment more on that show called supernatural.

 

[PouringRain]

We are all affected, but we are not all affected the same.

 

[jasoncran]

We are all affected, but we are not all affected the same.

very true. i cant watch gore. i can but i dont find people dying all that entertaining.

 

[Strangelove]

This got me wondering, do shows like this affect the way we think? A better question would be does television in general affect the way we think?

You might find this thread interesting Jus10:

http://www.christianforums.net/f15/watch-what-you-hear-31260/

Theres some talk about Satanic influence in the music industry and some good youtube video's on subliminal messages in TV and movies.

((When I signed in today under my name it said "Not a Christian" and my Avatar doesnt show up,,any ideas why?))

 

[Elijah674]

I was watching Smallville last week, which I think is a great show (love Superman in general) and right after a show called Supernatural comes on. Well I knew of the show but never watched it. I was up and awake and decided to check it out. The episode seemed interesting. These two brothers I guess fought supernatural forces. An angel came down and assisted them and talked about weapons of heaven being stolen.

*tongue in cheek*

I watched some of it, interesting, but didn't keep my interest. The preview for the next episode came up and one of the botheres turned into a vampire. :bigfrown
Okay, the show introduces heaven and angels and God and Satan... then vampire and werewolves and witched and whatnot.

Then I heard their last names... Winchester. A friend of mine (unsaved) had a dream once about an appocolypse (sp?) in which he was asked to take the mark of the beast. The Winchester brothers were in it.

First time I heard this I assumed God was trying to speak to him through his dream and use the opportunity for me to share Jesus, which I did. He received the message and thanked me, but that was it, didn't convert, nothing.

After watching this show, I understood that the dream was more than likely manifested because he watched the show, hence the Winchester Bros being in his dream.

This got me wondering, do shows like this affect the way we think? A better question would be does television in general affect the way we think?

In a sense it's like a viual form of music... some music makes us perk up, while other types of music make us angry, or depressed, or excited.

Here's a quote I just read ouot of the Ghosthunters thread:



This quote is talking about television shows or movies in general. It was in answer "should Christians watch horror movies?"

I want to know the thoughts of other believers in here. TV shows... movies... have they ever affected your mood, made you think something, made you dream something? With shows like Supernatural, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer, even thought they are fiction do you think it could ruin the truth of the afterlife for non-believers, new believers, even mature believers?!?!

Thoughts?

By beholding one becomes changed. (you look it up!;))
Think of Eve being entertained? (or just inquistive) And then there is the Jer. 17:5 Truth for us.??

But we are 'mature' grownups, huh?

And NO, my wife nor myself have not been to the movies in over 30 some + years. Nor do we have cable. We watch just the News & no movies as a whole.

And on a side note: The Sun. morning paper we usally get to read the News. And as ones pass through the adds, there are all kinds of nearly naked women + children seen, who got that way by what??? BEHOLDING satans modern 'style'! And then we see your question???? Similar with 2 Peter 2:7 except it is accepted by all?

--Elijah

 

[Gendou Ikari]

I am a communication major and what we are generally taught is that single instances of media exposure usually do not have much of an effect, especially if the viewer is not inclined in any positive way towards that exposure. For example, I love Supernatural and its general humanist message, so I am more inclined to be swayed by its subsequent messages.

Sparrowhawke mentioned Agenda-Setting. I don't want anyone to be confused by the term. Agenda-Setting Theory refers to mass news-media, not tv series or films. At least, I've never seen it applied to anything else; though, I guess it technically could be.

I hold the belief that tv and film usually follow the current trends in culture and society in general, not that tv and film lead society. Within a capitalist system, it is quite hard to do anything else, since you always need a mass audience watching for your program for it to survive. For example, if we examine gay and lesbianism in television we find that current programming is quite illiberal. Something like Will and Grace is stereotypical of this. When it was made, more and more people were becoming accepting of homosexuality. Yet, they were not comfortable with it. That is why we never see Will or Jack in any situations of physical affection with their boyfriends. Jack is, in fact, the stereotypical gay man, who is mocked in front of a mass audience.

 

[lamplady]

yes ... actors/images etc., emit feelings and people respond to that ...

 

[Sparkey]

Sparrowhawke mentioned Agenda-Setting. I don't want anyone to be confused by the term. Agenda-Setting Theory refers to mass news-media, not tv series or films. At least, I've never seen it applied to anything else; though, I guess it technically could be.

What I said was, (Quote) "television is only part of the mass media campaign launched against our collective psyche..."

Question: What possible confusion could have been engendered? My brother majored in Mass Media and minored in communication, I was quoting a thesis of his. Pretty sure I can make it available to you, if you have any other areas of "confusion" you'd like to have explained.

Cordially,
Sparrow

 

[Jus10]

Well I don't mean going as far to say that a slasher flick makes us kill or things like that, but think of it this way:

Premarital sex is occuring more and more, its becomming more common for people to get lucky on the first dates, teens are getting younger and younger... now look what on TV... these girly shows on the WB and all that crap which glorify sexiness and sex. There were very few shows like this 20 years ago, and 20 years ago we didn't have such young people engaging in sexual acts and there was something worldy women called a "two-month rule" which meant if they were going to engage in sexual activity with a guy, the relationship had to progress more than two months for the guy to prove he was in the relationship for the longhall.

This is just one example, another example is the guy who watches the "paranormal chaser shows" or Paranormal Activity in theaters who thinks to himself, "hmmm, I think I might have had a strange encounter a while back, I'm going to go get a quija board and recording devices to see if I can communicate with the supernatural.

 

[old_tractor]

I want to know the thoughts of other believers in here. TV shows... movies... have they ever affected your mood, made you think something, made you dream something? With shows like Supernatural, Medium, and Ghost Whisperer, even thought they are fiction do you think it could ruin the truth of the afterlife for non-believers, new believers, even mature believers?!?!

Thoughts?

The infotainment media in the US can affect the thoughts of those who are subjected to it. Given the fact that the popular culture (or, more properly, what popular culture is defined as by those who control it) is an effective tool for conditioning by nature of it's subtle, ceaseless and all-pervasive messages which are skewed in one direction by virtue of the monopoly of all media industries by a tiny few.

Ask yourself: if the mass media cannot influence the thinking of people, why does corporate America pour billions into advertising on mass media?

 

[Strangelove]

This is a fascinating 4 part series called "The Century of Self".

You can find the other 3 (full 1 hour) parts by google video the title. (not youtube)

It sheds a lot of light on he power of the media. How advertising / public relations are linked to psychology.

[video=google;6718420906413643126]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6718420906413643126#[/video]

 

[lamplady]

the media is full of people - people react to people ... not really rocket science - no study necessary ...