Often in the credits of a movie or TV show we've most likely all seen the statement that no animals were harmed in filming, and for that I am very grateful, especially after watching a black and white classic movie a few years back (no, can't remember the name, but I'll give that some thought) when the actress kept picking up a cute little lap dog type, smacking him/her on the rump and shouting no-no ... made me really sad for the dog, because back in the day I don't think there were any computer graphics or photoshops to imply a smack on the rump. The sweet and vulnerable dog really got several smacks on the rump.
And, I just watched a movie (I'll use that term loosely here) in which I was VERY grateful to be assured no animals were harmed, because even the fake visuals of what was being done to animals disturbed me. Partly because even if no one has ever done what was implied, somebody probably will now because it's a novel and grotesque way to entertain oneself at the expense of the vulnerable.
After days of mulling over what I had seen and heard in that movie - three days of trying to escape the violence against those who are created in the very image of God, and violence against God's creatures great and small, the profane language, the undignified human behavior with one's own body excrement, the gratuitous female nudity during a "serious" conversation of import to the plot (after which conversation most viewers turned to each other to get clear just exactly what had been revealed other than the woman's breasts), and more gunshots and beatings than I can count - I realize another disclaimer at the end of movies and TV shows would please me: no humans were harmed in filming. No human minds were wrongly influenced. No human spirits were dampened. No human aspirations were misguided. No human dignity was lost. No human value was lessened. No human relationships were damaged.
It took me three days after seeing the movie to return to a place of center, and that came during a morning of spiritual reflection and planning of a Bible discussion. Thirty minutes or so of concentration on preparing an hour's worth of scripture - for discussion that edifies and lifts us to look upward toward that which is admirable, that which is worthy, that which is lovely - put me back in the place I want to be.
We must be careful in what we choose to see, what we choose to hear, what we choose to say, what we choose to do, and where we choose to go. Because it all influences us. It all affects us. May we all choose wisely.
