Week 4 — Choosing Good Content
Most Sundays my roommate and I end up starting a movie, but only after carefully dancing around our weekly dilemma: what qualifies as a "Sunday appropriate" movie? Though my roommate and I grew up together, our families had varying ideas as to what activities were okay to do on Sunday including what types of media were deemed Sunday appropriate.
In my house, a movie could be Sunday appropriate if it didn't swear, wasn't particularly violent, definitely didn't have any inappropriate content, and had a good message. Although I can distinctly remember watching movies like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter on Sundays with my family. Perhaps the message of good overcoming evil outweighed the violence.
Now that I'm older, I also realize that many gospel messages can be drawn from the world around us—even in movies—so my Sunday movie choices can be quite varied. However, I still try and avoid things that are inappropriate, are senselessly violent, or keep me from focusing on good things. I certainly don't always make the best choice, and it may not always help me focus on the Savior so perhaps there's room for improvement.
My roommate's family had much stricter rules about Sunday movie watching, which can be somewhat awkward when—pretty much every single time we try to choose a movie—I inevitably suggest something that my roommate probably wouldn't label as a good Sunday movie. We always find one (often a cartoon) that we agree on, but it brings up an important question: what types of media are appropriate to view on the Sabbath?
What guidelines should we set for ourselves and our children so that we can honor the Sabbath as God commands? I'd love to hear what you think in the comments.
My parents raised me not to watch anything that wasn't about the scriptures on Sunday. We couldn't even watch LDS-made shows like the RM or Singles Ward... It had to be a depiction of the actual scriptures, or maybe family videos. So, when I moved out, finding what I considered to be a good "Sunday movie" was a process. For a while, I felt guilty watching things that my parents wouldn't want me to watch or listen to. Then for a while, I threw all of the rules out the window and watched whatever I wanted, no different than any other day of the week.
ReplyDeleteNow, I don't feel guilty about watching what I want, but I try to make Sunday a little different than the other days. I try to watch something that will make me feel good about myself or peaceful?? I'm not perfect though, and sometimes I just don't think about it.
I've had a similar issue before too, for sure not an easy topic. I believe that what my be spiritual to us might not be for other people. All that matters is that it works for you and the lord
ReplyDeleteWatch whatever you feel is right on Sunday. No one can tell you differently. Ultimately, it's your decision. If you feel as if watching a certain type of movie is Sunday-appropriate, then do it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a dilemma. When I started dating my husband, Sundays were a little awkward because of tis dilemma. All I was allowed to watch on Sundays back home were movies produced by the church or the Prince of Egypt. My husband's family was a lot more lenient so it made me question what could be considered appropriate to watch on Sundays. We came to a compromise that most Disney movies are appropriate since they have an uplifting message and contain more prosocial behavior than violence or inappropriate behavior. But yeah it is honestly it is a decision that we all kind of have to figure out on our own.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I experienced this same thing when we first got married! It's so true that every family is so different!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being willing to compromise on this Tay. It is a good question and one I definitely haven't put enough thought into. It's definitely something we all need to reevaluate before starting our own families and family traditions.
ReplyDeleteI think that is an interesting dilemma that almost all members of The Church face. Because everyone's relationship with God is personal, I feel like there's no one right way to do things. I think it's really cool that you and your roommate can have those kinds of discussions though. My husband and I have to figure those things out together and sometimes it can be uncomfortable when we disagree. Those kinds of discussions are the best though because they often require us to stretch and change our perspective.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up my family was similar to yours. We always watched a movie on Sundays and it was one of my favorite family activities (I'm a big movie fan). But we never watched football. Now, my husband's family are HUGE football fans and it is on almost every Sunday. At first I didn't like it but then I realized that to him, football was my family movie night. I think as long as it is appropriate and you are doing it as a family it is a good Sunday activity :)
ReplyDeleteYes! I have struggled with this since being launched into the adult world. My family growing up was very strict about what we could watch on Sundays, and it has been tricky figuring out what I am personally okay with on Sundays (and sometimes awkward now when I go home and mention that I watched such and such with friends last sunday...lol). It's interesting learning about what each family does differently on Sundays, and deciding what I want to do for my future family someday.
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