Frankly My Dear
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 9:41PM 
As I mentioned in the previous blog post, I think that as long as we choose our TV viewing carefully, TV can be a valuable addition to our entertainment choices. But there is one obvious problem. There definitely has been a decline in standards with regard to language, sexual situations, and nudity on TV.
I like old classic movies, and one of my favorites is "The Philadelphia Story." There is one rather dramatic scene where Katherine Hepburn talks about "blank" indifference. I am not sure if this was censorship or a common idiom of the time to say the word "blank" when you meant damn. But just a few years later there was a controversy on the ending of the movie "Gone With The Wind." "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" seems humorously mild to my ears.
I see no reason to go to the extent that the Dick Van Dyke show did in the 60's by having the Petries sleep in twin beds, as the Bible can be earthy at times. But the general question is: "Have we as a society matured or have we been corrupted?" We collectively make our culture, and then the culture remakes us individually. Has the culture remade my ears to such an extent that I can no longer judge my culture correctly? Paul talks about this in Romans 12:
1-2 - With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
Babylon wants to squeeze us into its mold. If we fill our minds with mindlessness, how can God fill our minds, remold our minds from within?
While I used the boiling frogs analogy to describe our reaction to gradual inflation, it seems that we have culturally been boiling for some time. Soon all the water will be boiled away and our culture will begin to fry.
Pay Cable channels are at the forefront of this. I quit HBO 20+ years ago over these issues. I remember one scene quite clearly. A woman was being raped in a shower, pushed up against the glass shower door, leaving little to the imagination. There are some things you never forget. I turned the TV off and immediately canceled HBO.
HBO has a new series, Game of Thrones, I would probably watch as I am fond of medieval sword movies, but with the typically HBO philosophy they have inserted nude scenes and overt homosexuality. To be fair to HBO these types of scenes are in the book, but the emphasis HBO places on them is their choice. It does make a difference that this is visual video and not the printed page. Since Pay Cable channels are not regulated by the FCC, it is almost like as if they do it just because they can.
Each of us has a choice to be in Babylon or not. How can we leave Babylon? Not subscribing to HBO might be a start.
Leaving Babylon 
Reader Comments (3)
I have tremendous respect for both the Omni and Marriot hotel chains for pulling all the pornography off of their cable services available in rooms. This was/is a huge profit center for many hotels.
Eddie H. Nesul
Amboy, California
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabbath-Keepers-of-the-Inland-Empire-CA/132752176799933
"To be fair to HBO these types of scenes are in the book, but the emphasis HBO places on them is their choice. It does make a difference that this is visual video and not the printed page."
I think you're right, but I'm not sure. It is less bad to read a homosexual love scene than to see it? Maybe. It does impact more senses, so perhaps it tends to "stick" more.
I agree that a lot of it seems they are doing it just to prove they can do it. Because it doesn't enhance the entertainment experience or drama, like a page added in the middle of the script that was perfectly fine without. Also, it has been obvious to me that HBO has an agenda to desensitize people to homosexuality. I stopped watching Six Feet Under because they would throw those homosexual scenes in. It didn't desensitize me. It got my dander up. Apparently it is having the desired effect on society as a whole.
I even find some of the innuendo on NCIS uncomfortable. However, I think they've toned it down in recent seasons.
I was not clear. In the book the homosexuality of two of the main characters is obvious, but never explicitly stated. Not having seen it, I do not know the extent of the homosexual scenes. I am basing most of what I have said based on reviews. I have no choice since I refuse to watch HBO.