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My wife and I like books and movies, and as our children have grown up, we’ve enjoyed introducing them to our favorites.
We’ve raised them on regular doses of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and other contemporary authors, as well as lives of the saints, Bible stories, and classics of children’s literature. We’ve shared our enthusiasm for various movies (being a runner, I’m a great fan of Chariots of Fire).
In our experience, reading and viewing together are far more than fun family activities. Exposing children to the works of writers, producers, and directors who use their talents to entertain and upbuild can support parents’ efforts to teach sound morals and a love of excellence. By providing a basis for comparison, it can also have the “inoculating” effect of helping kids to develop discernment about movies and books that fall short.
But we, too, need discernment for navigating the minefield of today’s media offerings. Without it, we risk becoming permissive parents who let their kids watch or read anything and just try to help them deal with the issues that arise. Or, at the other extreme, we become paranoid parents who allow their kids little or no media exposure—and little opportunity for learning how to judge media productions for themselves.
These words of Jesus to his disciples set the right balance: “See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In other words, we must not be afraid of interacting with the world we live in, or naïve about the dangers involved.
A Well-Formed Conscience.
Over forty years ago, the bishops at the Second Vatican Council gave serious thought to questions concerning the media. The teaching in the document they issued—the “Decree on the Means of Social Communications”—is still timely and helpful for anyone who wants to develop a balanced approach.
For starters, said the bishops, we must “know the principles of the moral order and apply them faithfully in this domain.” Each of us has the responsibility to “form a correct conscience on the use of the media, especially with regard to certain issues which are particularly controversial today” (“Social Communications,” 4, 5).
While it may seem obvious to point out that we’ve got to know right from wrong, the reality is that it’s all too easy to lose our bearings. Frequent exposure to media violence, vulgarity, and sex can leave us numb or insensitive to it. In many movies, books, and TV shows, belief in absolute moral principles is dismissed as “too black and white.”
What keeps us on track is the voice of conscience. Speaking deep within us, it leads us to make right choices and calls us to love and do good and avoid evil. Of course, this requires a “correct conscience” that is enlightened by Scripture and the teaching of the church.
Educating our conscience in this way is “a lifelong task,” says the Catechism (1784; see also the whole section on “moral conscience”: 1776-1802). But for us and our kids, it is the only way to go if we want to live as children of light, with the values of the gospel shaping our minds and hearts—and our judgments about the media.
Discernment Is Needed.
Here’s another basic guiding principle from the Vatican II document: We should select “whatever excels in virtue, culture, and art” and avoid “whatever might be a cause or occasion of spiritual harm” (“Social Communications,” 9). And we should teach our children to do the same.
This, too, is an obvious point, yet applying it requires discernment. For one thing, I think there are good reasons why we might choose to view some films or read some books that are a “mixed bag” in terms of truth or morals. First, these works can be genuinely entertaining and artistically superior; though containing elements that are untrue or confusing, they offer much that is good.
Opinions can vary, and responsible parents have different standards and views of what is appropriate for children to watch or read at different ages. For example, while some Christians would never dream of exposing their kids to the Harry Potter books, a good friend of mine—a wise and committed Catholic—thinks this series is great for communicating important truths and values to young people.
This brings us to another reason for allowing some “mixed bag” books and movies: They provide opportunities for teaching important skills. We can use them to help our kids to evaluate and to think critically, and thus to develop good moral and artistic standards. Addressing this need, the Vatican II document emphasizes that young people, in particular, “should aim to understand fully what they see, hear, and read. They should discuss them with their teachers and with experts in such matters and should learn to reach correct judgments” (“Social Communications,” 10).
This is where the real work comes in! Helping our children to “understand fully” what a book or movie presents may require education on many levels. The simple approach described in “Use Your Head” is one that I’ve found helpful.
Keeping Watch.
As parents, we should be exercising age-appropriate control over the books and movies that our children are exposed to. Even for older kids who need more freedom to make decisions, I think it’s important to know what they’re watching and reading and to discuss the contents with them. (My children stress that this is best done as a natural conversation, not as a “lecture” that opens with, “Now let’s talk about this book.”)
Sometimes, a parent can see the effects—positive or negative—of a book or movie on a child. This is a good time to help them think about other questions that can foster discernment.
Does this book or movie stir up fear, depression, or temptation? Does it leave you feeling peaceful, content, inspired? Do you think you learned something positive from it? If not, how does it make you feel, and why? Would you want to view or read this, or something like this, again?
And finally, as every watchful parent knows, there are times for firmness. When we review a book or movie and find it inappropriate, we just have to insist that it may not be watched or read. “Parents on their part should remember that it is their duty to see that entertainments and publications which might endanger faith and morals do not enter their houses and that their children are not exposed to them elsewhere” (“Social Communications,” 10). So stand your ground!
Above all, let’s pray for the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. He alone gives true wisdom and is always ready to guide us and our families in all our media choices.
Alan Schreck teaches theology at the University of Steubenville, in Ohio. He and his wife, Nancy, have five children.
Hi Dr. Schreck! Thanks so much to you & WAU for this article! We really need such balanced guidance especially in confusing times like these. With all the darkness out there it can get easy to get too legalistic in our genuine desire to avoid it for ourselves or children and we can sometimes “throw the baby out with the bath water”. We Christians are called to be light in the darkness, and i think our beloved JPII really showed us how to find rays of light even in the darkest of circumstances and hold up those rays, focus on them, so that in the midst of the confusion, sin & darkness, the world can be drawn to the good things within our culture and circumstances, and we can help facilitate those good things to be places/moments/opportunities for people to encounter God, from Whom all good things come. Otherwise, to totally avoid the increasing darkness out there, we’d have to hide our own light under a bushel basket. These are just my thoughts - I’d love to hear some more feedback from you on this! :-)
I was in your Theology of the Church class at Steubie-U in 1990 I think. God bless you!
~Margarita Szechenyi