Question:
Is it ok to watch movies ? What are the negative effects of watching a movie?
Answer:
Hello,
There are two main issues with watching movies. The violence and promiscuity. In adult movies, this in unfortunately the theme of a large part of the movie, and if it isn’t, the movie producer will always put in such scenes, because unfortunately this is what people want to see. Nowadays, even kids movies which are made up of fictious characters are full of violence, and promiscuous behavior.
Men may not see women dressed inappropriately, and surely not acting a way that will give them inappropriate thoughts, and even women may not watch or read things that invoke inside them feeling of lust. This is exactly what the movie is trying to do.
Aside from the halachic technical aspect of it. The detrimental effects of these movies are clear. Did we have incidence 40 years ago, that people just walked into a shopping center and gunned down innocent strangers once every few weeks? The fact that our society watches violent movies makes these things a part of everyone’s life. People are not afraid of seeing violence, and doing it, because they have seen it already so many times. This is on a criminal level, but even without that, watching these violent scenes makes everyone closer to acting violent, when provoked, and when upset, and causes people to act more violently even at home.
The dirty aspect of movies also has many far-reaching, detrimental effects on us individually and as a society as a whole. How many marriages are ruined, because of false expectations, when people fantasize and try to act “like in the movies”. In the movies they can create whatever scene they want, because it isn’t real, however in real life things are very different. We are dealing with two real people who have real feelings, emotions, and wants, and life isn’t a fantasy. Aside from this, the movies create an atmosphere, that distorts the male female relationship, and makes an image, that women are objects of pleasure, and meant to be taken advantage of. This causes the viewers to perverted ideas of what marriage is. Even worse many people nowadays don’t want to get married in the first place, because they see the male female relationship simply as a pleasure seeking objective, which they can get much easier without any obligation if they just don’t get married at all. This causes the disintegration of the family, and the growth of a mentally healthy society.
Best Wishes
