The Silver Scream
Category: Faithblogs
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
When I was a young child I developed an unhealthy fascination with horror movies. I remember I was five or six years old, it was raining outside, and so not being able to go outside and play I sat and watched an afternoon horror double bill… the black and white versions of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff and Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. I sat transfixed, glued to the screen, and right there in front of that old black and white 14″ television screen a love affair began, my first love, a love of all things horror.
From that time on I watched horror movies as often as I could. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, cannibals, all became my best friends, and I spent hour after hour spending time with them, taking it all in; the gorier, the better! I would sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to watch video’s my parents had rented that they deemed too violent or gory for me. I couldn’t be stopped from spending time with the one’s I loved. I figure that by the time I was twenty years old I had seen literally tens of thousands of simulated murders including violent and brutal acts of vengeance and torture, and I am ashamed to say that enjoyed every gory, blood spattered moment of them.
I was totally obsessed: In 1984 the UK government put a “video nasties” bill through Parliament that was passed and overnight movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, and Cannibal were vilified and banned. But this didn’t stop me. Only 13 at the time, I developed friendships with people who were collectors of uncut, banned movies, who thought nothing of making an illegal copy for me to own and watch again and again.
However, all was not well in “Chrisville” as over the years I developed an unearthly rage, due in part, I believe, to the many violent horror movies I watched. The Bible correctly says that what is inside shows in what we do. Well, my growing rage and violent tendencies were made manifest through my writing, namely short horror stories and violent horror inspired songs.
To cut a long story short, at the age of twenty I became a Christian and immediately knew I had to let this love go in favor of an even greater love. Why do I write this? I write this as a concerned parent who knows first hand the power and affect that violent movies can have on a person. I write this to ask you if you know where your kids are and what they’re watching? I used to think nothing of going to a friends house to watch the latest slasher flick and nothing has changed… in fact it’s gotten easier to watch this stuff. I recently spoke to the 13 year old son of a respected church leader who revealed to me that he and his friends had been watching ultra violent movies like Hostel and Saw on the internet during the weekly church youth group!
I have spoken with more than a few people on this issue who have more or less said that movies don’t affect us in any way. But let me ask you, when you watch a movie like Hotel Rwanda or Schindler’s List do you not get angry, weep, or ask why; when you watch movies like It’s a Wonderful Life and Driving Miss Daisy do you not get all warm inside; what about feeling inspired by movies like We Are Marshall and Facing the Giants; and when you watch movies like School of Rock or Bruce Almighty do you not laugh?
Movies can, and do affect us. Just like the latest music icons inspire kids to get tattoos, nose rings, and shaved heads, and some of their music inspires godless behavior, I believe that movies can positively and negatively affect us both mentally and spiritually. One only has to look at some of the true copycat crimes that have happened after children and adults have watched movies like Taxi Driver, First Blood, Natural Born Killers, and Child’s Play, to know that this is true. Just think about it – if our kids are susceptible to copying the pro-wrestlers they see on TV by play fighting in the school playgrounds, then what else are they capable of mimicking?
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Luke 11:34
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
November, 2008
Picture by Sasha LeClair
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