The Impact of Black Mass

I watched the movie Black Mass on Friday night. I knew what I was getting myself into. I read IMDB's "Parent Reviews" not for my children (they are grown), but for myself. I am careful of what comes through my eye gate. IMDB documented 254 uses of the "f-bomb" (I wonder who gets that job counting these words). I also knew there was extreme violence. More than violence - it was personal violence. War violence doesn't shake me as much maybe because it is not personal. I don't knock Hollywood for making Jim, "Whitey" Bulger who he was. He was a really bad dude and from what I can tell, Johnny Depp did an incredible job playing him. It would be really tough to soften such a character. However, about three quarters of the way through the movie, I looked at my hand and it was shaking.

There is a physical and emotional toll associated with ingesting this into the mind. And it gets worse. What used to be an "X" rated movie is now comfortably an "R" rated movie and what used to be an "R" rated movie now goes into the "PG-13" category. A movie like "Fifty Shades of Grey" will never be on my watchlist. Why? Not because I feel obligated, but because I know that something that comes into my mind leaves an imprint and certain imprints I don't want to have.

I think it is really hard for a young person growing up today. Internet pornography is prevalent. A friend of mine who is a youth pastor told me that 90+% of male students in middle and high school cite a pornography problem. It is almost impossible to will yourself away from this. What is necessary is the principle of replacement. Paul says to fill your mind with the word of Christ, and with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God (Col 1:16). He says in Romans to be transformed by the renewing of your mind (12:2). I can't have a relationship with the creator God if what I am ingesting is drawing me away from Him. On the contrary, what I fill my mind with can draw me closer to Him and it also strengthens me to resist what I might otherwise fill my mind with.

I wanted to watch the movie because it was a biography and I was interested in the character. However, I don't think I can do it very often or I might risk becoming desensitized to it.