Who Cares About Hollywood?

Last updated on: January 28, 2008 at 4:14 pm by Dave Dunham

Who Cares About Hollywood? 2008-01-28T16:14:20-07:00 Dave Dunham

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I imagine a large number of people don’t usually care about the Oscars, but those numbers must have increased this year. The nominees have been announced and the season is upon us, and yet this year Oscar the Grouch is probably gaining more attention (though Ben Bartlett would probably say that he always gets more attention). But it’s not just the mediocre awards show that is gaining little-to-no applause from fans this year, it seems to me that no one really even cares about Hollywood at all this year.

When the Writer’s Strike seemed inevitable fans were preparing for the worst. Re-runs, the disappearance of their favorite shows, and possibly nothing but asinine Reality TV. But the truth has been far less disastrous. No one seems to care much at all. Not even the Democratic party cares enough to show their support to the Writers (except for underdog, John Edwards). As one screen writer said, “The Democrats only care enough for Hollywood to milk them for money.” Apparently, life goes on without new episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy.” Fans are still going to the movies, people are engrossed in a wild political race, and all our late-night talk shows are back and running in full swing. Hollywood is surviving the Writer’s Strike, but what’s more interesting is that so are we.

It is as if we all realized something very important: Hollywood is not the center of our lives. We have a myriad of other alternatives to spend our time on, and we can survive without a hit new season of prime-time television. As I thought about this realization the other day I began to think of just how easy it is for Christians to become consumed with the entertainment industry. We too like to be entertained, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but when we are consumed by it then we lose our focus on what’s important. The Writer’s Strike has shown us all that we can survive without Hollywood at the center of our lives. Now the trick will be to make sure that Hollywood never gets back to the place it once held. I have a few suggestions for us on how to resist that temptation:

1) Be Discerning A simple rule goes a long way. Use your time wisely, and be choosy about what you let into your life.

2) Enjoy Entertainment, but Be Wary of Idolizing it When being “entertained” moves from a “want” to a “need” then you have entered the realm of idolatry. Beware that you are not making “musts” out of your “wants.”

3) Use Entertainment for Godly Purposes Allow entertainment to be a tool in your spiritual life. Reflect thoughtfully and intentionally on what you watch. Is there meaning to this movie or this television show, and does that meaning match up with or disagree with the Bible. Are there spiritual truths that you can glean from watching this? Don’t let your entertainment simply entertain, but let it challenge and encourage you.

4) Spend more time in the Word For all that we do with entertainment let us be sure that we are not neglecting time studying God’s Holy Word. Whatever benefit we may get from watching TV or seeing movies, it pales in comparison to the great benefit of knowing God through His Word. Don’t forget that you need the Bible, and you only want TV.

With this in mind we can survive the Writer’s Strike. But more importantly, we can survive its end.

Previous Post

January 28, 2008

Primary Perspective: Sen. John McCain

Next Post

January 29, 2008 Eight promising games for '08

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz