Posts Tagged ‘Television’

Review: The Great Gatsby’s Social Commentary

05/19/2013

I have been looking forward to seeing the modern film adaptation of one of my favorite books from high school. I saw “The Great Gatsby” last night and it was good but not great.

In case you don’t know, this is the story of a man so desperately in love with a socialite that he becomes wealthy beyond imagination to lure her back after a five-year separation. It was a five-year period wherein she married a fabulously wealthy man–who is a philanderer–and has a little girl who is ignored while her mother lives the decadent life of the idle rich in the early 1920s in New York.

She is not unlike the celebrities who live in fantasy worlds today. My question is, why would Gatsby want her? He has gone from rags to riches–not in the most honest way–and could have any woman he wanted. But he wants a classy woman whom every man would want. She legitimizes that he is now a gentleman, one of them.

Except he isn’t. He may be a gentleman but not from old money. He tries to pretend but real old money sees right through him.

The wealthy and foolish husband of socialite Daisy is Tom Buchanan who is from money but likes to party with the trashy wife of a local mechanic. With his own wife, he is the polo player who thinks he is better than others; with his mistress he can be what he accuses Gatsby of being. Gatsby, however, tries to be elegant all the time but is plagued by insecurities because he knows he really doesn’t belong. Money cannot buy class but, despite his ill-gotten riches, he actually has both.

The only one who recognizes this–and who cares–is Daisy’s well-educated but poor cousin, Nick, who is the narrator and Gatsby’s new friend.

He has the ability to fit in with the rich and the beautiful although he is neither. And maybe that is why he can relate to Gatsby, who pretends to be something he is not and strives for what is supposed to be beyond his reach.

Nick facilitates the reunion of Gatsby and Daisy, who loves Gatsby but not as much as he loves her. When the moment of truth comes, the disparity in their loves makes all the difference. Ultimately, it may be that Daisy doesn’t know how to love since what she cares about is her position and her lifestyle. She wants a fun, glamorous life and she does not want to make tough decisions.

She is not who Gatsby thinks she is and all his efforts–over-the-top parties, a grand mansion, his proximity to her across the water–are for naught.

The movie does a good job conveying Gatsby’s love, even obsession, with this unworthy woman, but it takes too long to get there. Too much time is spent showing the glittering parties and demonstrating the impact of Gatsby’s dilemma on Nick, who becomes rather obsessed with the hero of the story. Except there are no real heroes in this situation.

What makes this story captivating is not only the love affair but its relevance to today. We live in a world where people, especially the so-called beautiful people, embrace shallow decadence and don’t know what true love is. We are so used to it that we don’t see it for what it is, but, in seeing this movie, we can be critical of these purposeless, selfish people just like Nick is.

The movie, like the book, shows that the glitzy lifestyle that so many admire is not what it seems and is really not the path to happiness. In that regard, it is a film worth seeing.

“Criminal Minds” Misuses Christianity to Push Gay Agenda

02/23/2013

The downside of the DVR revolution is that I didn’t get to see Criminal Minds until last night as opposed to watching it live when it aired on Wednesday. Usually I enjoy the show although it is a bit violent and often gruesome.

The topic of the most recent episode of the CBS drama was a homosexual serial killer. We know that gays are not depicted as anything but good and funny and oppressed on TV. So the fact that the gay guy is on a murdering spree cannot be his fault.

And it wasn’t! It was the fault of a conversion therapy program which liberals detest.

So Criminal Minds, like other recent CBS hits, has become political.

I was shocked when Person of Interest showed a married (in New York) lesbian couple who were beautiful, accomplished and very much in love. I mean, they don’t show straight couples this much in love! Sheer propaganda. And The Mentalist featured an episode where a gay young man could not tell his father about his sexuality and he faked his own death so he could work as a drag queen. The father was the bad guy for not accepting his son’s desires.

CBS has apparently gone from producing interesting shows to pushing the gay agenda much like ABC.

Criminal Minds stepped over the line and went beyond propaganda by misusing Christianity to justify its pro-homosexual message.

The conversion therapy program is presented as shady, wrong, and, quite frankly, as torture. The program is also remotely Christian in nature. The murderer had advised his father that he had same-sex attraction so the dad sent the murderer to the conversion therapy camp which has a website citing Leviticus’ prohibition against homosexual activity.

Due to being “indoctrinated” that his feelings were wrong, the murderer was conflicted. When he gave in to his homosexual impulses, he felt bad afterward and killed his partner. When he tried to be normal and have relations with women, he killed them when he could not get aroused.

When the FBI team finally catches up to him, he is treated unlike other perpetrators since he was told by the conversion therapy program to deny his sexuality, that it was wrong and that he was “broken” (the name of the episode). So, you see, the fact that he murdered four people was not his fault. He is told by the FBI team he can assist in closing the conversion therapy camp which caused his behavior. The camp is duly invaded by the authorities.

I would have chalked this up as typical propaganda but the end of the episode had the senior member of the team quoting Jesus saying to love one another to justify sodomy.

For liberal Hollywood, this is a new low.

When Jesus told us to love one another, He meant a holy love, the love He has for us. He was not talking about anything sexual. He certainly was not justifying sodomy. And CBS knows that. But it serves the propaganda that homosexuality is normal and inborn and even holy.

Liberals accuse those who accept the Bible prohibition against sodomy as misusing the Bible when that is exactly what they did here by misquoting Jesus in favor of homosexuality. Clearly, there is no basis in the Bible to support sodomy.

The solution? Embrace the truth and stop watching Criminal Minds.

Is Bisexuality the New Gay Frontier?

12/01/2012

The gays have won. Certainly in the media. And amazingly in the country and most importantly among the young based on the election results.

It is accepted by the mainstream of American society–pushed largely by the media and Hollywood–that gays are funny and smart and talented and are entitled to the same rights we have. Meaning marriage and adoption.

Their “right” to marriage equality trumps the rights of religious people–particularly Catholics–to exercise their right to religious practice. Catholic adoption agencies have gone out of business rather than violate their beliefs in placing innocent children with homosexual couples.

And that is just fine with the media and more ominously the government, which has the job to protect our rights, not violate them or dictate which rights are more important than others.

Since gays have become fully accepted in society and dominate so much of it after relentless promotion of their agenda from The Golden Girls to Ellen to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy to The L Word, the next step in promoting non-traditional sexuality seems to be bisexuality.

I think this is ironic since we are told that homosexuals are born with same-sex attraction and thus preventing them from marrying and adopting is unfair because they have to be who they are. But if people are bisexual, is that inborn as well or is that a choice?

The liberal jury is still out but bisexuality is usually advanced as being even better than being gay because one is attracted to the person, not the gender. It is so impossibly broad-minded as to make sexuality meaningless.

Two quick examples. On Revenge, part of ABC’s pro-gay agenda, the billionaire Nolan Ross has complicated sexuality. Basically friendless despite his massive wealth, he has had romantic interludes with a couple of men and at least one woman. On the most recent episode of flashbacks, it showed him kissing, in a politically correct way, a Latino employee whom he appeared to be dating.

(Source: fanpop.com)

Previously, he dated another employee, a woman who appeared to be Indian-American. He also had sex with a white man who was a grifter and Harvard dropout.

Maybe Nolan just likes diversity in every possible way imaginable?

The point is, he is presented as a good person who is not confused about his sexuality. He is exploring it and falling in love with the person. He is just too–wait for it–enlightened!

Then I was surprised to read an article in December’s Marie Claire about a woman who dated another woman for several years–before marrying a man and having a child! What? Instead of concluding she was having emotional problems that she outgrew, she determines that she is enlightened because in having a sexual relationship with a woman she has ”learned freedom.”

Ten years ago–maybe even five–I could not have made this up. But here is a woman bragging about falling head over heels for another woman. “It was as if my whole view of what was sexy, sensual, and possible had just turned on its axis.”

She further states, “I was bisexual and thought everyone else could be, too, if given the chance….The important element is chemistry….”

Now that the gays have fully penetrated society–pun intended–the next frontier of dismantling traditional sexuality is bisexuality. Our liberal leaders and opinion makers will not rest until sexuality is fully separated from nature and morality. Now that they have convinced us that sodomy is normal and righteous, they are moving to the next level and brainwashing us that sexuality is not determined by nature but by attractions that we can develop if only we would open ourselves up to them.

What we must do is not violate God’s law on human sexuality. We need to live chastely in accordance with our state in life. So single people need to zip up their pants and married men and women must only have relations with their spouses. Antiquated ideas I know but ones that have kept humanity moving forward for thousands of years.

TV Teen Star Tells the Truth About “Filth”

11/27/2012

I was delighted to see that Angus T. Jones, teen star, told the truth about his television show, Two and a Half Men. I have only seen the show a couple of times over the years. I have avoided it because it is exactly what Jones says; it is filth.

One can be watching TV and see a promotion for this show and know how indecent it is. If this is what they are showing on the commercial, then I can imagine what is actually on the program. The couple of episodes I saw showed virtual nudity and casual, meaningless sexual activity.

Filth is exactly what I have called it and I am pleased that, in finding Jesus, Jones sees it the same way.

The elite are mocking him by saying he doesn’t dislike the show so much that he is saying no to his salary. He has been cashing his checks. This is unfair. First, he only recently became religious. Second, he is a young man finding his way. Third, his parents are responsible for him being on the show. He was a minor when he was cast.

(Source: news.yahoo.com)

His mother, who is divorced from his father, an event which may have led the young man on his soul-searching journey of faith, has drawn the wrong conclusion about his recent statements. She expressed concern that he was being “exploited” by his church.

I am shocked that a mother could see the church as the exploiter as opposed to the disgusting so-called comedy on which he has been a key player. By being exposed to such immorality, this child was in effect being abused by Hollywood.

That is not right. Most kids who are celebrities do not turn out well. Impurity ruins many of them along with drugs and alcohol. This young celebrity has a chance because he realizes what is important. How many adults twice his age cannot even say that?

I salute Angus T. Jones for being brave even when it is unpopular and even though it subjects him to scorn and job insecurity. Being Christian can be difficult but nothing is more rewarding.

Obama Campaign: Part 6-The Coarse and the Vulgar

10/27/2012

President Obama used to make a pretense of appearing presidential. We all know he is perceived as likable even though I questioned that in this earlier post.

But ever since the first presidential debate, he has steadily revealed himself as not what his handlers portray.

Over the last few days, he has really let us in and no one with decency could think he can continue to serve as president in a second term based on what they have been seeing.

First, he told Rolling Stone in an interview that kids know a “bullsh*tter” when they see one. We know he was talking about Governor Romney, which his campaign arrogantly refused to deny.

It is one thing to trash talk the opponent having a beer with one’s friends. It is another when one gives an interview to a widely read publication as president calling one’s opponent a vulgar name.

Not presidential or even sportsmanlike.

Second, not to be outdone in terms of vulgarity, Vice President Biden asked the father of a heroic Navy Seal who died in the recent terrorist attack in Libya if his son “always [had] balls the size of cue balls”. The VP apparently meant it as a compliment. This question is not only in poor taste and offensive, it is completely inappropriate to speak this way to a grieving father. Especially as the vice president of the United States.

We know from his debate performance that he is unhinged, but people should seriously question whether this man is capable of serving as vice president in light of his latest “gaffe”.

(Source: justjared.com)

Finally, there is the shocking Lena Dunham video comparing the experience of first time voters to losing one’s virginity. We get the “joke” which is for the cool young people who are supposed to be Democrats, of course.

It is not just the concept of the video but what this young actress says to develop the idea of losing one’s political virginity. And the fact it is put out by the Obama campaign.

“Your first time shouldn’t be with just anybody. You want to do it with a great guy. (Sexist and homophobic, no?)….Someone who really cares about and understands women; a guy who cares about whether you get health insurance, specifically whether you get birth control (So men don’t have to take responsibility for their irresponsible sexual activity).” (Comments in italics mine)

(This is part of what she says in the video which is largely incoherent. The fact this talentless, vacuous, unattractive young woman is embraced by Hollywood tells you what you need to know. Imagine her on a real job interview? But Obama is nothing if not a champion of mediocrity so I can see why the two support each other.)

What these recent examples show is a mindset that is incompatible with effective leadership and quite frankly common decency. The question is, does America even know what common decency is anymore? If they do, I have no doubt Mitt Romney will be the next president of the United States.

Only ten days to go until liberation

Don’t Blame Guns! Blame Hollywood!

07/21/2012

When I woke up Friday morning and saw the tragic and shocking news about the movie theater shooting, one of my first thoughts was that liberals would use this–as they do all such shootings–as a justification for renewed calls for gun control.

(Well, this is one way to bury the fast and the furious scandal–about guns and government. Not that it was getting much media coverage per my previous post.)

Anyway, one person allegedly re-enacted a violent scene inspired by Batman and similar movies.

I don’t see this as being about guns. In fact, it is about an overload of our senses with disturbing images.

While the vast majority will never become unhinged enough to shoot up a theater filled with innocent people, violent and sexual images with which we are constantly bombarded have an effect on us as individuals and as a society.

(Source: beyondhollywood.com)

The media give us wrong ideas about crime and violence. I have read that back in the day one could never get away with a crime on TV. I have watched enough Alfred Hitchcock re-runs from the 1950s to know that is true. The bad guy always got caught. Today many times the bad guy does not get caught and lives out the dreams we have been taught to want. In fact, good people doing bad things for supposedly good reasons is a common theme today. Getting away with it is a goal and it’s only wrong if one gets caught is a typical mindset.

And it is not just violence but sex. Somehow I don’t think aberrant sexual behavior such as threesomes was all that mainstream until glamorized by Hollywood. People see and they imitate. They think it is normal if everyone else is doing it.

But not everyone else is or was doing it. Media convinces us that the images are mainstream when it is simply not the case.

I just read about a study where girls as young as six years old see themselves as sexual objects. And teens are more likely to have sex based on what they see depicted in the movies according to another study.

In fact, the teens wanted to re-enact sexy scenes. No one wants to re-enact the results of reckless sex: taking penicillin for STDs, feeling crushed after one’s significant other uses then dumps them, facing an unexpected pregnancy.

Just as seeing sex on the screen can impact us, surely images of violence, with no repercussions, have the same effect. We see people get slaughtered in big budget films and cheer. But each person is a human being made in the image and likeness of God and should not be considered disposable.

But then again we are a society filled with narcissistic and selfish people who abort unplanned babies and hurry to off grandma when she is hanging on too long. We don’t value people the way we should.

And yet when one lone nut slaughters the innocent, we are shocked and scandalized. Perhaps we should examine what we tolerate and encourage as a society and we should be more mindful of the media we consume that impacts our very souls to our detriment.

Gay Pride Weekend: Proud of What?

06/25/2012

This past weekend in New York was the so-called gay pride parade. Homosexuals and their supporters marched down Fifth Avenue, many scantily clad.

New York has legalized marriage between same-sex couples and gays have achieved most of their other stated goals. I guess that could be why they are proud. They have used the media to charm the public to get what they want and have strong-armed politicians where they could not convince their fellow Americans.

I guess they could be proud of these achievements but they have been having this parade for years so that is unlikely. This is also not the kind of pride that ethnic groups have–from the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day to the Puerto Ricans on their day. No, the pride here is in the act that defines them, the acts of their genitalia.

There is no straight pride day. To liberals, every day is straight pride day, but that is absurd. Heterosexuals do not base their lives on the use of their sex organs. Not normal ones anyway.

But proud gays are and they are unembarrassed by what others would consider to be inappropriate behavior. These folks have been known to strip down and simulate sex acts during their parade.

(Source: teenhut.net)

The worst thing that happens at the other parades is some drunken rowdiness. It is about having a good time at the ethnic parades, not finding an opportunity for an orgy.

In conjunction with the parade and other festivities this weekend, I was shocked to see other efforts to normalize aberrant behavior.

I saw a full-page ad on the back of the weekend edition of am New York showing a muscular, HIV+ man in what appears to be full make-up. The ad reads “Pride starts with me. I control my mind and my body. I decide what happens. HIV Stops With Me.org.” The ad is run by the New York State Department of Health. Yes, my tax dollars at work!

I feel bad this man has the virus that causes AIDS but I don’t understand how this man is controlling his body. NYC loves condoms so presumably that is how he keeps from spreading the disease. New York does not advocate abstinence but that is, of course, the only way to prevent the spread of AIDS.

What gets me is that they are trying to normalize what is inherently bizarre. But if they really want the sympathy of the majority, why show a man wearing make-up as if it is normal? I mean eye shadow, mascara and earrings!

That is not what you see on all the TV shows that glamorize homosexuals and show them in the most wonderful light.

They don’t show how the homosexuals really live and act. The stuff they do on the parade that is sketchy does not make the news or even the ads paid for by the Department of Health.

If they are so proud of who they are and what they do, then we don’t need the sanitized version. Let’s see why they are proud and if the majority still shares their pride.

Good Choices Send a Message to Elites

05/13/2012

I think when the people speak and they speak well it can make a difference.

To start with the trivial in some ways but significant in others, I am delighted to report that certain TV shows have been cancelled. First, I reported back in March about an anti-Christian version of Desperate Housewives called GCB. It stands for Good Christian Bitches. I am glad that the Christian majority did not support this program. This tells Hollywood that mocking us is not okay.

The other show of the many cancelled that brings me delight in Missing starring Ashley Judd. Recall she recently attacked Rick Santorum for being pro-life in a Funny or Die! video that was not funny. She is an angry feminist. I am so glad the American people have voted against her extremism by not watching her show.

So we may feel powerless against Hollywood spewing its anti-God agenda, but we are not. They need us to support them. If we don’t want our morals and beliefs mocked, we must not support shows and stars that are openly against us.

Speaking of Hollywood, they were delighted with President Obama’s politically motivated announcement of his support for gay marriage. The funny thing is I knew he favored gay marriage. I don’t go by what he says; I know it by what he does. This is the same man who ordered the Justice Department not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. If someone supports gay marriage, that is exactly the move he would make, isn’t it?

While liberals were delighted about Obama’s alleged ”bravery,” the important message of the week was that the good people of North Carolina came out in large numbers to vote against same-sex marriage. The vote was not even close. Every time the people have the chance to speak on this issue, they say no to changing marriage from what it is to something it is not, such as the union between two men or two women. It may be popular with the elites but they know it is not what the people want.

(Source: purepeople.com)

Any state that has gay marriage has it as the result of a judicial determination or legislators caving in to special interests. Not the will of the people.

But the people spoke this week, despite Joe Biden, despite George Clooney and his wealthy guests, despite Ellen and Rachel Maddow, despite The New York Times.

There is hope and we have to continue to make good choices.Every chance we get.

More Catholic Bashing: Mike and Molly

04/10/2012

As I recently posted about the anti-Catholic Hollywood agenda, especially at Easter, the attacks are unrelenting, repetitive and annoying. It cannot be a coincidence that Catholic-themed shows air at Easter. And that they are uniformly unflattering to people of faith.

Not all people of faith–Jews and Muslims are generally spared. The target is Christians, especially Catholics.

Easter Monday’s offering of CBS’ Mike and Molly was no exception.

Mike and Molly are the oversized couple who found love together and who are the only sane people in their world filled with stupid, immoral people.

But that does not mean they have morals. They are just less immoral than the drunks and drug users that they know and call family.

Why do I say they have no morals? I should clarify. They have rejected their Catholic upbringing. While basically nice people, they got engaged and shacked up. They have plenty of unmarried sex.

Image Detail

(Source: tvlia.com)

Not good Catholics. And they don’t darken the doorstep of a church either. What we would call non-practicing Catholics or lapsed Catholics.

Yet to please Mike’s mother, they agree to a church wedding. When the priest asks them about themselves–if they are churchgoers or if they intend to raise their kids Catholic–Molly says how can she say she will raise the kids Catholic. Should not the children choose for themselves? Besides, she plans to teach “values.”

You know like shacking up with one’s significant other. Good values like that.

The whole premise of Molly’s liberal indignation is that she cannot be expected to hand her children over to the Church. She cannot be expected to inculcate the faith.

I am sure she would not think twice about teaching her kids that racism is bad and to respect all people. This has to be taught; kids don’t just figure this out. She also would not expect her kids to eat healthy on their own. She would teach them how. She would teach them the importance of education even if they did not want to study (especially since Molly is a teacher). There are lots of things she would teach her children, but religion is something she thinks they can figure out on their own.

Molly doesn’t get it. Faith is not important to her so she thinks her kids can just figure it out. I would love to see the Mollys of the world take that attitude with what does matter to them, which surely includes liberalism. This Molly would not leave to chance. She will raise her kids as good liberals.

Per Hollywood’s morals, her children would not smoke, they would have “safe” sex, and they would think President Obama is a good leader.

This is so pathetic and unnecessary that I will not watch this show anymore. And, Hollywood, advance your values if you will, but please stop attacking my faith. One does not have to do one to do the other.

Except our values trump theirs and they know it. Which is why I don’t expect the attacks to abate.

Christianity Under Attack During Lent–As Usual

03/26/2012

When I was a child, attacks on Christianity were uncommon. Now they are mainstream. And worse the attacks are intensified during Lent.

Just observing the media more than halfway through Lent, I have noticed a lot of anti-Christian sentiment.

For example, GCB on ABC is Desperate Housewives-style sex with an overlay of mockery of Christians. Recall GCB is short for Good Christian Bitches. I previously commented on this obnoxious television program that focuses on Christian hypocrites. We never see TV shows about Muslim hypocrites or gay hypocrites.

And I unfortunately saw 21 Jump Street, a beloved TV show turned into a movie. It was not that bad by Hollywood standards except there was unnecessary mockery of Christian symbols, most notably Jesus on the Cross. Like many movies today, it featured a central character who doesn’t seem to know anything about God and religion. He says a prayer to “Korean Jesus” which is an Asian-looking Jesus on a cross. He tells Jesus, while cursing in a church, that he does not know if God exists.

Meanwhile, the abandoned church is the movie’s headquarters and the police chief curses up a storm. There are also numerous vulgar and sexual statements that are disrespectful to say in a church (or anywhere, but especially in a church). Imagine a film showing such activity in a mosque?

Not to be outdone, I noted the preview for the filthy American Pie which was shown before this movie. While there was nothing that appeared to be a direct attack on Christianity, it is opening on Good Friday. How disrespectful indeed to have a movie that glorifies masturbation opening on such a sacred day.

And I saw a billboard for a new Lifetime TV show called The Client List in which the star Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays a hooker, is sitting in her black, breast-baring underwear. When is this gem debuting? You guessed it–Easter Sunday.

How appropriate!

(Source: HollywoodPhotoShop.com)

It is not just TV and films that are offensive. I was unable to bring myself to buy the New York Post a couple of times last week because of the irreverent headlines surrounding Tim Tebow, an out-of-the-closet Christian.

If he were gay or a gangbanger, he would not get so much attention!

He is a virgin who puts God first and so he is an oddity, leading to inappropriate and irreverent headlines in a newspaper that I normally like. Instead of “Got him?” the headline was “God Him” which is silly. And then Sunday featured a headline about the Passion of Tebow. He was shown with his arms outstretched like Jesus on the cross.

If you think I am being hypercritical, note that a lot of effort goes into the headlines and the cover.

And recall that Muslims riot over even innocuous portrayals of Mohammad. So mainstream publications don’t depict him. But Tebow is shown as Jesus which is of course irreligious.

I am a Catholic and I found this so offensive that I passed on buying the paper. And if I had known about 21 Jump Street, I would not have gone.

We need to be mindful of the elites’ disdain for our faith and fight back–don’t support that which attacks us and worse our God. Especially during the holiest time of the year.


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