September 2003 Wuggie's Music, Media and More . . . .
Ratings System:
++ Christian - made specifically by Christians for Christians
+ Secular - but contains nothing offensive to most Christians, probably made by Christians trying to exert influence in secular media.
M Mature content. Not necessarily offensive, but parents should be careful before allowing exposure to children and pre-teens.
X Mature content. For mature teens, firm in their convictions and morals, who have received much parental guidance.
XX Contains very mature, problematic content. Parents should seriously consider restricting exposure to teens.
XXX Completely offensive. Not only should teens be restricted, but adults may want to question their own exposure.
Wuggie's Email inbox -
Wuggie, What do you think of the band, Evanescence? In particular, their song Tourniquet, which includes the lyrics: My God my tourniquet / Return to me salvation / My wounds cry for the grave / My soul cries for deliverance / Will I be denied Christ. Are they a Christian band? Where do they stand?
Thanks!
Anonymous
I like the fact that Christ is acknowledged as deliverer in Evanescence's song: Tourniquet. It is a common feeling among teens (and adults) who have done bad things, or feel that they have no value, to contemplate suicide and feel unworthy of Christ's grace and deliverance. I like the fact that the band confronts these issues. I wonder about Evanescence's fascination with death, pain, bleeding, suicide and other horrors. I struggle between the idea that some teens have these feelings and Evanescence is just identifying with those feelings - and the idea that the band is probably encouraging these feelings in kids where they are inappropriate. It is one thing to search for deliverance and meaning in life - it is another to find it. The feelings and attitudes that go along with finding are absent in the band's lyrics. I'm not about to call Evanescence a Christian band just because they acknowledge their need for Christ to deliver them in one line of one song. Madonna was similarly fascinated by Christian imagery and ideas in the late '80's - although not so dark - and nobody called her a Christian artist. I wish I could propose a Christian band with the same sound and style as Evanescence as an alternative. The truth is that the Christian life, although sometimes marred by tragedy, loss and emptiness, is basically a life of joy and hope. Some of the more joy and hope-filled Christian bands include Newsboys, The Elms, and Tree 63.
FALL TV LINE-UP
Coupling / NBC Thursday 9:30 p.m. / XX
This is the U.S. version of the wildly popular BBC hit. The sexual tension and innuendo in this show makes Friends look like Barney. In fact, strike the word innuendo, because there is none. The show is simply about sex. That's all it's about. That's all the characters talk about, that's what the jokes are all about, and every situation in every show revolves around who is going to bed with whom. I've seen a few episodes of the BBC show, and my step-sister, Kirstin Jones, who is in the advertising field and has seen the NBC pilot assures me that the U.S. version is anything but toned down. Yes, it's funny. Really funny. I didn't give it three stars because married, committed adults may judge that this is something that isn't going to mess up their value systems. My big objection is the time slot: Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. This is not a show that is appropriate for teens, definitely not children. It normalizes casual sex, recreational sex, and lesbian sex. It completely marginalizes those who are not sexually active. It makes people who are not sexually active or people who are committed to monogamy question their choices by making them feel silly. Adults who are not yet married, or who are not in a secure monogamous marriage may also seriously want to question their own exposure. Heck, I am in a very secure monogamous marriage and I plan on restricting my exposure. Make no mistake, this show will push the envelope of acceptable television further than it has ever gone before.
American Juniors / Fox Tuesdays / XXX
I guess taste isn't something that should be expected from TV anymore. OK, Simon isn't ripping into people with a spiteful tongue on this show, but he's been replaced with parents! Is this really what parenting is all about? Dressing up teens and pre-teens in sexually suggestive clothing and sending them out to act sexual on stage? Parents who want their kids to succeed on the show so much that they push them until it's no fun anymore and then shout curses at them on live TV? Co-producer Nigel Lythgoe expressed amazement at how far some parents pushed things. "I've got moms on tape swearing like troopers in front of their kids," he said, "and the kids' eyes are down to the ground. There's going to be a lot of bleeps here." Of course, that didn't stop Lythgoe from airing the stuff. What's this guy's agenda? Money. I recommend that Christian families should reject these concepts categorically. Sure there are plenty of examples of good parenting on American Juniors, and who doesn't want to see a talented kid put on a good show, but I'll suggest that as Christians we sometimes have to make sacrifices in our media choices to stand up for our values. We watch = they make money = they push the envelope further.
Quotebook - -
"It's amazing that most American families give their kids a TV set in the bedroom. That's crazy, dysfunctional, destructive, altogether inappropriate; there's no reason any American child should have a TV set in the bedroom." - Michael Medved, film critic and best selling author of Hollywood vs. America, quoted in World Magazine
This article is for parents of kids who will someday be going to college:
College campus administrators and psychologists are alarmed at the skyrocketing rate of depression among incoming freshmen. Hara Marano, author of Psychology Today's special report on post-secondary school depression, says in a USA Today interview, "Mental illness is absolutely going off the charts on college campuses. College counseling centers used to be the backwaters of the mental health care system. Now they are the front line."
In a survey of college counseling centers, psychologist Robert Gallagher says 85% of the schools he surveyed report an increase in students with severe psychological problems over the past five years. A study by the American College Health Association found that one in 10 college students have been diagnosed with depression.
What gives? Some of the factors at work, start in high school and middle school, according to USA Today:
Disconnected families - Gallagher says the "reduced presence of adults in the home" has likely stunted kids' growth in social and emotional life skills.
A complex and competitive culture - Kids experience more pressure to succeed earlier in life, and they're straining to keep up with a warp-speed culture. Unfortunately, this mostly comes from parents. Noted Psychologist Carl Jung weighs in on this topic: "Nothing affects a child more than the unfulfilled dreams of his/her parents".