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That Was Then, This Is Now |
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Entertainment has undergone a major revolution in the last century. Before that time, our culture’s recreation pastimes included the opera, the ballet, the theater and the symphony. All that changed in 1899 when Eastman Kodak introduced cellulose-based film. In 1906, radio that transmitted voices and music rather than just dots and dashes came on the scene. The entertainment revolution picked up even more momentum in 1939 with the introduction of the television set. So rather than taking a live performance on tour, entertainers had three dazzling options for recording and distributing their message to an ever-growing audience. Thankfully, the early years of the new media produced art that was relatively benign, drawing families together around the radio console or television set, or providing the exciting opportunity for an outing to the movies.
Fast forward to today. The entertainment media’s preoccupation with sex, violence and profanity would have been unthinkable in the minds of their early pioneers. Even if computer generated graphics, advanced special effects and digitized audio had been available back then to carry the messages so explicitly, public sentiment would not have embraced music that glamorizes rape, murder and drugs, or much of what shows at the local movie theater. Nor would MTV, The Playboy Channel, Showtime and even a lot of major network programming have made the grade.
Though it can’t explain our current wallow in the cultural muck, a bit of music trivia at least demonstrates the extent of our fall. In 1967, when The Rolling Stones performed The Ed Sullivan Show, they were asked to change the lyrics of their hit, “Let’s Spend the Night Together” to a much tamer “Let’s Spend Some Time Together.” While they resented the change, they performed it as Sullivan requested. Why? Because society viewed songs about casual sex as—dare we say it?—wrong. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case. Casual sex is not just accepted; in many cases it’s expected. And through entertainment, it’s even become a “spectator sport.”
For a broader view, take a look at how these hit songs reveal moral erosion in pop music’s romantic relationships:
1964 - The Beatles sing “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
1967 - The Rolling Stones make a bolder overture with “Let’s Spend the Night Together.”
1972 - The Raspberries encourage the object of their affection to “Go All the Way.”
1975 - Metaphorically speaking, Jethro Tull looks forward to a “Bungle in the Jungle.”
1981 - Even more to the point, Olivia Newton-John beckons a lover to get “Physical.”
1987 - Inhibitions and euphemisms disappear with George Michael’s brazen declaration, “I Want Your Sex.”
1991 - Color Me Badd crudely and unflinchingly declares, “I Wanna Sex You Up.”
1994 - Exactly 30 years after The Beatles first proposed hand-holding—R&B artist R. Kelly scores a best-selling single with the sexually descriptive ode to intercourse, “Bump & Grind.”
2003 - A decade later, Outkast takes radio by storm with the release of the hyper-catchy "Hey Ya!" It begs women to be on their "baddest" behavior and targets orgasm as the only goal worth shooting for in a relationship.
So much for modesty, self-control and godly sexuality. Clearly, popular music has been sliding into the sewer since the British Invasion. And music is no different from popular film or television. Other unhealthy agendas notwithstanding, all three seem to be preoccupied with eroticism. If only we could return to the innocent days when it was a thrill just to hold someone’s hand.
Decisions & Discernment
Hone your family's media discernment skills!
That Was Then, This
Is Now
The Power of the Media
Does Life Ever Imitate
(Dangerous) Art?
Which Nature Are You
Feeding?
Five Steps to Safeguarding Your Family
Six Keys to a Healthy
Entertainment Diet
Confusing "Truth" and
"Reality"
Confusing "Tolerance"
and "Love"
Setting a Family Standard
for Entertainment
Getting Family Discussions
Started
God's Own Words on Discernment
Family Covenant for
God-Honoring Media Choices
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