I finished off 2018 by discussing a recent talk I gave to a high school youth group about how entertainment can brainwash us. However, I wasn’t able to finish my thoughts in that episode and get to the part about how we can think critically about entertainment. This is the aspect that many of us need to focus on. We sometimes either don’t think about entertainment at all and are led astray by it, or we boycott it completely. We draw a hard line in the sand between good and bad and say away from any songs, movies, or TV shows that have “bad” things in them.

I want to present another option. I want to suggest continuing to watch movies and listen to music, within reason, but do so while thinking deeply about the information entering our minds. We should watch movies as a family and discuss them with our students. Some questions you should ask when watching movies or TV are:

  • What worldview is the movie communicating?
  • What do they want me to do/think?
  • Who are the good guys? Who are the villains?
  • What is the good life according to the movie?

These questions, and others, can keep you from falling captive to false ideas. Check out this week’s episode to hear how I thought about a recent movie and other ways that we can think critically about entertainment.

Do you take a break from technology or think critically about movies? Comment below with steps you take or questions you ask in order to think critically about entertainment.

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