photo credit: all american mortgage
Have you ever tried to make a decision based simply on the list of pros and cons? More positive items on the list than negative usually means the decision is obvious. Or is it?
Here’s what I’m getting at:
Let’s bring The Smurfs into the equation.
I, along with my little cousin, Caleb, have been patiently waiting for Smurfs in 3D to hit the theatres this summer. I grew up on that cartoon and was super excited. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a child at heart. I’ll probably never grow out of it. Actually, I should say I hope to never grow out of it.
Caleb and I ventured to the movie theatre ready for an adventure. We got our ticket, our 3D glasses, popcorn and drink. It was showtime! I walked out of the theater with a little less excitement than I went in with.
I decided to make a list about the positive and negatives of the movie. Here goes it:
Positives
- It had an endearing message of learning what’s important in life
- It provided laughter
- You can’t help but fall in love with those cute, blue people
- It was the usual bad guy loses at the end. Who doesn’t love that?
- It was a cute love story
- No profanity
- No drinking
- No drugs
- No inappropriate music
Negatives
- Insinuated foul language by substituting the cuss words with “smurf.” Example: “Smurf This!”
- One scene involved a cleavage shot of a woman whose breasts continued to grow due to a magical potion
- The movie wasn’t completely 3D
That’s it. That’s all the negativity I saw in the movie.
What now?
Based on the list, if I had it to do over again, knowing in advance what I would be seeing, it wouldn’t matter to me that the list of pros were larger than the cons. When I watched The Smurfs as a kid, my mom never had to wonder if it was safe enough. As I sat in that movie theater munching on my popcorn, it occurred to me how many millions of children would see the unnecessary sexual images displayed on the big screen. It also occurred to me how many parents would walk away without a second thought about what their children had seen.
Five years ago I wouldn’t have noticed either. It would have been no big deal to me. But today it is. It’s a big deal! Everyday, we have thousands of images that pass through our minds. If we don’t protect our children and ourselves, who will?
What do you think? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? Comment below…