Character Development And Growth

[MC IMaGiNaZUN]

There seems to be a lot of debate in this phorum about how...
movies that portray sin, especially sex, are immoral etc.

I wanted to challenge that notion with this idea. There are movies, novels, television stories, that begin with a character making a mistake. Usually this mistake is having premarital sex etc. Then after much trial they realize the mistake. Although in a lot of films, the realization never amounts to a full appreciation of Catholic principles.

Or more clearly, characters in the movie may commit actions, which though morally reprehensible, are not condoned or supported by the overarching theme of the movie.

One example is the film Changing Lanes. It follows the story of two men who got in a car accident on one of the most important days of their lives. The car accident makes them both late for an important meeting. Because of the car accident, they blame eachother for this fateful turn of the worse. The rest of the film follows them attempting to get REVENGE, and ruining eachother's lives even further. As they are enslaved by their wrath and rage, you never sympathize with them, and feel disgusted as it is happening. The climax of the movie is they see they have went to far, and they try to make up for it.

Another example is the movie the Departed, which follows another string of morally reprehensible actions of the protagonist. The character is never redeemed in the end of the movie, but he is never portrayed sympathetically. The accuracy of the movie is that it hits human sin and evil so dead on.

It seems generally justified that the villian commits moral evils... Sometimes, i think it makes the film more affective when the hero does as well, and then reforms...

[Arpy]

While movies that pass good judgment on the actions of various characters are probably preferable to those that do not judge or glorify evil behavior, the means don't necessarily justify the ends. Some movies may have redeeming factors, but the potential for occasions of sin should be considered as well.

[MC IMaGiNaZUN]

I do feel, in my own life, an inner struggle, a struggle against sin, one that can only by overcome through the grace of God. unfortunately for myself, i did not begin this battle on the side of angels, rather on the side of darkness. Maybe a more sinful person such as myself can appreciate the sense of conversion from sin that might be portrayed in a movie. I guess in such instance i may feel more inspired in my struggle against sin after watching a movie that portrays a sinful person committing sin, and turning away as a result of learning from their mistakes
as opposed to a movie about a person who does not struggle in themselves, and never makes mistakes, and has always been infused with the grace of God since whenever.
shalom