You may have seen recent references to Winnie the Pooh or the early version of Mickey Mouse, known almost a century ago as Steamboat Willie. These cultural icons are making the news because they are soon to be (if not already) in the public domain. This means that within certain guidelines or restrictions, people can use these caricatures for their own private purposes. Perhaps someone may wish to advertise their day care center or babysitting service with a cartoon of Winnie the Pooh. Someone else, however, may turn this adorable bear into a murderous monster who terrorizes young women. This production is just the latest installment, and given the popularity Winnie the Pooh among small children, it represents a sort of end of innocence.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Try to picture the joy and comfort that the inhabitants of the House at Pooh Corner and the Hundred Acre Wood brought to generations of young children. Winnie, Tigger, the piglet, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin were some of the first familiar faces that our children could recall. Now, twist that smiling face on the adorable bear into a sinister grin intent of doing harm to young girls. Perhaps spatter some blood about for effect. This is today’s version of “Paradise Lost” and it’s in the movie theaters at the moment. You can read the synopsis to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey here.
Before that, it was clowns. Children looked forward to the zany antics of friendly clowns since grease paint was first invented. Clowns were the hallmark of birthday parties and circuses as well. Now, clowns enjoy a horror genre all of their own. Murderous clowns. Wicked clowns. Creepy clowns.
And dolls. Talking dolls used to say “mama” when you tilted them. Today they may whisper to the child the word “Die.” Or they may suggest some age-inappropriate behavior. Perhaps even a URL to a website.
Shows on television tend to get darker and more violent as they evolve from season to season. I cannot recall a single television series that featured violence or dark imagery starting with the pilot, and which over time developed a positive moral message to its viewers.
This is the way of the world. It is the the way God made the world. It’s the way we have twisted it. In Genesis 6:5 we read “The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” The Bible speaks to the corruption, decadence, and decay that defines our culture. But it is not enough for our influencers, and their kind to recruit consenting adults into this madness. Young children are eagerly sought out to be preyed on, groomed and socialized into this sickness as well.
Back in August 1992, Presidential Patrick Buchanan gave his famous (or notorious) Culture War speech to the Republican National Convention. On that occasion he said:
“My friends, this election is about more than who gets what. It is about who we are. It is about what we believe, and what we stand for as Americans. There is a religious war going on in this country. It is a cultural war, as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as was the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America. And in that struggle for the soul of America . . .”
I’m not a big Patrick Buchanan fan, but sometimes people I tend to disagree on other matters with get it right. It’s one thing to support this culture by purchasing music with violent lyrics or content that promotes brutality towards women if not outright bestiality, or tickets for movies that offer the same fare.
Our culture is utterly beyond redemption, though anyone who steeps themselves in it can find a loving God willing to forgive if this is their desire. Meanwhile, Christians should be careful what they watch in terms of entertainment and who they emulate.
