When you think of Christians, what comes to mind about their interaction with entertainment? Distrust? Loathing? Mindless consumption with minimal effort to contemplate? Arbitrary judgments not consistently applied? Whatever your answer, I aim to present here the reasons Christians should not view entertainment--particularly movies and video games--as an enemy. It is irrational to do so and forfeits an extraordinary opportunity to not only stimulate our own minds, but to also absorb an understanding of the ideological climate.
First, I need to establish that entertainment is far more than "escapism" no matter what some may say. While reading books, playing video games, or watching movies is sometimes called escapism irrelevant to spiritual or "real" life, it is simply untrue that any entertainment medium or product can ever truly escape reality. All movies and video games reflect something about ultimate reality, even if it is so simple that we may overlook it. For instance, even playing a game as outdated and simplistic as Galaga demonstrates that choices (in this case of the player) have consequences (death or victory in this instance). When understood properly, entertainment is one of the most significant conveyors of a society's moral, political, theological, and existential beliefs. The reason that entertainment cannot avoid all of reality is because there is no such thing as a total escape from reality. Philosophy manifests itself everywhere; when people do not see it, it is because they are blind to it, not because it is not existent.
Some people may wonder why I have game and movie reviews on my blog about rationalism, apologetics, and epistemology. That is, indeed, a good inquiry. Though I have never quite said this all in one place, I hope to explain through the content and tone of this post why I have reviewed things since the genesis of my blog. Reviewing entertainment, like movies and video games, gives me an excuse to talk about the moral, existential, epistemological, or other issues alluded to or focused on by cinema and gaming. A small sample of examples of movies that employ noticeable worldview themes include The Matrix (simulation hypothesis), The Dark Knight (moral objectivism and ethical dilemmas), Saw (justice and the meaning of life), Doctor Strange (naturalism and the multiverse), Terminator (determinism and artificial intelligence), Star Wars (mysticism and political oppression), and Jurassic Park (chaos theory and misuse of science). These movies and their franchises are wildly popular, at least within their sphere of consumers. Why should Christians not train themselves to not just enjoy entertainment as leisure or a "personal escape" but as indicators of a culture's conscience, worldview, and priorities? It is very helpful to know a culture when one interacts with it, especially when evangelism or reform is the goal. When a culture consistently produces entertainment of a particular kind, that communicates things about that society that Christians should not ignore or remain oblivious to.
In the same way as films, although the medium has received plenty of illogical criticism [1] video games represent a grand reflection of philosophy. Comprising the most immersive, deep, and social medium out of all the "Big Three" (movies, video games, and books), they have unfortunately been fallaciously maligned as sinful by some Christians and illegitimate art to some in the secular world. Yet games/series like Saw: The Video Game (morality and the weight of free will), God of War (Greek mythology and violence), and Assassin's Creed (autonomy, control, and historical revisionism) still reflect a specific worldview. Are these ideas true? Are they verifiable? This is what seekers of truth who enjoy entertainment need or want to know.
I do want to specify that movies and games do not condemn or praise anything, and in fact they cannot. They are inanimate mechanisms assembled by people with particular worldviews which also feature people with specific worldviews. Only the characters in them can actually make judgments and claims, as a film or game is just an artificial, lifeless vehicle for a story.
As someone who has many fond memories of days spent watching films or playing video games before I became a Christian and as an embryonic Christian, I sincerely hope that other Christians come to realize, if they have not done so already, that entertainment is not some irredeemable, sinful thing [2] that Christians are obligated to avoid. Instead, it is a wonderfully reliable thermometer that captures the worldview of a group at a particular point in time. It is not something antithetical to a godly life and it is too valuable a tool to neglect as Christians engage cultures to ideologically transform them. If any of my brothers and sisters in Christ have avoided entertainment out of fear or suspicion, those things were misplaced; if they have not yet decided to consciously recognize the fragments of reality embedded within entertainment they already enjoy, it is time for them to modify their approach.
[1]. The most popular criticisms against gaming include the charges that it 1) is intellectually deficient or lazy people love it, 2) it is an anti-social activity, 3) it squanders time, 4) it causes violence, and 5) it is something that is petty escapism at best and not true art. I have addressed some of these points here (http://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-artistic-legitimacy-of-gaming.html) and I would love to systematically dismantle and refute the others at a later time. During the upcoming summer, when college classes have ceased, I will have more time to enjoy video games and critically assess them.
[2]. Anti-entertainment legalists can at best claim that humans should not participate in consumption of entertainment that features sinful activities, yet, not only are they often extremely inconsistent in applying this misguided belief, their own criterion for good entertainment would spell the end of books and movies about the Bible, much less any novel, game, or movie that accurately reflects how human reality is full of darkness, despair, and sin. Besides, the Bible itself says not to commit certain actions, never to avoid entertainment that acknowledges or features sin. There is no argument the legalists can resort to that does not involve extra-Biblical morality, logical fallacies, and subjective personal or cultural perceptions based upon emotions and preferences.
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