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Saturday, April 17, 2010

Desensitizing the Public to Sin: it is a constant work-in-progress


There is no shortage of TV shows nowadays. But what is in short supply are wholesome, artful, well-written shows. Since Star Wars: The Clone Wars hit the big screen I have followed it avidly. The characters are believable, the animation is awesome (and a welcome departure from anime) and the episodes are packed with thoughtful stories that add greatly to the depth of the Star Wars universe. It is meant as a kids' show, but I'm not the only adult who thoroughly enjoys it. I've met a lot of people as a travel to various book signings and most of them agree: this show is terrific.
Most recently I watched two episodes involving the Zillo beast. Wow. I loved it! How do they manage to pack so much into twenty minute episodes?
When I think of awesome sci-fi shows I think Star Trek, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis. But Clone Wars continues to deepen both in characterization and in plot. It is definitely one of the best shows out there.
TV producers cram a lot of junk into most of the shows available today. Between sexual scenes and numerous foul language they desensitize us, the viewers, so that they can throw increasing lewdness and vulgarity into our minds. I'm ashamed to admit that I overlook a lot of elements in shows, including both of the formerly mentioned. I just want to relax and enjoy myself. I don't want to be fighting all the time to purify my mind. But that is the problem, isn't it? We want to be entertained and we empty our minds of everything else to focus on the show or the film. We sit back with a bowl of popcorn (or in my case chocolate chip cookies) and sponge in everything: the sex, the vulgarity, the lewdness, and other sins.
That is a great part of my reason for enthusiastically endorsing this tv series Clone Wars. I can sit back and truly enjoy it without worrying what will be subconsiously seeded in my mind. If I could shake the hands of this show's producers, I would. And I'd encourage them to keep it wholesome. Here is a show I can enjoy with my coming kids and isn't dumbed down--and that is a rarity.

7 comments:

Rachel Kimberly said...

I haven't seen any of the Clone Wars movie/shows, mainly because it was too hard for my brain to switch from familiar live action characters to animated ones, and also because we don't have TV. :D

However, my family does have favorite shows (on DVD). We love Star Trek (and The Next Generation!), Hogan's Heroes, and I recently discovered Avatar: The Last Airbender. It's a kids animated show, and I wasn't impressed with the ads I saw for it, but once I watched the first few episodes online, I was drawn in by the quality of the writing, and the characters, who continue to grow and develop in positive ways (so far, at least).

Even though my family doesn't have TV, I know that there's a lot of bad stuff on these days. It's hard to pick through them all to find the good stuff. Sometimes, even though the kids shows can't include swearing, they can be the most insidious with their IDEAS.

Unknown said...

Since you've said it already I'll go ahead and say it, I absolutely love this show. It's amazing. I love-as you said-how the integrate the moral of the stories in every episode. At the beginning of every episode they have a little tagline that is a small little message to the viewers about, well, good things I guess. Not Christian, but it still has a morally sound message. Good post! :D

Author Scott Appleton said...

It really is a great show... and I love Star Trek. I have almost all the Original series, all 7 seasons of The Next Generation, most of Deep Space Nine, all eleven movies, all of Enterprise, and my father has all of Voyager on DVD. I also loved SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis

Jacob R Parker said...

I love Stargate Atlantis. My dad bought the first season at Walmart this Christmas and my whole family went through all five seasons in the span of a few months. We own them all now.

Brayden Hirsch said...

That's a good way to look at it. I don't watch it - but I saw the movie a couple years back. It was cool, other than the dialogue was a little weird. Different with the original six movies...it just sounded weird.

Nolan said...

Well, besides Count Dooku, I think they did a pretty good job on animating.

One thing I think is just sorta weird is that they swear in this show, whereas they don't at all in the movies. It wasn't hardcore swearing or anything, so it didn't really bug me all that bad, but I still find it weird.

Pretty good show, though. The only thing is that I have a hard time believing they did all that in between the two movies (and closer to the last, judging their hair).

And Asoka bugs me...

Author Scott Appleton said...

Beorn,
They do swear in the Star Wars movies (unfortunately). It is rare but they do.
For example in The Clone Wars "...they're cloners d-m- good ones, too." -Dex in the cafe

WELCOME TO THE WRITING SITE OF SCOTT APPLETON

"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." -Proverbs 16:24

In a world where morality is forsaken and Christ neglected, wholesome books are uncommon. The themes of my writing are love, self-sacrifice, and honor.

I see my generation turning from God to the gods of this world. I see homes torn apart in the pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. Children are murdered by the millions every year . . . without ever seeing the world outside their mothers' wombs. Through fiction I strive to encourage those who are willing, to stand against these things and be heroes and heroines; chivalrous, gentle, full of righteous indignation, and the fear and love of their Creator.