Challenge to the Current "Ethos" in Entertainment

“Embrace a New Ethos that Awakens Rather Than Violates the Soul”

I.  Introduction:

In 1987, the late and dear Pope John Paul II, an artist, visited Los Angeles, California.  One of the evenings, at the Registry Hotel, he spoke to the entertainment community, saying “you represent one of the most important American influences on the world today…it is in fact that your smallest decisions can have global impact.”  (JPII's Address to Hollywood).  He talked about the current state of entertainment ("current ethos") and buttressed his address to the entertainment world with a challenge, “The challenge of Moses to the people of Israel is applicable to all of us today, (and in particular to the entertainment culture):  ‘I set before you life and death… choose life.’”
[Dt. 30:19].

The challenge of Moses was a call to something great.  The call for a “new ethos” in entertainment is a call made not only to the entertainment industry but also to the Catholic Church, in how it relates to artists and entertainment professionals, and to all who can gain greatly from their experience of entertainment.  The call is to let go of the current “ethos” in entertainment, where relationships of use, isolation and judgment are prevalent.  It is an ethos that feeds a creative spirit that violates the soul and sinks it into despair and death.  The call is to embrace a new ethos in entertainment, where relationships of healing, mercy, and forgiveness reign.  It is an ethos that will feed a creative spirit that awakens the soul to truth, beauty, goodness, hope, and life.  It s a call for the entertainment industry and the Church to work together rather than against each other to preserve and continually unveil a true “State of Beauty” in our culture.  The challenge is to answer the call to embrace a new ethos in entertainment (film, television, music, video gaming, fashion) that will awaken rather than violate the soul of humanity.
II.  Historical Development of the "Current" Ethos in Entertainment:

III. Conclusion:

IV.  4 Challenges to Embracing a New Ethos in Entertainment:

1 - Challenge Presented to Catholic Consumer:  Realize Your Power

2 - Challenge Presented to "Catholic Hollywood":  Work in Collaboration and for Unity

3 - Challenge Presented to Catholic Community at Large:  "Hollywood is not Evil"

4 - Challenge Presented to the Secular Entertainment Community:  Trust the Church



The Late Pope John Paul II - The Visionary of the "new ethos" in Culture




Conclusion:

This historical overview of Hollywood films, especially as seen in the 1970s (historical development), indicates that the current ethos in entertainment is definitely not totally corrupt.  There are very few comparable gifts to humanity when Hollywood is "on their game."  But these bright lites of truth, beauty, and goodness in entertainment seem to be less frequent and the gratuitously violent, sexually promiscuous, and other vices more prevalent.

There is a downward spiral trend being experienced in the current ethos of entertainment.   Hollywood, motivated by greed, is providing the public with more entertainment that feeds their "self-gratifying" desires.  In seeking ways to be competitive and satisfy the consumers base desires, Hollywood seems to be providing more entertainment that goes one more step deeper into the pit of falsehood, ugliness, and badness.

This historical focus has been on film, but this downward spiral trend of the current ethos in entertainment can be related to other sectors of the industry - namely, television, music, Internet, fashion, and the fast growing video gaming industry.  New Ethos seeks to reach out to each of these industries to identify where truth, beauty, and goodness are present and honor those moments.  The "new ethos" in entertainment that is envisioned will be the everlasting upward trend in entertainment, where people experience an overarching spirit of truth, beauty, and goodness.  The current ethos that is contributing to the downward spiral in entertainment will be reversed upwardly through relationship and respectful dialogue between the Church and entertainment industry - a dialogue on exploring the essence of truth, beauty, and goodness in entertainment - a dialogue, where the ultimate objective is to embrace a new ethos in entertainment that awakens rather than violates the soul.






1 - Challenge Presented to Catholic Consumer:  Realize Your Power

First challenge to the consumer is to realize that entertainment within itself can be a good and holy gift from God.  Excellence in entertainment can operate much like, if not better, than an excellent homily or sermon.  The Catholic-Christian consumer must open themselves up to the great opportunities for personal and spiritual growth that true, beautiful, and good entertainment offers.  The consumer must be ready to embrace a broader scope and a "new ethos" in evaluating entertainment, while not compromising their values, nor violating their human dignity.

Second challenge to the consumer is that they exercise their powerful influence through supporting favorable entertainment as a consumer.  The consumer, especially the Catholic community at approximately 80 million strong, can have a significant influence on the current "ethos" in entertainment.  Hollywood Executives usually look to box office numbers on the Monday following a films' opening theatrical release.  The success or failure of a certain type of film helps inform their decisions for future film projects.

In the realm of film, People for years, especially people of faith, have expressed displeasure and frustration in the quality of films released from major motion picture studios.  Sometimes, the consumer contributes to such an ethos in entertainment.  Every time a ticket is purchased at the box office, a vote is placed for the types of films Hollywood will next consider producing.  Unfortunately, many Catholic-Christians have taken such a negative attitude toward entertainment ("Hollywood is Evil") that the vote is never cast because they are busy either censoring or boycotting films, or just too busy to go to the box office and cast the vote.  Its time for Catholic-Christians to engage the culture and vote at the box office, DVD sales, concerts or the music they buy.  The better a film does on opening weekend at the theater, or in DVD sales, the more likely these types of films (or other media) will be "green lit" for production and distribution.   


2 - Challenge Presented to "Catholic Hollywood":  Work in Collaboration and for Unity  

“The power of evangelization will find itself considerably diminished if those who proclaim the Gospel are divided among themselves in all sort of ways.” – Evangelii Nuntiandi

Separately, there have been some noble Catholic-Christian efforts in entertainment. Unfortunately, “Catholic Hollywood” has been able to have only a limited influence on the current entertainment “ethos” because its efforts to award, promote, market and distribute entertainment excellence to its market base have been fragmented, narrow, and biased.

In order for the Catholic community to actualize their market influence for a "new ethos" in entertainment, they need to be well informed of what entertainment to support.  The Catholic community needs an efficient mechanism that serves as a point of unity to help inform and give them a sense of quality confidence in entertainment to support - namely, a New Ethos logo that brands the media for exhibiting an overarching spirit of truth, beauty, and goodness.  The logo must be awarded through a trusted and well informed resource, "Catholic Hollywood", a maven for entertainment, for this logo to gain the respect, reputation and be representative of the greater Catholic community.  Catholic Hollywood are those Catholic entertainment professionals who are established and accomplished as artists and executives ("Hollywood Insiders").  A great challenge is presented to Catholic Hollywood so that the Catholic community can realize their potential.

The first challenge to Catholic Hollywood will be to temporarily to let go of promoting their own noble missions and embrace a more universal mission that collaborates at a certain point in time to determine what entertainment media deserves the unified attention of the Catholic community.  For the logo to carry the power of persuasion, it must reflect a unified, collaborative, and representative selection process that creates widespread ownership among the Catholic community.  A continued absence of a quality standard, universally recognized within “Catholic Hollywood” and within the Catholic Market, will quickly turn any potential Catholic market influence cynical, confused, and cold.

The second challenge to Catholic Hollywood is to let go of the idea of creating a separate Catholic Hollywood that expects the Catholic community to support their product just because its "Catholic."  This approach will not necessarily be the answer in creating a new and sustained ethos in entertainment.  The Catholic community is made up of people who are hungry for quality entertainment and are confused where to find it.  Many are becoming increasing frustrated with wasting their time and money on, not only debase entertainment, but also "clean entertainment" that is poor entertainment quality.  The Catholic community, including its entertainment professionals, must consider the idea that secular Hollywood, which includes Catholic Hollywood, is a gift that must be embraced rather than fought against.  Secular Hollywood are masters at what they do and "Hollywood" would not have its meaning today if not for what they have accomplished.  The key to creating a new ethos in entertainment will be how Catholic Hollywood and the Catholic community at large inter-relates with secular Hollywood.


3 - Challenge Presented to Catholic Community at Large:  "Hollywood is not Evil"

If the Catholic Community at large (hierarchy, priests, lay) is to have a hand in helping to create a new ethos in entertainment, it must contribute to a non-judgmental, transformative and healing environment as it relates with the entertainment industry.  "Hollywood is doomed" or "Hollywood is evil" or "artists are freaks" attitudes have no place in a true spirit of Christ.  These attitudes fight against the gift of creativity and send a message that Christ's redemptive power of healing and forgiveness is impotent, and only serves to tear down and divide.  The entertainment industry is made up of people, many who are Catholic, some practicing and some not.  Many of these professionals are artist, who sacrifice the comforts of a stable and predictable life, to make use of their God given talent for the service of humanity.  Many artists, of which a good number arise from the Catholic community, are repelled from the Church because of judgmental attitudes they experience.  Consequently and ironically, these artist leave the Church so they can create.

The great challenge to the Catholic Community at large is to support, guide, pray for, honor, and especially respect the fact that artists, by their very nature, must be trusted and given allowance to operate "outside the box."  The creative environment is not conducive to boundaries drawn around it by those outside the creative process.


 4 - Challenge Presented to the Secular Entertainment Community:  Trust the Church

In general, the Entertainment Industry provides what the audience desires based on revenues for the sake of its survival.  Unfortunately, consumers, particularly in Western culture, are attracted (even addicted) to a toxic entertainment environment (e.g., gratuitous violence, promiscuity, egoism, blind prejudice, and greed).  But like all addictions, toxic media has no sustainable connection with the dignity of the human person.  The Entertainment Industry is finding it increasingly difficult to sustain a loyal market because consumers are always looking to competing media outlets for instant gratification.  Innate in every human person is the desire for that which is true, good, and beautiful.  Even if they desire and choose what is bad for them, it is because something in that bad choice is a good they desire, though not ordered to the ultimate good of their human development.

The great challenge to secular "Hollywood" is to embrace a trusting approach with what the Catholic Church has to offer with regard to your work.  Naturally the Catholic Church would love for all people to become Christian, but she (Catholic Church) reaches out to you with the intention not to bring judgment, rather to dialogue and help serve the entertainment community in fostering something most people want - namely, quality entertainment rooted in truth, beauty, and goodness.  This type of entertainment New Ethos believes will be good business for Hollywood.  The Catholic Church has a rich tradition to offer in working with the entertainment community for a "new ethos" in entertainment, rooted in a free culture where people are awakened to their true human dignity and the unlimited horizons it brings.