Guiding Principles for a “New Ethos”
in Entertainment
New Ethos' key foundational principle is to encourage the encounter
of the divine in the true, the beautiful, and the good of entertainment
- The "God Moments" of entertainment.
What Entertainment Professionals Do is Important:
The Entertainment Industry, including its artists, promoters and
distributors, possess a great dignity by virtue of their trade, as
the modern day like “prophets” who proclaim through thier
work a great hope for humanity - namely, that the Kingdom of God is at
hand [Matt. 5:17]. This great dignity that lies inherent in the
entertainment community is a calling to something true, good, and
beautiful, even if
they are unaware of such a calling, for the art is greater than the
artist. The late Pope John Paul II began his Letter to Artists (1999)
with a text from Genesis, “God saw all that he made, and it was very
good.” [Gen. 1:31]. The pope saw clearly the vocational
dignity of artists, called “craftsmen,” as being in the “image
of God the Creator.” Artists give form and meaning to that which has
already been brought into existence by God (ex nihilo), and who by
their very nature are alert to every “epiphany” of the inner beauty of
things.
The Church Has a Responsibility in Guiding the Culture: The Church’s
responsibility to humanity is rooted in its mission to foster a world
of peace and justice experienced in a personal encounter with Jesus
Christ. The Church is greatly challenged in
proclaiming this Gospel in the modern world because global society is absorbed in
(attracted to and shaped by) a toxic entertainment media culture (e.g.,
gratuitous violence, promiscuity, and greed in film, television,
video games, music, fashion, etc.). Pope John Paul II wrote in
his Apostolic Letter The Rapid Development,
“Communications media
(particularly entertainment) have acquired such importance as to be the
principal means of guidance and inspiration for many people (especially
the youth) in their personal, familial, and social behavior" [n.3].
Further, he also wrote, “The current phenomenon of communications
impels the Church towards a sort of pastoral and cultural revision so
as to deal adequately with the times in which we live.” If
it is true also what Pope John Paul II wrote about artists, that they
"are alert to every epiphany of the inner beauty of things” [Letter To Artists], then the Church has a grave responsibility to serve the Entertainment Industry.
The Church Needs “Hollywood” and “Hollywood” Needs the
Church:
The cultural center of society has
become
entertainment, especially with the youth. Most people
seek truth, beauty, and goodness in their lives and seek it through entertainment. The Church
needs the
industry’s artists to give “meaning and form” to the gospel
message in new and creative ways so that people can be feed in their search
for truth, beauty, and goodness even as they experience entertainment.
The Church also needs the gifts of the
industry's promoters and distributors so that this message can reach and
appeal to a mass market. Entertainment that exhibits a
spirit of truth, beauty, and goodness will be good
business for the Entertainment Industry. The artists of the
Entertainment Industry need the Church to help give
“soul” (truth, beauty, goodness) to its form. The industry's promoters and distributors
need a significantly large and loyal market base that the Catholic
Church can potentially provide.
More Collaboration Among Catholic Community in Promoting Entertainment Excellence: The
late Pope Paul VI wrote in his encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi, “The
power of evangelization will find itself considerably diminished if
those who proclaim the Gospel are divided among themselves in all sort
of ways.” For the Catholic-Christian market to have a
significant impact on the “New Ethos” of entertainment, it will need to
be somewhat unified and responsive for the entertainment industry to
recognize its influence. For this to happen, without compromising Catholic principles, collaboration within Catholic
Hollywood is primary, ecumenical and inter-faith collaboration
secondary though necessary and important, and collaboration with the
secular Entertainment Industry essential.
Product Advocacy Rooted
in Sound Catholic Principles: New
Ethos will take care to ensure that those who recommend products to
bear the New Ethos logo for product promotion are comprised of “persons
who are familiar with the technique of motion picture (or other
applicable entertainment media such as Television, video games, music,
fashion) and at the same time, well grounded in principles of Catholic
morality and doctrine.” [Vigilanti Cura
(1936)]. Guest and expert jurors who are not Catholic, Christian,
or "practicing Catholics” may be invited to sit on a specific jury to
contribute their particular area of expertise. Each specific jury
will be
dominant, if not in totality, of Catholics who are well grounded in
principles of Catholic morality and doctrine.
Additional Guiding Principles for New Ethos
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