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Courageous 60 Minutes Exposes Big Tech’s Role in Promoting Anorexic Behavior to Vulnerable Teens. (But Wait. . . )

A Response to: Season 55, Episode 35
by Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

When I found the episode on the 60 Minutes webpage to watch this story again, the very first thing I saw when I began was an ad that said the episode was brought to us by Pfizer. That’s right. It is as if the Big Pharma guys were saying, “Trust us; we are on this same moral crusade.” I thought such sponsorship seemed out of place-a mismatch. Maybe I am surprised the WHO didn’t sponsor it. But that is a topic for another time.

What the episode featured was a report that parents have begun filing lawsuits against big tech companies like Instagram for targeting young teen girls worried about their health and body image. Allegedly, Instagram algorithms wouldn’t generate stories of healthy diets or affirmations of body shapes of all kinds. Instead, apparently, it bombarded those young searchers with toxic promotions of dangerous anorexic behaviors.

It would seem that while Instagram’s parent company, Meta (aka Facebook), was shielding us from false information about COVID, they have been feeding provocative images and sketchy website links to kids who were not mentally or emotionally healthy enough to recognize the dangers of the content. Further, the parents claimed that Instagram use had significantly contributed to their child’s depression. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Good for you, 60 Minutes. Pat yourself on the back for your advocacy. 

But wait. Something is missing.

I propose my readers try this experiment: Listen to the episode and imagine something else-I know it may be hard. After all, this is the legacy media were are talking about- but try to imagine that every time anyone says “anorexia” or “skinny,” you insert “gender dysphoria” or “gender transition surgery.

When I do, the story still makes sense to me. Parents are enraged. Lawsuits are coming. Quoting the Surgeon General, the reporter asserted that Big Tech and social media are “posing a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of America’s youth” and calls for tougher standards. The bottom line in either story is that these ideologies harm our children, and certain institutions should be shamed and punished for promoting that harm.

Of course, transgender ideology was not the focus of this 60 Minutes story-eating disorders were the issue. Still, my question for CBS News is this: When will that become your issue?

When will the legacy media report that the mental health of those seeking harmful gender transition drugs and surgery is as big, or is a more significant crisis among America’s youth? When will CBS News, along with their big-tech collaborators, point fingers at themselves and admit that not unlike Instagram, they have promoted and even celebrated the false ideology that a person can change their biological sex? No doubt, CBS, PBS, NBC, and others have generally shown great hostility to anyone who would push back against any form of LGBTQIA+ ideology. As a result, they have stopped far short of honestly reporting on the harms presented by the popular new kid on the block-transgenderism.

So how long will I have to wait for 60 Minutes to air their report documenting how harmful this intentional and predatory sexual grooming of our youth is and will always be? When will they interview the unfortunate humans who have mutilated themselves permanently-now eternally dependent on medicine and therapy to get by?

Will they likewise include the grieving parents who tell us how hopeless they felt in their battle to save their children from it? Will they air the tearful sound bites from the young girl who now regrets her mistaken belief that this was the answer to her depressed feelings of shame and rejection? Will the editor include the comments where the victims retell the moment when they came to the horrible realization that, unlike the many teens suffering from anorexia have done, they can never reverse the damage?

When will the enranged and steely-eyed 60 Minutes reporter attack some child-mutilating surgeon or progressive hospital administrator on camera for perpetrating this harm? (*Crickets*)

I’m waiting. If they do, I bet this is one episode Pfizer will decline to sponsor.

Four Movies for Analysis

Faith and Film at the Palace

This is a list of movies we will examine in the class along with some key questions the films raise.

(Note: Movies are subject to change if circumstances warrant.)

Sunday, June 2

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Inside Out (2015)

From IMDb: “After young Riley is uprooted from her Midwest life and moved to San Francisco, her emotions – Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness – conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house, and school.”

Respondent: Dr. Dave Helms, LPC

Dave Helms is a respected Licenced Professional Counselor practicing in the Austin area. In addition to his other qualifications, he has a  graudate degree in Child Psychology.

With the sequel hitting theaters in June, it is time to revisit this movie that attempted to portray the emotional battles inside the mind of a pre-teen girl. The film is animated, which leads one to conclude it is aimed at children. We invite anyone with kids or grandkids to examine this film to get a glimpse of the spiritual battles our young people are experiencing these days.

Questions this film raises:

  1. What does the current field of child psychology say about the internal emotional conflicts in a young person?
  2. Has popular science changed the way practitioners and parents treat children who have struggles like these?
  3. Are children raised in a Christian home immune to any of these problems?
  4. Are sadness and fear necessary emotions in a healthy psyche? What else is necessary? What should be repressed?
  5. What comfort and assurance can help a child who struggles with their emotions?

Sunday, June 9 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Barbie (2023)

From IMDb: “Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.”

Respondent: Robin Knippa

Robin Knippa, is a career woman, but she is also a wife and mother. She often leads Bible Classes addressing popular culture at Zion Lutheran in Walburg.

  1. What does the journey between the real and utopian Barbieland world represent? Is it the journey to maturity or the entry into a sinful world or something else?
  2. Is everything possible for women today? Have they, in at least some ways, become superior to men?
  3. What does it feel like to be put in a box? Are the intentions of the Mattel executives entirely bad? What do they aim to preserve?
  4. What does this movie say about the evolving symbiotic relationship between men and women?
  5. What statements or revelations about the relationship between the creator and the created does this movie uncover?

Sunday, June 16

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Friday Night Lights (The movie, 2004)

From IMDb: “Based on H.G. Bissinger’s book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.”

Respondent: Mike Barnes

Formerly the award-winning sports director at KVUE, Mike is now a motivational speaker and communications consultant at Barnes Team Media. He and his wife Kim recently launched Parenting Aging Parents, a resource site for people facing that unique challenge.

No one knows high school football better than our respondent. As sports director, Barns hosted the popular Friday Football Fever broadcast each fall, covering Central Texas high school football.  Many will remember his broadcasts on Friday nights covering area high school football games. 

Questions this film raises:

  1. What is the mystique about high school football, especially in small towns in Texas?
  2. How has the stadium become a holy place for many players and fans alike?
  3. What are some of the positive spirtual benefits of playing on a competitive sports team? What are the potential problems with it?
  4. How compelling is the promise of a college scholarship for these athletes? Might this carrot-on-a-stick serve as a metaphor for one’s own life quest?
  5. Is the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer (in both locker rooms) indicative of a deeper truth about Texas high school sports? How do viewers interpret that moment?

Sunday, June 23 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

The Breakfast Club (1985)

From IMDb: “Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.”

Respondent: Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Recently the interim senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School, Rev. Dr. David Kluth has also served as a professor, vice president, and dean at several Concordia universities. David led the relocation of Concordia University Texas to its new campus. He earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in instructional technology & design from Nova Southeastern University.

This classic movie is also worthy of a second look. Five teenagers, each saturated in their preferred school culture, are forced together to endure a dreaded day-long detention. The day becomes a journey of transformation for the teens. In one way or another, each of them experiences renewal as their day of detention transforms into a day of liberation.

Questions this film raises:

  1. Are the characters meant to represent universal stereotypes among high school students? If the movie were made today, what characters would be in the movie?
  2. How powerful is the drive for social acceptance among people, especially in the young?
  3. What universal strengths and/or weaknesses are apparent in each character? How does each student transition throughout the day?
  4. The retention writing assignment asks the students, “Who you think you are?” How profound and relevant is that question for today?
  5. Is anyone redeemed in this movie? If so, who or what is the redeemer?

DISCLAMER: MOVIES MAY CONTAIN ROUGH LANGUAGE AND DEPICT SEXUAL SITUAIONS.

Series Curator

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented in the U.S., Finland, and Spain on how audiences interpret the movies they watch. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he teaches at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southeaster University.

Old hymnboard with class dates.

 

Many of us will remember how enthusiastic viewers were last summer about this nostalgic look at the Barbie Doll craze. Like the doll itself, the movie seemed to be aimed at young girls. Upon closer examination, the movie makes some profound statements about the journey of young women who enjoy unlimited opportunities in whatever path they choose. Likewise, the movie makes a statement about marriage and the role of men in this utopian world. For both women and men—this movie demands a deeper look.

Questions this film raises:

  1. What does the journey between the real and utopian Barbieland world represent? Is it the journey to maturity or the entry into a sinful world or something else?
  2. Is everything possible for women today? Have they, in at least some ways, become superior to men?
  3. What does it feel like to be put in a box? Are the intentions of the Mattel executives entirely bad? What do they aim to preserve?
  4. What does this movie say about the evolving symbiotic relationship between men and women?
  5. What statements or revelations about the relationship between the creator and the created does this movie uncover?

Sunday, June 16

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

Friday Night Lights (The movie, 2004)

From IMDb: “Based on H.G. Bissinger’s book, which profiled the economically depressed town of Odessa, Texas and their heroic high school football team, The Permian High Panthers.”

Respondent: Mike Barnes

Formerly the award-winning sports director at KVUE, Mike is now a motivational speaker and communications consultant at Barnes Team Media. He and his wife Kim recently launched Parenting Aging Parents, a resource site for people facing that unique challenge.

No one knows high school football better than our respondent. As sports director, Barns hosted the popular Friday Football Fever broadcast each fall, covering Central Texas high school football.  Many will remember his broadcasts on Friday nights covering area high school football games. 

Questions this film raises:

  1. What is the mystique about high school football, especially in small towns in Texas?
  2. How has the stadium become a holy place for many players and fans alike?
  3. What are some of the positive spirtual benefits of playing on a competitive sports team? What are the potential problems with it?
  4. How compelling is the promise of a college scholarship for these athletes? Might this carrot-on-a-stick serve as a metaphor for one’s own life quest?
  5. Is the reciting of the Lord’s Prayer (in both locker rooms) indicative of a deeper truth about Texas high school sports? How do viewers interpret that moment?

Sunday, June 23 

  • A Timely Film
  • A Popular Movie
  • A Heroic Movie
  • A Classic Movie

The Breakfast Club (1985)

From IMDb: “Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.”

Respondent: Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Recently the interim senior pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School, Rev. Dr. David Kluth has also served as a professor, vice president, and dean at several Concordia universities. David led the relocation of Concordia University Texas to its new campus. He earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in instructional technology & design from Nova Southeastern University.

This classic movie is also worthy of a second look. Five teenagers, each saturated in their preferred school culture, are forced together to endure a dreaded day-long detention. The day becomes a journey of transformation for the teens. In one way or another, each of them experiences renewal as their day of detention transforms into a day of liberation.

Questions this film raises:

  1. Are the characters meant to represent universal stereotypes among high school students? If the movie were made today, what characters would be in the movie?
  2. How powerful is the drive for social acceptance among people, especially in the young?
  3. What universal strengths and/or weaknesses are apparent in each character? How does each student transition throughout the day?
  4. The retention writing assignment asks the students, “Who you think you are?” How profound and relevant is that question for today?
  5. Is anyone redeemed in this movie? If so, who or what is the redeemer?

DISCLAMER: MOVIES MAY CONTAIN ROUGH LANGUAGE AND DEPICT SEXUAL SITUAIONS.

Series Curator

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented in the U.S., Finland, and Spain on how audiences interpret the movies they watch. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he teaches at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southeaster University.

Old hymnboard with class dates.

 

Faith and Film at the Palace Theater (Informal Class for the Community)

Faith and Film at the Historic Georgetown Palace Theater

 

Old hymnboard with class dates.Three years after being shut down due to the pandemic, Cinema & Religion returned as Faith and Film, hosted at The Palace Theater* on the historic square in Georgetown, Texas. The series was held four Sundays in July and four in October.

The series at The Palace resumes June 2 with four great films to discuss, led by four capable respondents.

Continue reading Faith and Film at the Palace Theater (Informal Class for the Community)

FAQs About Faith and Film at the Palace

Animation including dates of the series on an old church hymnboard
Click to play with sound.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What does ESL stand for?

A: You may see a church from time to time offering a class in conversational English for immigrants—English as a second language—to help them make sense of a world in which an unfamiliar tongue is spoken. Essentially, the Faith and Film classes are entertainment as a second language—helping improve the media literacy and fluency of anyone who watches movies. Zion Lutheran Church and School of Walburg has contracted with Parabolic Media to curate a series of classes for anyone interested in registering.

Q: Why not call it Christianity and Film?

A: While this series will certainly be filtered through the lens of Christianity, alternative faiths and worldviews are the foundation of many good movies—even some that are labeled as Christian movies. In fact, virtually all movies promote the filmmaker’s values and beliefs.

Q: Why should I improve my media literacy?

A: Dr. Robert Johnson (Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Seminary) has stated that the cinema’s storytellers have become the new priests of our culture. As such, the movie theater has become another great competitor for the church because great movies inspire (or disturb) people in profound ways. “Consciously or unconsciously, all filmmakers have an ethical purpose in their work. All movies have a moral. In both obvious and subtle ways, filmmakers infuse their worldview into the story. If you think about it, the movie is the filmmaker’s prayer.” (quoted from the series’ curriculum, The Filmmaker’s Prayer).

Q: What if I am not a Christian?

A: It is our primary aim to uncover and compare the beliefs promoted in the movie to a mainstream Christian worldview. Admittedly, our discussion leaders will likely interpret the film through a lens compatible with conservative Lutheran theology. However, people of all faiths and religions are invited and encouraged to share their insights. There will be no judgment.

Q: Where and when will the classes be held?

A: Responding to this need in our community, Parabolic Media has made arrangements with The Palace on the square in Georgetown to use the theater as a suitable classroom. This enables us to examine films in their most natural and powerful state. Unlike a movie you merely watch for entertainment, we include a discussion-a careful examination and reflection after the screening that will help us all understand the shared experience.

The summer 2024 classes are scheduled for Sundays in June, starting at 5:30 p.m. and ending sometime around 8:30 p.m. (depending on the length of the film).

    Q: What movies will you examine?

    A: Movies are carefully selected for this course. Use links below to see what questions are raised by the movies selected for examination in October.

    Q: Will you examine R-rated films?

    A: Our approach is not to ask if we should show films like these but ask if these more difficult scenes and themes somehow make the film exempt from critical examination. We find that many R-rated films are in need of close scholarly, theological, and philosophical analysis. However, if you normally avoid such films, you can simply skip the class that week. Or, like the scientist, don goggles, gloves, and a lab coat when examining such artifacts.

    Q: How does the informal class differ from a traditional college class?

    A: Like a college class, a curriculum is provided to assist in learning. Far beyond a simple appreciation for a film’s aesthetics, participants will fully examine their personal and societal responses to the worldviews promoted in popular movies. Learners will be equipped and inspired to identify, interpret, and respond to these cultural artifacts.

    Q: Will I have homework if I attend the informal class?

    A: No. We only suggest that you become at least marginally familiar with the curriculum material provided (a digital copy of a book). In our discussion, you can add your voice to the mix or just quietly enjoy the conversation.

    Q: Do I get academic credit?

    A: The class is for your own edification. However, those who attend all eight classes (July and October) will be eligible to receive a certificate of completion upon request.

    Q: What is the cost of the course?

    A: We do not sell tickets as a theater would do—the series is free for all class participants.  All learners receive a digital copy of the curriculum, drinks, and refreshments. All participants should RSVP each night so the volunteers can provide enough popcorn and other refreshments.  The seating is open.

    Q: May I bring someone with me?

    A: We highly encourage everyone to invite other learners to spread literacy in our community. The following options are ideal for groups such as Bible studies, home groups, friends from work, or families. Again, all attendees must register and RSVP so we can make sure seats are available. All participants will receive a digital copy of the curriculum.

    Q: How do I register (or RSVP)?

    A: Click this link.

    Q: Who and what are Movie Missionaries?

    A: Our goal is to make literate viewer-critics who can put the story in proper perspective and help others do the same. We are recruiting people who have a passion for helping their friends, family members, and neighbors grow in their literacy. Not unlike active Christians, the de-churched and unchurched also struggle to recognize their purpose in God’s plan. For many of us, bringing guests to the theater will be easier than cajoling them to attend church on Sunday. So instead, literally, they will be taking the Gospel to the public square. The class is necessary because most viewers can only unconsciously process the messages filmmakers embed in their stories.

    Do you know anyone who would rather talk about movies that spiritual matters? Watch this humorous video.

    Q: What or who is Parabolic Media?

    A: Dr. Philip Hohle of Parabolic Media is a trained scholar in the study of how people interpret movies. He has published and presented on this topic through the International Society for the Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI). He also has taught film interpretation and media law at the university level. With the help of other scholars in the area, he hosted the series Cinema and Religion at the Moviehouse & Eatery in Austin for eight years. His book, The Filmmaker’s Prayer, was written to serve as the curriculum for this series.

    Q: What if the weather is bad? What if no seats are left?

    A: Parabolic Media will send announcements to the email address you used in your RSVP if the event is canceled due to weather (or any other reason). Likewise, if RSVPs show that the theater will reach capacity, any additional persons submitting RSVPs will be sent an email informing them that no seats are left.

    Q: How do I contact you?

    A: You are welcome to email Philip Hohle with additional questions anytime: philip@parabolicmedia.com

    Welcome to the New World Order (Sorry if I woke you)

    A Revisit of Jean François Revel’s 1970 book, Without Marx or Jesus: The New American Revolution Has Begun

    ©Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

    Neo-puritans. In the old days we burned witches

    A battle is being fought . . . the stakes are of the utmost importance for all mankind . . . . It is absolutely necessary if mankind is to survive. The exchange of one political civilization for another, which . . . seems to me to be going on right now in the United States. -Jean François Revel, 1970

    These are the words of French socialist Jean-François Revel in 1970. He believed that a unified world order would be the result of this revolution, and the impact would finally sweep the world of regressive and harmful ideologies. He was remarkably prophetic in how the revolution was to progress.

    There are five revolutions that must take place either simultaneously or not at all: a political revolution; a social revolution; a technological and scientific revolution; a revolution in culture, values, and standards; and a revolution in international and interracial relations” (162). The result would be, “The abolition of war and of imperialist relations by abolishing both states and the notion of national sovereignty; . . . world-wide economic and educational equality; birth control on a planetary scale [read: abortion?]; complete ideological, cultural, and moral freedom (Revel, 161).

    According to Revel, this revolution would necessarily have the United States as the epicenter of this change. In his book, Revel prescribed a comprehensive transformation of American culture. The accomplishment would come to pass, not accidentally, but as the matured cumulation of the many isolated, incomplete, or failed revolutions attempted in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and in other parts of the world. Socialist revolutionaries, Revel insisted, would finally get it right in the revolutionizing of the United States. This reformed America would then lead the rest of humanity into a better world-where romantic fascinations of the colonial, imperialistic past would finally be put aside in order that true equity would be enjoyed by all. A new world authority will take the place of autonomous national governments. Personal property would be shared with all.

    Revel predicted this new revolution half a century ago. Many of the necessary social transitions have indeed come to pass in a series of small steps that may have gone unrecognized as a part of a unified effort. If so, let me be the first to welcome you to this new world order. Perhaps you did not realize you had boarded that train, but we are indeed pulling into the station just now. This journey and destination is the very progress dreamed of by those who call themselves Progressive. Their long march is almost over; their goal is within sight.

    Jean-François Revel was a disciple of classic liberalism, ideals that seem today almost conservative in comparison to some of the radical notions of the far left. Due to their numerous historical failures, Revel shared his many revealing observations concerning the radical wing’s fallacies. Yet, in spite of the harsh criticism of his fellow socialists, Revel’s intention was clearly constructive. His book was to help make the revolution more inevitable, more potent.

    Specifically, Revel noted that the passionate leftist revolutionaries often destroyed the countries they aimed to claim. After the overthrow, they found themselves incapable of replacing or rebuilding the necessary institutions that serve the populace. In pointing to history, Revel asserts that such failed revolutions have only invited dictators and oligarchies to rise from beneath the chaos.

    “No more!” Revel exudes his reader, “This time we will succeed! We will bring the institutions down to their knees, but we will transform them, not destroy them. We must keep alive and master the goose that lays golden eggs” (paraphrased).

    American revolutionaries, in effect, are in an ideal situation. They are the beneficiaries of the system of whose failing they denounce (Revel, 179).

    The American system of government is seen as especially ripe for overthrown due to the freedoms outlined in the constitutions and proactively enforced by our courts. Thus, the revolution would not require the violent measures tried elsewhere; the American revolution would be conducted through legal means. Moreover, Revel marveled that he knew of no other society that would allow members of the police or military to stand trial for the execution of their duty.

    The best return on violence is achieved by its marriage to the legal resources offered by America’s political system (Revel, 200).

    Fifty years later, Americans are in the later stages of Revel’s prophesied revolution. Of course, were it not for the unexpected election of Donald Trump, the revolution might simply have been about the business of mopping up in the year 2020. The question arises; will progressives be ultimately and wholly successful in achieving the final goals for the revolution in light of the political setback? Even if the COVID-19 crisis helps bring down the Trump White House, will the economy recover after the sweeping socialist protocols of pandemic are finally relaxed?

    In any case, it is yet to be seen if today’s progressive revolutionaries can prove that they can overcome their weaknesses. In their zeal, they may actually destroy what makes America great and worthy of claiming.

    The many societal changes in America since 1970 indicate that these revolutionaries may have indeed learned their lesson-they have been extraordinarily patient and strategic in their efforts. History shows that these progressives have made remarkable progress in transforming the country in measured steps, puzzle piece by puzzle piece. 

    A reading of Revel provides proof that each change was part of a plan- subtle, intentional, and unified. For at least fifty years, a conspiracy has indeed been underfoot. Without the patient  being fully conscious to the transfusion of ideology, the citizenry of this country have been hooked up to the ideological dialysis machine for decades. Drip by drip, for better or for worse, today’s America is no longer like the America of Revel’s day.

    Over this span of time, American leaders warned people of an oncoming military conflict with the communists-like the one played out in Vietnam. In spite of the vigil, and without a shot, a communist-like revolution has mostly succeeded in gaining control of the US in spite of the vigilance. The revolution’s quiet victories have been won partially because they avoided raising the population’s concern over Marxist imperialism-the Red Scare that shook Americans in Revel’s time. 

    The [new] American revolution is, without doubt, the first revolution in history in which disagreement on values and goals is more pronounced than disagreement on the means of existence (Revel, 134).

    Furthermore, the revolution progressed without the need for the socially woke version of Jesus imaged by the liberal wing of Western religion over the same decades. Certainly, conservative American Christianity had to be sidelined early to make space for a brand new morality.

    Above all, we must know what is the “threshold of perception” of disaster within a society; we must know the danger signals, and we must know the controls by means of which this information can be translated into political action (Revel, 97).

    One may wonder what perceptions of disaster have come upon us in the last several decades-what dire warnings have been translated into political action? One can clearly recognize an alarmist agenda in the media, sensationalism that serves to promote a perception of impending doom. Shows like The View, The Daily Show, and even Good Morning America are (or were) popular programs where episodes feature passionate warnings about certain calamities that will likely destroy viewers unless they take immediate action.

    The Disastrous Dozen

    Over this last half-century, those heralds of disaster have cried warnings on an entire range of impending catastrophes facing all Americans. Each crisis provided an opportunity to weaken further the American resolve or ability to resist. What follows below are several crises that have faced Americans over the decades, and the possible aftermath of those emergencies.

    1. Overpopulation.

    The specter of unrestrained human population growth was painted for us in books like Paul Ehrlich’s The Population Bomb (1968). More than just overcrowding, overpopulation fuels the side effects of war, disease, and famine. The crisis served to shake the foundations of the traditional family unit and open the door to using abortion as a means of birth control. Alarmed readers were warned not to be fruitful or multiply.

    2.  The rise in fascism.

    Providing evidence that Nazis were still active among us, the revolution precipitated a crisis that was used as a means to further cripple prideful nationalism and to cancel, or reclassify as a xenophobe, anyone who would still dare to call themselves a patriot. Meanwhile, the historical atrocities of communists patriots were conveniently forgotten or downplayed.

    Is it progress if a cannibal uses knife and fork? (Polish Poet Jerzy Lec Stanislaw)

    3. The Christian Moral Majority’s attempt to sway the government.

    Comparing the movement to the Salem witch-hunts, the backlash was used as a means of removing the Church and God as competing moral authorities vying for the souls of Americans. Ironically, we have seen the Moral Majority’s Judeo-Christian ethic swapped out with the revolution’s Neo-Puritan strict morality, a political woke-ness bereft of grace and forgiveness.

    [The revolution has] resulted in a widespread and strong feeling of guilt and a passion for self-accusation, which, on occasion, tends to go to extremes (Revel, 134).

    4. The attacks by the far right on the free press and the rising specter of censorship.

    This crisis was a way to claim the high ground of the venerated First Amendment. It served to belittle the cries of “wolf,” from those conservatives who would use prior restraint to quiet speech they feared represented a clear and present danger to the ideals of democracy and the security of the state. Another inversion was accomplished; instead of protecting American’s free practice of religion, the First Amendment has now become the very weapon used to shield Americans from religion’s influence. Replacing sedition as a primary concern, religion became the clearest and most present danger in need of censorship. Today, we amplify voices that protest while we silence those that proselytize.

    This spirit of criticism of values, which is more emotional than intellectual, is made possible by a freedom of information such as no civilization has ever tolerated before (Revel, 134).

    5. The immigration crisis.

    The problem at the border is no longer framed as an issue of security or the war on drugs. The revolution repackaged the problem as a moral issue concerning the plight of innocent mothers and children fleeing gangs and oppressive governments. In turning our eyes from the gate, this crisis served as a way to import many more soldiers of ideological change who will dilute the concentrations of conservative resisters in key states. Without a secure border wall, there is no immigration problem. And of course, without a viable border, there can be no more delusions of sovereignty.

    Real revolutionary activity consists in transforming reality, in making reality conform more closely to one’s ideal, to one’s point of view (Revel, 104).

    6. The failures of our educational systems to keep pace with the world.

    This failure precipitated a move to shed regressive ideology from the curriculum and to further remove parents as the primary influencers in children’s lives. No longer will the revolution allow the local community to have any authority in making choices on the curriculum for their schools. Meanwhile, conservative thought has been all but banished from the university classroom. Most universities today are more like an intellectual desert than a garden of ideas. Students are allowed to take only those positions pre-approved by the revolution on any subject. Intense norming pressures from faculty and other students inhibit the broad-minded scholar from challenging the nonsense that is served up as good, beautiful, or true.

    Revolutions are not measured by the things that are done, but by the things that are prevented and by those that are allowed to happen (Revel, 164).

    7. Homophobia and intolerance toward alternative lifestyles.

    This crisis is found in the battle over what can be considered ethical and what is perverse. In a stunning reversal, the revolution has tried to demonstrate the immorality of Bible-based intolerance toward people with alternative lifestyles. In advancing the disproportional eminence of the LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) culture, progressives have sought to emasculate the heterosexual father’s role in the family. Meanwhile, sexual predator behavior with minors is still deemed perverse when discovered among Catholic priests, but the exact same thing is called “helping a young person figure out a sexual identity” when the enlightened perpetrator has no religious pretensions.

    The forces of change exist in an atmosphere of constitutional benevolence . . . . The more that chance is possible through legal means, the better the chances of revolution (Revel, 163).

    8. The inconvenient truth about climate change.

    Since the revolution’s goals include the redistribution of wealth, this crisis has served as an effective means to generate guilt in Americans over their materialistic privileges-the giant carbon footprint left by Western capitalists on the fragile throat of the world’s limited resources. Fear and shame were evoked without raising any of the usual red flags created by the typical envious Marxist blustering concerning private property.

    9. Toxic masculinity.

    The new world order has no room for warriors since war will be a thing of the past. As they remove the remaining distinctions between right and wrong, feminists ideologues are teaching our boys to forget their irrational instinct to defend women and children against evil. Joining the war against paternalism, progressives in the mass media will successfully eliminate positive examples of strong manhood that boys might use as a pattern for their lives. The cowboy has already become a caricature of himself, the policeman has become corrupt and racist, and the soldier no longer has a noble cause worthy of defending. The father has become just another mother in the home-he is better at baking bread than winning it. Family Guy and Homer Simpson clearly demonstrate this new man’s role in society. This cartoon-like husband/father/warrior is worthless. His only redeeming quality is that he can be entertaining-relegated to play the role of the clown. As such, he is the sole demographic the enlightened progressive can ridicule without guilt. 

    There is an apparent nonviolence, which is really more violent than an act of spectacular brutality (Revel, 105).

    10. Deadly worldwide pandemics. 

    Not likely planned events (at least we can hope not), these crises still serve to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of sovereign nations and their borders while creating a dependency on world authority. Mandates on quarantines and mask requirements, while arguably helpful in combatting the disease, may also serve as a beta-test for more state-sponsored control in the future.

    11. The militarization of the police.

    This crisis provided an opportunity to shuffle the rails of the fence by installing a new sheriff in town. Polish Poet Jerzy Lec Stanislaw had this to say in reference to the changing of the rails, “When smashing monuments, save the pedestals. They always come in handy.” Embolden by their moral superiority in condemning and canceling any historical leader deemed brutal or racist, the new mounted figure celebrated on the monument will be the same revolutionary who tore down the old one. Once fully in charge, the militarization and brutality of police-work will not disappear. The new policing authority will use similar strong-arm methods to put down any person of means who tries to protect their private property or dares to voice disapproval of the revolution.

    The police always accuse dissenters of “terrorism” and “armed violence”-unless the dissenters beat the police to the punch and accuse them of the same thing (Revel, 111).

    12. The spread of racism.

    Perhaps the most brilliant strategy of all, progressives have hidden their revolutionary intentions behind the American crisis of shame and guilt over racism. The ploy to re-stoke the conflict over civil rights from the 1960s has proven an effective method to further silence and cancel the resistance. It was ironic that Revel himself did not see in America the kind of inherent racism seen in other parts of the world-even with the racial tension still resonating in the US in 1970 when he wrote his book. Nevertheless, when the revolutionary can make the resister feel shame, they will naturally seek relief from their guilt. The brilliance is this: In this current crisis, no other source of absolution is possible except that from the revolution itself. The only reparation worthy of exoneration is one’s full loyalty to the revolution.

    Paradoxically, the United States is one of the least racist countries in the world today . . . . The demands of black Americans are, after all, more cultural demands than class demands (Revel, 202).

    The End of the Long March?

    The conspiracy-minded among us will sense that all of these were planned disasters selected and employed as means to the goals of the revolutionary. They will note that each and every time, well-meaning Americans responded to the crisis without first questioning it. The more skeptical among us may simply consider these changes a part of natural evolution, growing pains as it were, and that these alarms were indeed in response to real wolves at the door. In either case, what is unmistakable is the truth that each disaster has changed America in some fundamental way.

    One such fundamental change is the way Americans perceive freedom. The present generation of Americans seem bent on claiming the maximum of personal freedom in behavior and expression at the cost of community. Perhaps one residual fallacy of the left’s approach is that one cannot claim a right to diversity while striving for unity within the community-an ideological contraction Revel recognized even in the revolutionaries of his day. While he saw this growing liberty as an indispensable foothold for the revolution, he also admitted that the practice of freedom could create new inequities he called “imperfect and unjust.”

    The revolutionary ideologue may find a loophole in the paradox of liberty if they perceive this indispensable personal freedom like a tethered climber on the face of a cliff. The climber is allowed the freedom to move, but only in the desired direction. In the case of this new revolution, personal freedom is encouraged only when it advances the dismantling of resisting institutions. Two examples; the revolutionary has absolute freedom to blaspheme the sacred tenants of the church, but the Christian who voices his defense is labeled an intolerant bigot. Likewise, the heroic revolutionary is encouraged to use her personal freedom to practice civil disobedience in disturbing the peace of the community-closing public roads and buildings and creating autonomous zones. On the other hand, law-minded authorities are handcuffed in holding this activist accountable for the damage she inflicts. One action enjoys liberty, while the other is restrained.

    Today, the disruptions caused by the excesses of personal freedom trump the peace that comes from unity under the law. This revolutionary stance seems to contradict the kind of egalitarian society, where people willingly sacrifice their rights for the good of the community. The tether is this: Personal freedoms are granted only if they directly support the revolution-and of course, if you practice your freedom in a way that selfishly opposes the revolution, your personal freedoms will be restricted. If and when the revolution becomes the status quo, those personal freedoms will be curtailed, and individualism will again be seen as a threat to the new world order. History is sure to repeat itself in this regard.

    American revolutionaries do not want merely to cut the cake into equal pieces; they want a whole new cake (Revel, 134).

    These American revolutionaries have won many victories along the way in their long march toward domination, but they have done so in spite of their many illogical contradictions and any valid proof of concept. Again, Stanislaw wrote, “Once it is given the chance, a dream will always triumph over reality” (paraphrased). Still, one may have reason to wonder if the dreamy leaders of this new world order will ever claim their full sovereignty. 

    Liberation must be complete, or it will not exist at all (Revel, 179).

    Perhaps a new breed of counterrevolutionaries is right now strategizing ways to make the progressive liberation incomplete. In their own way, conservatives may be woke in a rising call to regain some of the socio-political ground lost over the last fifty years. If such opposition is mobilized, will they fall back on the use of armed resistance like have so many other insurrectionists in our world’s history? Or will they have the same patience of Revel’s progressive revolutionaries to sequence a number of quiet-but-strategic battles over time?

    Even without the opposition of an organized counterrevolution, perhaps those exuberant progressive revolutionaries, in the end, will stumble over their emotionally infused contradictions. After the goose produces no more golden eggs, will their dream die in the sobering light of facts and sound logic? In either case, it may yet take another half-century to see if Revel’s promised revolution is finally completed.

     

    Revel, Jean-François Revel. Without Marx or Jesus: The New American Revolution Has Begun. New York: Dell Publishing (1970).

    As it Turns Out, America’s Racial Problems Are Not All That Bad

     WHAT REALLY DIVIDES US IS PREJUDICE

    A meme with a man talking to son about racism and prejudice

     

    Stated simply, prejudice is pre-judging another person for their values, looks, or behaviors. Humans use these judgments as psychological placeholders. We categorize people to help us evaluate their inner character and estimate their intentions toward us. As such, there is a whole range of prejudices one may harbor, as people commonly prefer to be around people who are like them (homophily) and, thus, not as keen to hang out with people who are different (heterophily).

    In light of recent events, some have found great advantage in re-labeling all prejudice as racist. Activists have loudly argued that racism is a systemic, compelling—yet often unconscious—prejudice against people wearing other skin colors. Taking their cue to do some soul searching, I have only found that as a white male, I do not regularly practice bias against others based on the color of their skin. But you will have to take my word for it.

    Nevertheless, I discovered that I am prejudiced. I freely admit it—I practice discrimination against other people every moment of every day.

    And so do you. We all do.

    Like every other human on earth, there are things I like and other things for which I do not care. For example, I enjoy my property, and I am highly prejudiced against anyone who would take from me what is rightfully mine. I worked for it—they did not.

    Similarly, I harbor prejudice against selfish people. In fear of being judged the same way, I try to practice generosity so that no one will easily discriminate against me on that same account. Furthermore, I am prejudiced against people who find ways to avoid hard and honest work. That goes for the rich wall-street investor and the bum alike, white-collar or blue.

    As I self-examine, I see that I also harbor extreme prejudice against bullies and thugs—those folks who demand their way and throw temper tantrums when people try to stand up to them. I discriminate especially against those who would use coercive and violent force to marginalize others. I disrespect people who disrespect the law and our elected authorities.

    These days, I am also annoyed by people who think they can read my mind or believe they are more qualified than me to determine what I like or dislike—and those who think they know all about the privilege I’ve enjoyed (brother, your envy is showing). I am biased against those who tell me I am merely like the fish in the ocean that is too stupid to realize he is all wet. If you knew me, you would know that I am not a clueless enabler of some hate group (sister, your prejudice is showing).

    Last time I checked, bullies come in all skin colors, from many cultures, and are of various ages; they can be Democrat or Republican, college-educated, or drop-outs; they can be rich or poor. Oddly enough, I am more willing to tolerate the differences of ideology, class, culture—and yes, even race—much more comfortably than I can tolerate a sharp contrast in personality.

    On the other hand, I am positively prejudiced toward those who like calm dialectic and reasoned responses to refine our best practices in a free society. I respect those who have endured many slings and arrows and still manage to carry on with grace and forgiveness and without any notion of revenge. You are my heroes!

    We are all prejudiced. (I write that last sentence with some irony in that even my grammar check program just now suggested that I substitute the word racist for the word prejudice.) It is impossible not to discriminate as we bridge life’s gaps and try to make sense of the world.

    The real problem is that we often keep using our prejudices long after their expiration dates. A healthy soul will reconsider, re-evaluate, and check their signals before they reapply a prejudice in a new situation. Is it still valid? Does it reliably help one make sense of others’ values and behaviors?

    Here is the truth, my deepest confession: I will hopelessly continue to be highly prejudiced against jerks. So reprimand me if you have taken offense. Shut me down. Silence my voice. Do what you must. But know that at least I am one white male citizen who can freely admit his real prejudice.

    ©Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

    The Curative Serum

    An Allegory About Disease

    ©Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

    With all the talk about the disease de jour, we should never forget that there is another disease still running its unstoppable course, the most nefarious malady of all time. While one seldom hears in the news about its spread, this disease is fatal in that it deprives the infected of life. And yes, it is highly contagious due to our shared genealogy—all humans everywhere are at risk since it is transmitted at birth. It is impossible to avoid catching and spreading it.

    Virus cells, man sneezing

    The good news is that it is curable.

    Centuries ago, the authorities issued a 10-part protocol on how to keep the disease at bay, but no one was able to live out those rather strict rules for hygiene and health. In more recent times, a new treatment has proven to be 100% effective, and it costs the patient nothing. The serum comes from the rare blood of one single Donor. It is so rare that no one can find a match. Records show that so much blood was drawn from this man that he died—though those who take the cure seem to come under the impression that he has been regenerated somehow. This may be true because, despite the rarity, the supply of this curative serum seems strangely unlimited.

    There have been reports by those cured that the treatment is remarkably painless and enjoyable—but they can only realize this truth after the procedure is finished. In the moment, most people report an agonizing discomfort and a burdening sense of shame.

    As such, there are many infected people who are hesitant to take the proven treatment for various reasons. The untreated may perceive such a cure to be worse than the disease. Others will claim the procedure is too naively simple, too inconvenient, or even unnecessary.

    Still, there are even others who still bet on their ability to meet the standard protocol. On the other hand, there is a growing number of infected who just simply give up and embrace their disease—even to the point of proclaiming that their hopeless and joyless choice is actually more healthy and satisfying.

    Meanwhile, scientists continue spending billions of dollars in research to bring expensive synthetic treatments to market. There are a host of medical salespersons who tout everything from exercise, to special diets, to a range of psychotherapies as the real cure. Meanwhile, those who suspect they are infected will often find ways to self-medicate. People become so immersed in such homeopathic remedies that they begin to experience a common hysteria—the impression that they are well and immune.

    All these rumors are perpetuated in the news as well as in many of our pop-cultural narratives. Still, only in death will the true course of the disease be made known. And only in death will those remedies be found inadequate.

    As stated before, the procedure is rather uncomfortable. One must be in the presence of the Doctor who requires one to disrobe completely—no clothes or adornments can hide one from His probing examination. The examining room is cold and lit brightly. It is common for patients to report that they sense other people watching as they stand before the Doctor, judging every flaw in their ridiculously pathetic naked body. Others resist the Doctor’s commands to bare themselves. As such, there are many stories of long struggles with the Doctor who must forcefully take away everything the patient brings into the examining room.

    The symptoms of this disease are varied, but the most common one is that the infected have no joy or hope. And even many among those treated with the cure will report the lingering or recurring symptoms of this disease for the rest of their lives. Oddly enough, infected people often don’t realize that there are treatment centers scattered almost everywhere across the globe. Even the cured come in for regular treatments, even though their presence serves more of a reminder to the fact that they have already tasted the serum. This booster is particularly helpful when the ghost symptoms of the disease cause doubt.

    The fact that many tend to put on their old clothes after undergoing the procedure is likely the cause of the lingering ghost symptoms. A clean new wardrobe is offered to every patient after treatment, but some think they can’t afford it. Others simply prefer the fit of their old clothes. In spite of one’s choices, people should know that the treatment centers remain open to address both the real and ghost symptoms of this disease.

    With other diseases, social distancing is a way to contain the virus. Yet with this disease—this, the most contagious, most terminal disease the world has ever known—the Doctor commands his cured do just the opposite. We can never distance ourselves from our family, friends, and neighbors who are infected.

    In all cases, the cure works. The serum is powerful. It always has been, and it always will be effective against whatever new strain is discovered—though it is unlikely any new virus will be discovered under the sun that hasn’t already been tested and destroyed.

    THE FILMMAKER’S PRAYER: CINEMA & RELIGION by Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

    Excerpt from THE FILMMAKER’S PRAYER

    © Philip J. Hohle

         . . . According to Barna and Gallup polls, most of the residents in the U.S. are religious—or at least, we claim Christianity or some other mainstream faith-based worldview. Is it not strange then, that filmmakers often avoid addressing anything serious about religion in their movies?  At times, religion does play some positive minor role in the plot, but religiosity is more often the cause of the antagonist’s opposition to the less-religious protagonist than the reverse. It has become self-evident; religion is too complicated or fragmented for a scriptwriter to use as background for her characters. In making a character too religious, the writer runs the risk of losing some of the consubstantiation a viewer needs in order to like a character.

         In spite of filmmaker’s reluctance to make the celluloid sacred, I will argue in this book that films are full of religion. Both unconsciously and consciously, filmmakers infuse religion into the story in subtle ways, which can be missed unless the viewer is able to interpret the film on a less conventional level. Furthermore, I propose that if the viewer is not aware of the filmmaker’s religious sense-making within their created world, they are more subject to influence or even conversion. Considering the power of film, one can argue that the filmmaker is today’s tent-revival evangelist. But of course, most of this influence is worked in the unconscious and not always recognized in a conventional read of the film.

       In reading on, there will be some terms I use often that help shape the argument. As a matter of fact, Cinema & Religion is the sequel to Lenses, my previous book revealing ten perspectives one can use to interpret and make sense of movie narratives. . . .

    [section omitted]

    . . . This brings us back to the fundamental premise of this book. Films are full of ideology, and that ideology is often an identifiable worldview that is promoted as passionately as any religion. In these pages, we will compare the values, assumptions, and beliefs represented in films that, not only entertain us, but they comfort or disrupt us; they instruct and motivate us; they help us make sense of our lives. I hope that sounds like religion to you.

    This book will:

    • Identify the key religious themes commonly found in narratives.
    • Show how these themes can be found and examined in a film.
    • Illustrate how the religious perspective will reinterpret the role and function of characters, the meaning of signs, and even the plot found in a movie.
    • Help the reader compare and contrast the ideological messages some popular movies to the divine story in Christianity.
    • Advance your emerging fluency as a lay critic, becoming more confident in recognizing the ideology and theology of a film.
    • Help you find a voice in communicating a case for its value or lack of value to our world. Ultimately, you can help shape the conversation over the film’s contribution to our culture’s grand narrative.
    • Motivate you to respond to an exigence (an urgent issue) raised by the film viewing experience.
    • Affirm and strengthen your appreciation for the power of film and the ability of the filmmaker to bring the viewer to experience transcendence in the story.

    LENSES: Ten Ways to Interpret the Movies You Love (and some you hated) by Philip J. Hohle, Ph.D.

    LENSES book cover man with film running in his head

    Excerpt from the Introduction

    © Philip J. Hohle

    …This remarkable influence is why it is so vital that viewers learn to read film. It is not so we can all have the same interpretation. I think of the old school literature professor who refuses to recognize any alternative interpretation of a classic poem. Recall the first literature class John Keating has with his students in Dead Poet’s Society4. Keating has his students rip out pages in the textbook that proposed the goodness and truth of a poem could be measured scientifically—leading to a singular, objective interpretation.

    Conversely, the lessons in this book serve more like a guide to make us more sensitive—more aware of both the effect proposed by the filmmaker (e.g., the film craft as a noun) as well as the affect film has on us (as in a verb). In becoming literate, we become aware of the power we give film. But do not worry that your nuanced sensitivity will spoil your enjoyment—not like how a backstage tour of Disneyland diminishes the magic. Instead, I argue our literacy makes film even more powerful. We become more aware of the subtleties most viewers miss. Knowing more about the craft makes one appreciate it so much more when the film is indeed well made.

         Becoming fluent means you can help others toward a higher appreciation of such well-made movies. Fluency for me means one can interpret film for the benefit of others—to heighten their own literacy. This increased competency can mean you will more fully love the good movies you love. Likewise, you will help open other’s eyes to seeing disruptive films for what they really are. To our friends, parents, children, and the stranger in line at the film festival— we are critics. And the more fluent we are, the more we provide useful lenses for others to use.

    Lenses are what this book is finally all about—ten sets of glasses one can try on in order to make sense of a film. Metaphorically, this book is an exercise in showing the changes of hue and texture each lens affords. Thus, selecting an appropriate lens becomes critical to a fulfilling and helpful critique of a film. Not only will each lens reveal a different story in the same movie, each person also employs personal filters that may blur or sharpen what the filmmaker intended. Being aware of one’s filters can reveal something about us as they simultaneously serve to help illuminate the film…

    4. Dead Poet’s Society, directed by Peter Weir (1989; Touchstone Home Entertainment, 2012), BluRay.

    Find this book on AMAZON in both paperback and eReader editions.