For Mature Audiences Only

Authenticity isn’t nice. Honesty doesn’t check your vocabulary at the door. Sincerity comes with blood, sweat, and tears. Genuineness is not found in the polish of personal success. If you want what these words really mean, what all people everywhere carry with them through life, then listening is key. And what you hear may not be what you like. It might smell bad. You might have to avert your gaze, bow your head, look away. If you have ever tried not to watch someone’s pain, then you are not ready for stories that tell the truth. And the truth is a jagged pill. Truth catches us with our pants down. We aren’t ready. And if you would rather have smoke and mirrors, a clean shave, a walk-off homerun, or the ease of a gated life without difficulty, then, by all means don’t listen to hard music, watch difficult movies, or sit at the bar with a drunk. But I think one of the best ways to be honest, genuine, sincere, and authentic is to deal with real.

Those who claim to be Christ-followers can find the emotive responses to life in the Psalms, the wisdom for life in the Proverbs, the choice of worldviews in Ecclesiastes, rapturous love lines in Solomon’s song, and the darkness of pain in Job. Were we to be honest about our commonalities with others, with our fellow earthdwellers, we would spend more time in these books to hear from the ancients how they lived through hardship, inch by inch. Read the story of Abel whose “blood cried out from the earth.” Read about the treatment of Hagar by Sarah who found “the God who sees.” Find the lies of Abraham, the deception of Jacob, and the iniquity of Judah. Read about Joseph whose brothers “meant it for bad.” Read the book of Judges for its stark cycles of sin. Or read the book of Kings to see how horribly people can treat each other.

For those who say, “But those are words in the Bible, not pictures, and the words won’t have the same impact,” I say you have not allowed Scripture to sit on your chest, to make you feel the depth of depravity, that I know, and if you’re honest, you know too. I get why movies can be problematic and I deeply respect the convictions of people who want only to see a G-rated world. And if that conviction stretches through life, then, seriously, in all honesty, God bless you. I say with an open heart, your approach may be much better than mine. But streaming shows display the horrors of the world, we live in that world, whether we want to acknowledge it on screen or not. Themes of sexual slavery, prostitution, violence, curses, and warfare are not only written in Hollywood, but the themes also resound through Scripture. And the grief of people suffering through searing loss, identify with those shows. We watch movies over and over that help us to suffer, as I do with “A Star is Born” (2018). There is catharsis there. I revel in the just desserts of bad men whose comeuppance is deserved as in “Reacher,” knowing there can be justice on earth as there will be in Heaven. I remind myself of how ethics can be twisted for their own – and understandable – ends such as in the streamer “Your Honor.” And I get the complexity of human motivations in everyday people from “The Sinner.”

Some might see my words as rationalization. I understand why you would think so. But like any vocation or avocation, people lie, cheat, steal, usurp power, and devalue workers. Which of us who work in government, law, business, real estate, building, or any job will walk away from what we do because of the sinfulness of people in our profession? I spend a great deal of time studying and researching how to live with what we encounter in this life so that I can teach Christians what I discover. People can click the link or not. They can listen or not. They can disagree and I will applaud them. But if my lines here are simple rationalization, then I have spent my life as an educator in a lost cause of teaching people how to think and Christians how to think biblically. Teaching people how to learn, discern, inquire, understand, be prudent, acquire knowledge, and practice discretion are birthed in the first seven verses of Proverbs. So, I introduce shows that are powerful indictments upon institutions and individuals, which includes all of us. And I suggest movies and streaming services that may help us understand the lives of others.

Go back and read that first paragraph again. Remind yourself of the churning of my emotions as you read it. I do not ask for pity, sympathy, or agreement. My expectations are only for myself. So, do with what you read as you will. And be assured that my belief is steadfast in Jesus who will right all the wrongs and obliterate the horrors as the only Just Judge. I’m just here to point and say, “Look! See! Consider!” In order to access my list of “For Mature Audiences Only, Summer Streaming Series 2023 (Part Three)” please sign up with your email at the MarkEckel.com pop-up. I will send the list to your email address. You will also receive my Friday emails (bcc:) I only send to subscribers. There is no cost. Everything on the site is free.