A Case for Content Censorship

Recently, while driving, I listened to The Temptations' "Treat Her Like A Lady", and I found myself immersed in their discography through my playlist titled, stuff your parents grew up on. I was struck by a discerning observation: there was no profanity, no vulgarity, and no blasphemy. Instead, there was soul, a depth that feels inevitable when you realize these men were formed in the sanctuary of the church choir. This was authentic rock and roll; it was music with a foundational integrity.

It leads one to wonder: why is the modern landscape, both in music and on screen, so saturated with darkness? The current obsession with explicit imagery and lyrical vulgarity feels less like "art" and more like a failure of imagination.

The Art of Restraint and the Cost of the Explicit

We must ask producers, do you realize the audience is fatigued? The modern reliance on the explicit has become a lazy substitute for genuine storytelling. The shift in intentionality is staggering. We have moved from the era of the Hays Code, which governed Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1960s, to a landscape of total exposure. There was a time when even married couples like those in I Love Lucy were required to maintain the decorum of separate beds on screen. When a writer lacks the skill to depict two characters bonding deeply, they retreat into the bedroom. What could have been a masterclass in tension and emotional intimacy becomes a pornographic interlude that leaves nothing to the imagination.

In our contemporary era, it's as if you have to cleanse your palate and grab the holy water after watching a show. And honestly, it's awkward, especially if you are just trying to relax in your living room, but you have to keep the remote in your hand like a weapon, just in case you need to fast-forward; and at that point, is it even worth the stress?

Digital Fatigue and the Myth of "Sex Sells"

Sociologists call this "digital fatigue" or "sensory burnout," and for the observant mind, it is exhausting. The internet is already an ocean of vulgarity; people want movies and shows to be an escape from that. We look to stories for emotional connection, beautiful imagery, and the exceptional. The industry clings to the archaic myth that "sex sells," but in reality, it is often a mask for creative lethargy. It is far easier to fill a song with profanity and film a video in a cabaret than it is to compose a lyric that is edifying, constructive, or wholesome.

The Windows to the Soul

I find my spirit can no longer tolerate the dissonance of modern popular music. It does not sit well with the soul. I believe our eyes and ears are the literal windows to our internal world. Music was created for the ultimate purpose of praising God, but it appears that much of today’s output is the extreme opposite of that original design.

I find myself turning off anything that isn't the "clean" version almost instantly. As I have matured spiritually, I have learned that I must be protective of what I allow to inhabit my home and my mind. I am praying for a revival in Hollywood—a return to music and film that isn't designed to keep the viewer spiritually crippled.

A Note on Curation

Interestingly, this has weighed on me so heavily that it followed me into my dreams. I recently dreamt of Pastor Phillip Anthony Mitchell, explaining that we do not have to be passive consumers of ignorance, but there are systems designed to censor explicit media. Upon waking, I discovered a series of applications designed to filter and censor streaming services from vulgarity, profanity, gore, and blasphemy. It is a refreshing reminder that we can steward our environment and choose what we allow to inhabit our souls.

---

Taming the Tongue:

"Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.  Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."

-James 3:1-12