It
was sensational. It was controversial. It was historic. In 1939 the film “Gone
with the Wind” crossed a major line in the movie industry, provoking excitement
and criticism. The producers also drew huge profits by doing so, as they
intended. Their shocking move was immensely successful, at least from an
economic point of view.
What
was it? Simply this. The movie included the word “damn,” in the very famous
last line. Rhett said to Scarlett, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give
a _____.”
Prior
to the film's release, censors objected to the use of the word in the film. The
word had been prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. Yes,
prohibited! Why? Well, to those with traditional values and religious
convictions, to “damn” a person was to wish that person condemned to hell. That
is how the word originated. People who feared God, and believed in the reality
of hell, did not use the word in polite speech. They would shudder if they
heard someone else say it.
But
the risk paid off. True, the producers had ridiculed current social values and
offended the consciences of many. But they likely anticipated a huge payoff,
and they got it. They may have figured that the initial criticism would die
down, and it did. Most people would pay to see the film anyway. After all, any
customers who hesitated would hear how outstanding the film was as a whole. They
would justify seeing the movie – overlooking what they found offensive – and
they would buy their tickets. After all, they might ask, was it really that big
of a deal after all?
The more I
have thought about the explosive step that those producers took, the more I
have realized what is going on in our declining culture.
In
my years I have seen this "Wind" strategy used effectively many times. The movie
industry, a major national retail chain, or another commercial interest decides
to add something questionable, objectionable, or even outright immoral. Then these
events seem to follow in order:
The
instigator (movie company, merchant, etc.) proudly goes public, advertising its
bold new move.
Initially,
many with conservative values publicly object. They may refuse to support the
agenda with their money, because it genuinely violates their consciences. They
are also concerned about the potential damage to society that may result.
Then
those who accept or embrace the change, or see it as rather harmless, accuse
the conscientious conservatives of being self-righteous or of making much ado
about nothing. “They are so strict and so judgmental!”
The
instigator enjoys the publicity and the profits that it has generated.
The
boundary line of acceptable practice moves farther left once more.
Those
who have not moved with the shifting sand are then ridiculed and marginalized
as bigots or fanatics. They are treated as a tiny majority and called the “religious
right;” they are defined as being off-center, on the fringe. It is they, not
the instigators of the new morality, who are the extremists. How dare they say that people should not support such changes with their money or their influence? How picky and mean can people be?
Those
in search of bigger profits and more customers then look for the next
controversial move that they can make to repeat the cycle on a grander scale.
It may be disturbing. It may hurt marriages, families, children, and friends.
But it will make money for sure. And, hey, people will get over it and even
reward it.
In
my generation I have seen this pattern used effectively to move many
boundaries. These include the growing acceptance of premarital sexual
relations, the promotion of adultery, the breakup of the traditional family, the
use of rude, crude, disrespectful language, the open description of private
body parts and functions, the weakening role of the male in the American
family, social and gender engineering, abortion, and more. I have seen high standards lowered and seemingly eliminated. I have seen movie ratings like "PG-13" slide all over the place.
I
fear that I will see the "Wind" pattern again, and again, and again. I am even more concerned
for the generations that follow me.
The
title itself, “Gone with the Wind,” was intended to describe a culture that was
becoming a thing of the past. The life that Rhett and Scarlett had known would
exist no longer. Ironically enough, we must ask ourselves in this
post-Christian era, “Will the God-fearing, Bible-believing, people-loving
culture that we have known become … ‘gone with the wind?’”
I
am alarmed. I am ashamed. How have people with solid convictions – how have I
myself – allowed such intrusions to occur? Where are the defensive linemen,
who will plant ourselves and say, “Enough! You are not taking one more inch of
this field!”
Join
me in affirming what Scripture says:
Rom 1:28 And just
as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled
with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder,
strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God,
insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31
without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things
are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval
to those who practice them.
"Gone with the Wind." It really is more than just a movie. It's a movement.
