As I read the outpouring of reviews of Beauty and the Beast, what shocks me most is how many moms who I thought were pretty conservative are just saying “this is not a big deal” on my Facebook feed, when Disney actually made it a big deal when the director said there was “subtle and delicious” gay content throughout and “an exclusive gay moment” at the end.
Saying something isn’t there, when the people who made the movie themselves say that it IS THERE is really strange and a position that is kind of hard to defend. Saying your kids won’t notice or didn’t notice when the entire theater stood up and cheered as the two men danced is like sticking your head in the sand. (I did actually read a mom’s status that said, “My kids didn’t even notice that the entire theater stood up and cheered.”) Of course they noticed! We are all like frogs being boiled alive here.
Any time sin is normalized it is a big deal. That means books, television shows, and movies – and yes it means any sin, not just this one. It’s just that Christians are the only ones still saying this is a sin and even Christians are divided even though the Bible is God’s inerrant word and never changes. And no, I wasn’t surprised. Just incredibly disappointed and discouraged to see how many people are saying “no big deal” and going anyway and not even bothering to discuss with their kids.
And just so you aren’t confused about my position, I’ve been saying for years that as Christians attending movies and turning on the television, we’ve been de-sensitizing ourselves to sin. I’ve seen the slow but steady shift since I was in high school and the desensitization I predicted then has occurred. Do we have a television? Yes. Do we restrict what our kids watch and talk about the things we allow? Yes.
Even though the live audiences are cheering when the two men dance to sold out audiences across the country, people are still claiming kids won’t notice and using that to justify going to a movie they can’t bear to look away from because they themselves love it so much and want their kids to love it too. We don’t need to worry any more about becoming like Lot’s wife. We are already there. So sad.
If you are still on the fence about going to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, here are a few reviews and blog posts I think accurately portray the struggle for Christians.
When I first wrote The Facts about Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and the Exclusively Gay Moment, I had no idea what an uproar that post would cause. Once you’ve read that post, these posts are all an excellent follow up.
Do You Trust Disney with Your Kids? Desiring God questions the motives for boycott when they write “Genuine believers in Jesus are more and more in the minority, and it’s time for us to stop acting like we think it’s the mass media’s job to cater to us.”
A Beast of a Decision: Should Christians Watch Beauty and the Beast? Answers in Genesis answers the question “Is there any good reason for Christians to see Beauty and the Beast?” (In the addendum, they also address the question about beastiality that so many people on the left are using as a red herring and talk briefly about Stockholm Syndrome. Both important additions to this conversation.
In Beauty and the Beast Movie Review, Plugged In reviewer laments “Alas, however, we live in this activist age. A day when actors and directors and studios feel it necessary to insert such things in an attempt to normalize and elevate certain sexual choices. And, unfortunately, they’ve chosen to do so this time in a movie aimed at children.”
In Considering Beauty and the Beast in the Light of Lot’s Wife, I wrote “The better question is “How will we teach our children the difference between living in the world and living of the world?”. That’s the question that the story of Lot and his family begs us to answer.”
In Will your Children Even Notice the Exclusively Gay Moment in Beauty and the Beast, I wrote “Maybe your child won’t notice or remember that particular moment where Le Fou enjoys sitting on Gaston’s lap – or any of the other subtle homosexual overtones in the movie or even the “exclusively gay moment” at the end. I will concede for the moment that it’s possible. At least not the first time they see it.”
Because. How many of our children actually only watch a Disney movie they love “just one time”?
In the end, I want to make sure it is clear that this is NOT about my children seeing someone who is a homosexual or learning about homosexuality. Of course they will in real life, and for the most part they already have. In fact, we were in direct, polite, friendly contact with two homosexuals at a local restaurant just today. This is not about hate or phobia. It’s about calling sin a sin no matter how hard Hollywood, the more liberal medical community, and the university campus tries to tell us otherwise. Do I sin? Yes – absolutely. Everyone sins. No one is exempt. But when you publicly, vocally, and aggressively say it isn’t sin, that’s a moral line in the sand. Disney drew that line in the sand (again) with Beauty and the Beast, and that line is only going to get thicker, heavier, more obvious, and more dividing as time moves on.
I agree that we have been desensitized to sin in this world. I agree with I guess everything you said. I would say, however, that as shocked as people are about homosexual content in a Disney movie, they shouldn’t be. Disney has been allowing “Gay Days” in the park for years, they just don’t advertise it.
Your point about “normalizing sin” seems quite true. In my opinion, murder and killing of innocent people is a far worse “sin” than homosexuality. Most Americans and others who watch TV and movies regularly have watched violence and murder hundreds if not thousands of times. I see very few people protesting Gunsmoke, Bonanza, And the dozens of police & western dramas with killing & murder as themes repeated over & over, normalized.
The homosexuality in this movie is not as harmful as the many murders not complained about.
Maybe it stands out to me so much because I do not watch TV.