So lately I feel like I can't watch tv as much as I used to. I was watching an old episode of The Simpsons when Bart made a joke about people believing in a carpenter as their God. It definitely made me feel bad. Admittedly I finished the episode but now I don't really want to watch more of it. The difficult part is that pretty much every tv show makes fun of God in some way nowadays. It's so hard to find something decent. If it's not a joke about believing in Christ, it's about homosexuality being celebrated...those types of jokes just make me feel really bad.
Then I feel weird when girls at work talk about the latest tv show and I have no idea how to chat with them about it. I can't relate. It even happens with family. It makes you feel lonely actually. It's weird how involved tv and movies are with our culture huh? Does anyone else feel like this?
Hi Noel25,
You're doing a great job of discerning the things you choose as entertainment.
I can relate to your struggle, as the last movie I watched was Top Gun Maverick and I just haven't gotten around to watching any since. I also don't watch TV because I'm too stingy to shell out for Direct TV or multiple streaming services, etc.
I do, however, have a lot of YouTube running in the background while I'm working or doing chores.
I don't know if this would help or be something you'd be interested in, but I find a few review channels that cover popular movies and shows. Often, the reviewers are a lot funnier and more entertaining than what they're reviewing! And while they acknowledge things we're trying to avoid seeing ("So Shannon and Ethan run off to do The Devil's Tango...",) they usually can't/don't show it and you still get the general gist of the story -- to the point where you might be able to join in on a conversation about it.
I remember when Game of Thrones was HUGE and it seemed like everyone and their mother was trying to get me to watch it. Instead, I started listening to/watching YouTube summaries about some of the episodes or seasons. This firmly reiterated why I don't get into TV shows -- just from the clips alone, I went from hating Drogo as a neanderthal to enthusiastically rooting for him and Dani to take over the world... Only to learn of Drogo's fate and have my heart broken.
I want my entertainment to be an escape. I want to see a great story where bad guys get punished and characters I get attached to get a happy ending, not one in which they all get killed or turn into people who kill everyone else. (To be fair, I realize Drogo and his men had committed horrible atrocities towards the woman who cursed him, as well as against her people.)
But YouTube helped me skip most of the blood and explicit stuff while enabling me to contribute questions to conversations such as, "Why can only Targaryens can ride dragons?" (I was told that it was because anyone else who tried got eaten -- by the dragon!)
There are a multitude of shows and movies I've never seen but learned just enough about them to be able to talk to someone who does, and passionate fans are always happy to fill in the (very detailed) blanks.
This might not be the best solution, but I've found it's helped open doors for me to talk to people about what they're really into (which can sometimes lead to other talks, such as about personal beliefs and faith.)
God bless you for being choosy about what you watch, and I hope He'll reward you with some new friends.