Sometimes I wonder if the entire world has gone mad or if I am just missing something that everyone else seems to understand. I see all of the garbage that the media, entertainment, clothing, and cosmetic industries fill our heads with, and I just write it off as a product of sin, a sign of misplaced values in the hearts of people who do not know God. But then there are those unnerving, frustrating moments when I speak to believers who not only are not bothered by this country's obsession with beauty and fashion, but actually support and fellowship in it. What am I missing?
I watched this documentary last night... actually the last two nights- I couldn't do it all in one sitting. It was just too much to handle. But it was absolutely worth watching, and I believe it is something that every person in this country needs to see. While the damages of this industry have reached much farther in some circles than others, it has absolutely affected every single one of us, women in particular, in more ways than we probably realize, Christians absolutely included. If you are a woman or you have a woman in your life, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a sister, a friend... please watch this and take the time to tell the ladies in your life that they are beautiful just the way they are, just the way God has made them!
It's called America the Beautiful. This movie is NOT appropriate for children, as it does have very sexual imagery and content at times. Also, it is not a Christian movie, but I felt that the message was extremely important nonetheless.
You know, the thing that really disturbed me the most was the fact that of the people they interviewed who were in opposition to the industry, I didn't really get the impression that any of them were believers; in fact, I'm pretty positive that at least a couple of them definitely were not. And if these people who do not know the Lord and do not have the Holy Spirit living in them are able to see through the lies so clearly, how is it possible that believers in Christ, even if only a few (though I believe there are probably many) are not able to see the ugly truth as it flashes blatantly in front of our faces every single day? Accepting Christ and claiming salvation is only the first step. We have to walk with Him daily and we have to pray and ask him to give us wisdom and discernment to see through the lies of this world. It requires enormous amounts of effort to see around Satan. It isn't a superpower that we just automatically inherit when we become a child of God. Discernment must be practiced in most cases, and it is extremely easy to justify and rationalize just about anything if we are not willing to do the hard work. And quite frankly, I think we all need to start working a little harder at that endeavor.
Like Tarrah mentioned, the film is definitely not for kids, but there is a PG-13 version available through the movie website, which has been edited to remove some of the sexual dialogue and surgery scenes that were in the original R-rated version we saw on Netflix.
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