The New Online Red-Light District

Posted on: 07/3/10 1:25 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Porn sites are about to be given their own domain.

It’s official. People can now by domains that end in .xxx   New York Times reported last week:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers on Friday agreed to move forward on a long-standing proposal from a Florida company to create a specialized dot-xxx suffix for adult entertainment Web sites.

People don’t really know how to respond to this. It will be an entire domain devoted to porn.

On one hand, it’s really sad that our world is that obsessed with lust (although historically, this is nothing new… it’s amazing what was going on 2,000 years ago when the Bible was being penned). On the other hand, this could turn into a good thing if all porn was forced to move to that domain. But as the above NY Times article argues, “some of the biggest names in online pornography prefer not to be in that neighborhood.”

CNET News expands on this:

The problem, in other words, is that as soon as .xxx launches, conservatives in Congress will begin to clamor for laws to make the domain mandatory for sex-related Web sites. That may not be a big deal for hard-core pornmeisters who prefer that virtual street address, but what about sex education sites that include explicit graphics and don’t wish to be blocked by filtering software? And where should Salon.com–which features images of topless women–or Playboy.com–which publishes important interviews with U.S. presidents–end up?

Ha, yeah… that’s why people read Playboy. Those really good interviews!!  🙂

I haven’t had time to think about the ramifications yet, but all porn on one domain doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. It would sure be easy to block!!!

Reviewing the New Twilight Film

Posted on: 07/1/10 2:46 PM | by Jonathan McKee

I went to a movie with my wife on Tuesday night– date night. As we arrived to the movie theatre just before 8PM, we saw a long stream of females lined up along the walls of the theatres… Twilight fans, all waiting for the midnight showing of Twilight’s newest film, Eclipse.

On the way to our theatre (we were going to see The A-Team), we walked passed literally hundreds of these fans sitting in roped off areas, in eager anticipation of the film over four hours away. Not a male in sight! Mostly teenagers, some tweens, and about one in 5 seemed to be moms. Interesting group. I’ve never seen more Twilight t-shirts, tattoos, posters, and yes, even shrines! (Several groups had commandeered a bench and set up a shrine-of-sorts to Patrick and Taylor. Wow. Even Star Wars fans were saying, “These people are freaking weird!”)

A few days ago in my blog discussing the content we can expect in the next few Twilight films, I promised you a review of this new film from our movie reviewer Todd Pearage. Todd (my hero) braved the crowds of Twilight women on opening day to bring you our official review of the film.

Here’s just a snippet of that review:

The biggest problem I have with the movie continues to be the characters and the choices they make. Edward is so “in love” (aka obsessed) with Bella that he seems unable to make any rational decision outside of their relationship. Likewise, Jacob, who is still in love with Bella, refuses to accept the reality that she will never feel that same way towards him even though she has told him many times.  Then there is Bella.  She is willing to sacrifice everything, including her family, her dreams and even her soul, to be with Edward (i.e. become a vampire). It’s the same old thing that we saw in the second film, New Moon (Jonathan and I talked in great detail about these elements in our 2009 annual movie review podcast).

He goes on to say:

Jonathan and I have been discussing this since the first Twilight film. Realistically nothing has changed. I think Jonathan and David’s Youth Culture Window article, “I’m in Love with a Vampire summed up our feelings about the movie then, and ring true for the entire series still. The characters are far from role models. As parents and youth leaders we need to be equipped and ready to discuss these issues with our students.

Todd said it well. Let’s keep dialoguing with our kids about these issues we see popping up in youth culture.

In addition, here’s a great free resource that one of my blog readers Amy linked a few days ago– a great discussion guide you can use with the film.

California Gurls Hottest Song in 17 Years

Posted on: 06/28/10 4:11 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Katy Perry’s #1 song California Gurls just broke a 17-year record for the most plays in one week.

So what is this song about and how do we talk to our kids about its message? Glad you asked.

If you haven’t heard Katy Perry’s song California Gurls featuring Snoop Dog, then maybe you haven’t been outside your house. 🙂 Because if you’ve walked into a Wal Mart, a Target, a Best Buy, or taken your kids to swim practice… anywhere where they’re playing secular music… then you’ve heard the song.

Billboard reports:

A week after reaching the chart’s summit, Katy Perry’s “California Gurls,” featuring Snoop Dogg, rewrites the mark for most weekly plays in the 17-year history of Billboard’s Pop Songs radio airplay chart.

“California Gurls” logged 11,816 plays among the survey’s 132 panelists, an average of 90 plays per station, in the chart’s tracking week of June 21-27, according to Nielsen BDS. The song passes the 11,224 plays tallied by previous record-holder Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK” on the chart dated Feb. 6, 2010.

What is this song about? Watch the music video (with her lying naked face down in a cloud) and you’ll easily discover what Katy Perry’s intention is– I talked about that a little in this blog last week. But one of our ministry’s writers Dave Urbanski goes a little deeper with a brand new piece of curriculum he wrote using this catchy little song to jumpstart a discussion about where we get fulfillment. In this discussion piece, Dave provokes teenagers to ask the sincere question: To what extent have we considered the message this very, very catchy and supremely popular tune is communicating?

I encourage you to take a peek at that free resource for a great discussion, including scripture and discussion questions.

What Twilight Fans Can Expect

Posted on: 06/25/10 10:27 AM | by Jonathan McKee

The Twilight saga is such big news right now that we actually are hearing buzz about the next two films… and I think you’ll want to hear what they just announced about the sex in Breaking Dawn, the next film in the making. But first… the film that comes out Wednesday, June 30th: Eclipse.

Some fans got an early glimpse of the film last Thursday. The word “some” may be misleading, because when you’re talking about the Twilight Saga, “some” means thousands. I would have hated to have been around Nokia Plaza in downtown L.A. last Thursday where 9,000 wristbands were handed out to screaming Twilight fans gathering for the Eclipse premier. What a madhouse. This young generation just can’t get enough Twilight.

Personally, after New Moon, I can’t believe there are any Twilight fans left. But seeing the mindset of most Twilight fans… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

On June 30th, Eclipse hits theatres around the nation. So what can we expect to see with this new film? That’s a good question. Forget speculation– our movie reviewer Todd Pearage will be watching the film and delivering his two cents on our MOVIE REVIEW PAGE opening day Wednesday (it’s now posted here) (you may remember when David, Todd and I saw New Moon on the opening weekend last year and reviewed the film for you).

But it’s not Eclipse, but the following film Breaking Dawn that the news is talking about right now. Because yesterday at the premier, Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg told People Magazine, “You will see sex- Yes!” She went on. “The relationship (between Edward and Bella) does go all the way in the book, so in the movie it will as well. You are going to see more skin in Breaking Dawn than you did in the other films.”

I guess the sensuality we saw in the first film is going to run its course.

Hmmmmm.

Katy Perry Offended?

Posted on: 06/23/10 3:26 PM | by Jonathan McKee

This is a real treat… Katy Perry was offended by Lady Gaga’s “blasphemy” in Gaga’s new video for her hit song Alejandro.

This is funny on so many levels, I don’t know where to begin.

Hmmmmmm. So the question is, is it worse to be completely promiscuous, or to mock religion while being promiscuous? Because Katy Perry is having no problem tramping it up for audiences… because sex still sells. Katy’s new video for California Gurls is still riding number one on iTunes. In much of this video, Katy is lying naked, face down in a cloud, with only a few inches covered here and there. In the video Katy makes a crude gesture imitating oral sex when she says the line, “melt your popsicle” (just like she did in her live performance at the MTV Movie Awards a couple weekends ago). Katy finally ends the video with whipped cream cans on her breasts, squirting whipped cream.

Katy and her video are both so overtly sexual that iTunes even slapped the small “explicit content” label on the video.

Then we have Gaga’s video Alejandro, currently riding at #4 on iTunes, with over 26 million views on YouTube. Gaga’s video is so… well… it’s so Gaga. It has dancers truly simulating sex throughout the latter half of the video. Let me be clear. I’m not just talking about what Miley did with her Can’t be Tamed video, just “dancing seductively” and “intimately with male and female dancers,” as the news media put it. No, Gaga makes Miley’s video look like a Barney episode. Gaga and her dancers are acting like they’re having sex, every position in the book. But she intermixes these images with shots of herself in a nun costume, eating a rosary, then wearing an upside-down cross on her crotch. I understand why, yes, even Katy Perry was offended.

Unfortunately, Katy’s comments give light to what many of our kids probably believe today:

“Like, you know, when Madonna was on a cross? And sometimes my boyfriend will say things that are ‘eh…,’ she said, referring to fiance Russell Brand. “From where I come from,” (both her parents, who are both pastors) “It’s hard for me to say that, because sometimes I’m a very hypocritical person. Everybody’s like, ‘How do you say that and you kissed a girl?’ And I think sometimes, most of the time, you can disagree or agree, spirituality and sexuality are two separate things, and then when you decide to put them into the same subject, it gets interesting for some people.”

All that from the great theologian, Katy Perry.

I won’t even try to interpret her meaning from that pithy little discourse. But it sounds like for Katy, being overtly sexual is okay… but don’t connect that to your spirituality.

Perhaps she should open her Bible and read a little bit of Paul’s writings, because as much as we might like to separate or compartmentalize our own morality (it’s okay if I sin Saturday night, but it’s time to dress up and go to church on Sunday), when we commit sexual sin, we are joining Christ to a prostitute (I Cor 6:15). Like it or not… that’s joining spirituality and sexuality together.

Sorry Katy… it’s all sin. We can sit around and talk all day about who is on which rung of the ladder, whether Gaga is lower than Katy… but the fact is, no one on the ladder can make it to God without Christ. We all need him. I know I do.

What’s New for Teens on TV… Don’t Ask!

Posted on: 06/21/10 2:24 PM | by Jonathan McKee

School’s out, summer has officially arrived… and kids are officially bored. So what are many of them going to do?

As much as I would love to tell you that kid will be outside playing stickball in the street or riding their bikes to the lake to swim… the reality is, media is going to be a HUGE part of their summer. And research shows that the majority of that media will be TV.

So what’s on TV?

Most of the new shows aren’t out yet… except for two strategically timed brand new shows from MTV. And I’m actually afraid to even type what these two shows are about, because then many of your “content-blockers” might block this blog. So… hmmmm…. let me be scientific: the shows really focus on male genitalia. (how was that?)

This week our Youth Culture Window article goes into great detail about the shows. Here’s just a snippet. And please, pardon our candor:

A nerd with a big penis becomes the talk of the school. A stuffed bear with a big penis becomes the rival of a puppet ape.

Yep, these really are the plotlines for two of MTV’s new shows.

Introducing RJ Berger
The Hard Times of RJ Berger now airs on MTV on Monday nights at 10:00pm EST, following its pilot episode which debuted immediately after the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, June 6, 2010. The title of the show is actually a play on words because of the lead character’s…ummm, how do I say this?…“anatomical gift.”

CLICK HERE FOR THAT ENTIRE ARTICLE

It was funny. When I sent this article to my secretary to proof, she sent it back to me with this note: “Too much ‘penis’ in this article.”

I’ve never been sent a note like that before. (What has our society come to that we have to be careful how to even disclose to you about this kind of content?!!)

Sigh.

TV isn’t Dead, but Growing

Posted on: 06/18/10 2:21 PM | by Jonathan McKee

Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes claims, “TV is not only not dead, but it’s one of the fastest growing businesses. Ratings, time spent and viewership are all up.”

Two weekends ago I taught my Connect Workshop to a group of youth leaders from West Virginia and Pennsylvania. In that workshop I started with a youth culture quiz. Two weeks prior I started my parent seminar with the same quiz. In both those groups… they almost all missed this question:

What activity is more popular with teenagers age 12-17?

A. Watching TV

B. Internet Use

Everyone always guesses B.

The answer is A… by a landslide.

The results are clear across the board- all agree that TV dominates the media time of young people (and adults too, actually). Kaiser reports that 8-18 year olds average 4 hours and 29 minutes of television programming each and every day (an increase of 40 minutes per day since the last report 5 years ago). And Nielson reports about 3 hours and 46 minutes daily on traditional TV alone (not internet TV, mobile TV, no DVRs, etc.). for 12-17-year-olds.

Time-Warner’s Jeff Bewkes says “Digital is good for TV,” in this report from Nielson this week, contrary to conjecture that internet or mobile devices are slowly replacing TV.

The sad fact is… TV content is just getting worse and worse. As I shared last week in my article about the sexually charged MTV Movie Awards, MTV has put themselves in a bind. Each year they try to trump the previous year, and the easiest way to do that is to push the limits even further. It’s difficult to even imagine the show 10 years from today.”

Katy Perry the Host

Posted on: 06/13/10 3:32 PM | by Jonathan McKee

You know Katy Perry as the girl who Kissed a Girl and Liked It, or most recently, the girl with the naughty hand gestures at the MTV Movie Awards when singing about how the California Girls are so hot that they “will melt your popsicle.” Who better to host the next Teen Choice Awards on August 9th.

The Teen Choice Awards is Fox’s chance to both reflect and currupt our culture annually. Last year the Awards was where Miley did her little pole dance.

This year, with Katy at the Helm, we can probably expect a lot more sexual humor. Her few minutes of screen time before and after the MTV Awards last weekend gave us just a glimpse of that.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Perry will “both host and perform at the show” this year.

Hmmmmm.

Today’s College Students Lack Empathy

Posted on: 05/29/10 8:32 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Interesting little piece by Yahoo News yesterday, with some research to back up something I’ve definitely noticed. College students today are less likely to ‘get’ the emotions of others than their parents were.

This new study from Michigan’s Institute for Social Research reviewed 72 studies of 14,000 American college students and found a huge empathy drop after the year 2,000.

“Generation Me” is earning their name.

The article proposes all kind of theories as to why, including increased exposure to media, social media, and today’s hypercompetitive focus on success. But another theory is simply how busy people are and the fact that they don’t have time to sit down and just listen to others. A graduate student interviewed in the article suggested, “College students today may be so busy worrying about themselves and their own issues that they don’t have time to spend empathizing with others…”

Interesting stuff.

My two cents: Get our kids involved in mission work. The more we expose our kids to the compassion of Christ and put them in situation where they can serve the needs of others, even just listening… the more our kids get out of their little “me” bubble.

Talk with any kid after a mission trip (even local trips feeding the homeless) and you’ll see a slightly different worldview.

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Who Wants to Be Skanky?

Posted on: 05/16/10 9:20 PM | by Jonathan McKee

It’s like a new game show. “Who Wants to the Be the Most Skanky!” And the winner… Christina Aguilera, by a landslide with her new #1 video, Not Myself Tonight.

The competition for trampiness has been tight lately.

And that’s just in the last week. How do you top that?

Well… leave it to Christina; and I guess her plan worked, because this weekend her insanely sexualized Not Myself Tonight video hit the #1 spot for downloaded videos on iTunes.

Sex sells…. indeed.

Here’s a glimpse of the lyrics of this song:

I’m dancing a lot and I’m taking shots
and I’m feeling fine I’m kissing all the boys and the girls
Someone call the doctor cause I lost my mind…

Cause I’m doing things that I normally won’t do
The old me is gone, I feel brand new
And if you don’t like it, f*** you

(how interesting that she quoted II Corinthians 5:17)   🙂

I thought about showing you a screenshot from the video… but in all honesty, it was hard to find one that I felt like I could even post. If she’s not half naked, then she’s licking the tongue of another girl or being groped by her male dancers. This shot is about the cleanest glimpse I can give you.

Isn’t it comforting to see that our kids can just click the “preview” button and see all this?