Disclaimer: I received a copy of this DVD in exchange for an honest review.
Long time readers may have noticed that I have been really working on reducing data overload in the last 6 months or so. When the opportunity came to review a new DVD from Media Talk 101 through the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I figured it would be pretty good timing.
Captivated
The Captivated DVD is a documentary about people being held captive by the media in our culture. The run time of the documentary itself is 107 minutes, but there are over 2 hours of bonus features available. This award winning video is available for $16.95.
Our Thoughts
It’s a funny conundrum. We don’t generally watch TV. Our remaining cable was turned off a few months ago and we exclusively use Netflix once a week (or less). However, I have still been able to be thoroughly captivated by the media culture. As a blogger, or perhaps because I’m a tech junkie, I am addicted to all things geeky — social media (all but Instagram), iPhone’s, tablets, online magazines, reading other blogs, researching and more. I use technology and media for just about everything.
And I have 3 children and a husband. These 4 people deserve my all and I realized that by drowning in data and the Internet, I wasn’t giving them what they deserved. Over the last 6 months, my dependence on media has greatly increased. As with the people interviewed on the DVD, as media drops, happiness and life INCREASES. It really does!
The research regarding people’s dependence on technology and their lives and even their brains was something that we have figured out in our own lives with our kids. The more TV they watch, the worse behaved they are. And if my infant “watches” TV before bed, he will be up ALL NIGHT. All my kids have been like that. Even my husband and I had to give up our 40 minutes of DS9 :D. Captivated is researched from a very Christian point of view, which has it’s pluses and minuses.
My biggest problem with the Captivated DVD is that they assume that because you eliminate or limit the TV/internet/etc, that the space will be filled with reading the bible. For Christians who are yearning for more, reading His Word, will absolutely fill that hole. It was such a recurring theme, with so many people testifying that they had time to spend reading the bible and praying, that it seemed to make the claim that if you only cut out TV, you will be a better, more Godly Christian.
That’s a pretty big leap of logic for me. My husband & I do not spend hours praying and reading and journaling the bible. We didn’t do it before–we aren’t doing it now. And as a Catholic, I don’t think that it’s necessary. Why do I say that? Because we are supposed to live out our whole lives, each moment of the day, as a sacrifice for God.
If we are nurturing our spouses and children, as if they were for Jesus; if we are taking care of our duties (financially, health-wise, homemaking, employment, stewardship), as if they were for Jesus, then we are living the way that he intends. If we were to be spending hours in silent prayer in meditation in His Word, we should be in monastic life of some sort. Doing his will and serving to the best of our ability is the best kind of offering to give.
But I understand that there are all kinds of believers in this world. And I know many people who ARE captivated by the media culture–even those in very Christian settings. This would be a good DVD to show Christians who are still pretty worldly as far as screen consumption goes. Just be aware, though, that it is from a very Christian POV. Depending on where a viewer is in their journey, it could either soften their hearts, or they could deem it Christian propaganda. I would personally view it and consider it carefully before giving it to someone as a hint ;).
Click here to read more reviews of the DVD Captivated from the Schoolhouse Review Crew.
