(December 23, 2019 at 1:24 am)Fake Messiah Wrote:(December 23, 2019 at 12:51 am)Belacqua Wrote: what are the best non-religious tools for us to talk about values and the good life?
They don't have to be best or good. For instance MPAA rating systems seem to take over what pulpits were once, so now people go to the movies to see what is appropriate and what is not.
The MPAA is a trade organization whose members are for-profit corporations. One of their jobs is to rank the ages appropriate for movies, but overall the goal is to enrich the member corporations. In my opinion, media corporations are not reliable sources for information about morality, values, and the good life.
For example, the movie Captain Marvel was rated PG-13. That means there are no bare boobs, few swear words, and the violence is not overly realistic. So the media conglomerates say it's OK for young teens.
As you know, that movie was made with the assistance and cooperation of the US military. It shows the military in the best possible light, making soldiers and pilots into great heroes. As always, the good people in the story are the ones who make the most effective use of violence. We are reminded that violence solves problems and that the military is wonderful.
Captain Marvel contains the more advanced message that women are empowered through their ability to solve problems through violence even more effectively than men. This is what counts as progress in America.
If you think the MPAA cares at all about the questionable moral ground of those messages, I think you are mistaken.
