It’s Sidney and Kelby’s first date and emotions are soaring. They’re both feeling a little awkward and all they can think about is the physical events to follow. They are sitting on the couch together when suddenly Sidney blurts out, “Let’s have sex now.” He replies, “Let’s,” and the two then get up and head off.

This is a scene from the new movie, “Brown Sugar”, starring Taye Diggs and Sanaa Lathan. Brown Sugar arrived in theatres on Oct. 11 and is rated PG-13 due to sexual scenes, violence and language.

In today’s day and age, sexual content is becoming common subject matter in entertainment. Clearly there has been an increase in sexual content on television over the last decade.

Some Christians even go so far as to avoid watching television or going to the movies to prevent unwholesome ideas from settling into their minds.

Much has changed since the early days of television and programs such as “I Love Lucy”. In the 1950s, a married couple was never shown in the same bed and swearing was almost nonexistent. Now it seems almost impossible to find a television couple, married or unmarried, not living together.

Homosexuality is another topic emerging on television.

NBC’s popular program “Will and Grace” tracks the exploits of two gay men. Will Truman (Eric McCormack) and Grace Adler (Debra Messing) are best friends who seem perfect for each other but can never actually find romance together because Will is gay and Grace is straight.

The entertainment industry has a huge impact on society. Sexual content viewed by the public has become more and more acceptable in our world. Sex before marriage is made out to seem commonplace and part of every serious relationship. Instead of being a special gift saved for married couples, sex has become a frequent occurrence among casual acquaintances.

Sex on the screen gives viewers the idea that they can take part in this experience and leave with no regrets. What the audience typically does not see are warnings of sexual disease, pregnancy, and the regret that often follows sexual intercourse. This is exactly what Christians need to protect themselves and their children from.

Many Christians are opposed to the ungodly content displayed in the media and are searching for some positive source of entertainment for their children. Parents have turned to programs such as Veggie Tales, produced by Big Idea Productions as a haven of positive influence for their young children.

Big Idea Productions is a small independent family entertainment company based in Chicago. Their goal is to produce programs that have a positive impact on kids and teach them timeless lessons of honesty, kindness, and forgiveness.

“In a world full of kids shows, that teach your kids to be better toy buyers or kick boxers, Veggie Tales is a show that helps teach your kids to be better kids,” Big Idea Producers on www.veggietales.com said. “We believe that the media our kids consume (TV, film, music, video games) has a strong influence on what they believe and how they behave.”

Shows such as Veggie Tales are great for little kids but it is much more difficult to please the teenage audience. Many producers have tried to create movies with Christian values, while escaping the scenes of sex and other enticing topics.

“Christian movie producers overdue the way they advertise God and the Christian faith,” Chris Burford, ’04 said.” They force Jesus down the throats of viewers and their good intentions turn into unsuccessful witnessing tools. Most of these movies end up being very cheesy and a turnoff to the teenage audience.”

Although the majority of Christian movies created to be a witnessing tool have failed, a few have become successful and made it to the big screen. One of these is “Extreme Days”, a rare film that has a sense of humor about itself and the topic. The film delivers a positive moral message about the Lord, friendship, life and death.

Positive morals are definitely becoming more superseded, so it is up to Christian viewers to decide how to respond to this transformation in entertainment. This does not mean we all need to sell our televisions and isolate ourselves from society, but it calls for a time of reflection and meditation on how we are to live our lives.

We need to live as Christ commands us as written in Titus 2:11-13, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ” No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”