How NEET Are You?

16 July, 2010

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After a conversation with one of my friends about the impact Dragon Quest has on Japan (I’ve heard that half of Japan shuts down when a new game is released), he informed me of major cultural issue.  An epidemic of non-motivated people generally between ages 15 & 34 has swept the country of Japan.  These people are called hikikimori, or are described with the acronym NEET ( Not in Employment, Education, or Training).

The hikikimori end up getting so caught up into video games, manga, and anime, that they have no desire to be involved in society.  No job, no school, no family.  I read in article that says over 600,000 people in Japan are considered NEET.  It’s kind of depressing to think about it.

I’m wondering if we are entering into a time of that within the United States.  There has been a sharp rise in college graduates moving back home for several years before they get a job, and lack of motivation has a strong influence on this.

The worst part of it all is that someone has to enable them.  Without a job you cannot buy your basic needs, which means that whoever the sluggard is living with is supplying the needs.

Proverbs 6:6-11 says:

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.

I’m not sure about you, but this verse is warning enough for me.  Sure, I play video games, watch movies, and read comics, but it is in a fair balance with everything else that happens in my life.  May none of us ever fall into the category of NEET.

Last Night’s Horror

5 August, 2009

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Five years have passed since I last watched a true horror movie.  I think the last one was the original Saw, and I did not like it.  Last night I decided to give the genre another chance and decided to view 30 Days of Night.

My interest in this movie sparked for a couple of reasons.  Vampire folklore has always been of interest to me, which gives reason to why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is possibly my favorite television show.  As you read above, it has also been quite some time since I last saw a movie in this genre as well, so I decided to give it a go.

After finishing 30 Days of Night, I am reminded why so much time has passed since the horror movie.  For one, it seems like movies of this genre just try and scare you for no other reason than to scare you.  And that ends up being counter-productive.  I jumped more during Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince than during this movie.  When you are ready to be scared or frightened, it just does not happen as much.

I also found all the gore to be pointless and overdone.  While watching a rather un-enjoyable scene where the vampires wreck havoc on the Alaskan town, I turned to my wife and said, “I bet the reason the camera never stays still is because they don’t want us to see how unrealistic all the effects are.”  Even if the effects were realistic, why would I want to see someone getting attacked?  This is not something we should enjoy watching.

So here is my conclusion.  I do not feel like the horror genre is necessarily a bad thing, however, find movies like this to be over-the-top and rather disgusting.  We have the freedom to watch movies like this as long as it does not cause us to sin.  My guess is I will not be watching another horror movie for quite some time, if ever.

Movies and The Christ-Follower

17 March, 2009

Mick My Thoughts , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Movies these days range in a wide variety of ways.  We see everything from science fiction K-9 adventure of Bolt! to a semi-pornographic movie like The Wrestler.  There is something out there for everyone of almost all interests, cultures, and ages.  How do we as Christ-followers decide on what we can view?

I do not want to get into what to watch and what not to watch in this blog.  I truly believe that can vary from person to person.  What I would like to do is really challenge you to think about what you see.

It would be safe to say that most all Christ-followers agree that sex is not what God wants us to see.  After all, Jesus said that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28)

But what about murder and gore?  Isn’t committing murder just as sinful?  Why is it okay for us to view someone getting killed but not a dancer at a strip club?  Granted, we are not sinning by seeing a murder, but is it okay that we look at such things as entertainment?

Now, I have a guilty pleasure of zombie movies (which typically have gore), but why is that really entertainment?  Am I slowly conditioning myself to be okay with that?  These are serious things we must ask ourself.

How far must we sink into the culture before our innocence is truly lost?

All I am saying is be careful.  Think about what you are doing, and think about how valuable it is to your witness to others and to your faith.

Is entertainment worth the exposure to the (sometimes glorifying of) evils of this world?

My Wife Loves Me

29 July, 2008

Mick My Thoughts , , , , , 3 Comments

I must make this brief, but it must be said.  We are watching a movie at home and I do not want to be rude.

My wife truly loves me.

The move we are currently watching is The Lord of the Rings.  This not the cartoon version, but Peter Jackson’s 12 hour epic.  She is not one to watch movies of this genre.  For some reason the adventure does not appeal to her in any way.  Not to mention the length.  I wanted to go through the trilogy, and she is watching it with me… out of love.  What a great woman.  Back to Frodo and his adventure.

The Hype of a Movie

6 June, 2008

Mick My Thoughts , , , , , 5 Comments

movies can be fun
they can also be boring
then, some are just plain

Ah, nothing like a haiku that describes a movies quality. But the above is true. How many of you have seen a movie and felt like you just wasted your time? It happens. And after thinking about this recently, I feel that what people say about a movie strongly influences how much you like or dislike the cinematic feature.

<takes a sip of coffee>

On one hand, there may be a correlation between what peers think and what the viewer thinks. For example, in college my friends had I watched movies that would normally be discarded as off-beat. Because of who those friends were, and the experience around the movie (making coffee in a microwave, etc..), these movies were actually enjoyable.  The same goes visa versa.

The other way I am thinking about here is the hype a movie receives.  Sometimes people make expectations so high that can only be met by a light saber fight between Yoda and Darth Vader (sadly this never happened).  Often times I will watch a good movie, but it is not good enough because of my expectation.  I hate that.

What am I saying here?  Nothing of any importance… it’s too early to think hard.  But I will write another haiku:

freshly brewed coffee
filled up high, my cup is warm
the aroma spreads