Good for Neal McDonough Having a Bit of Self-Respect

Actor Neal McDonough has recently been in the news for turning down roles in movies that involve sex scenes for two very good reasons: (1) he is married and (2) he is a Christian. See here for a story and for some crazy comments.

People seem to think he is a hypocrite for doing scenes involving violence and not ones involving sex. They are quite confused. To portray a gunman in a movie shooting someone is to be acting, that is, pretending to kill someone. No one actually gets killed. Everybody knows that.

On the other hand, sex scenes are essentially films of two people engaging in immoral sex acts. In committing such acts the person is sinning regardless of whether it is being filmed or not. If it was a case of pretending to be sexually involved, as in going into a hotel room where the camera does not follow, it would be acting, that is pretending. But actually taking off your clothes and touching someone in an arousing manner and the point of the whole exercise being to watch two actual people making love to each other - that is not pretending or acting. It is sexual immorality - for pay.

The equivalent of the sex scene is the snuff movie - that is, the filming of the actual killing of a person. Once we have been desensitized enough, this would no doubt be put forward as entertainment just as sexual relations for pay have been. But both are morally reprehensible and degrading to human beings.

Good for Neal McDonough. May his tribe increase.