Many Messiah students are working on their film for the upcoming Campus-Wide Film Festival. However, two students have decided to try something new with their picture: a sex scene.
The students requested to be anonymous so that others won't interfere with their film making, but they did agree to an interview. “We wanted to do something creative, something never done before. Every year it's the same old James Bond / Mission Impossible crap. We wanted to pull away from the mold.”
The two have been thinking of this idea since last year's film festival, and have talked it over extensively. “We weren't sure if we wanted to just tape two people lying in bed and imply the sex happened or actually show the sex itself. We decided to show everything. The scene is about seven minutes long and shows everything. Everything.”
The students did get permission from the event's organizers to go ahead and film this scene. “To be honest, I couldn't believe it when they told me, but I'm not going to stop it,” said one of the organizers who also wishes to remain anonymous. “At Messiah, many times we treat students like they're children who cannot make decisions for themselves. On the other hand, college is supposed to allow a person to mature so they can enter society effectively. I did not want to violate their freedom of expression, and deny them their right to do [the sex scene].”
One of the film directors commented, “We were worried Messiah's rules might get in the way, so we have tried to do everything we can to prevent any action from J-Council.”
The only mention of sex in the Community Covenant states, “we are to avoid such sinful practices as . . . sexual intercourse outside of marriage . . .” The two people involved in the sex scene are married, so they cannot be indicted for their actions.
The handbook mentions, “Films or television programs that are exceptionally violent, vulgar, or sexually exploitive may not be shown in group settings on campus.” To this, the student who first came up with the idea responds, “We figure if [SAB] can show movies as violent as Rosewood or as vulgar as Twister, we should have no problem showing our movie. Besides, it's happened to me more than once where I'll go to the video store and the person in front of me, also from Messiah, gets the last copy of Showgirls.”
The second student adds, “The way we see it, God commands us to be fruitful and multiply. He says a man and a wife will leave their parents and become one. Sex is a gift from God. All we are doing is worshipping our Creator by using those gifts and talents He has provided us.”
To date, the students have received only positive feedback from their friends, but they worry about the rest of campus. “We know that there are a lot of conservative Christians on campus who probably won't even have sex on their wedding night, but we hope that they will remember God's commandments to not judge others and to love their neighbors.”
The Campus-Wide Film Festival will be showing on April 18. There will be a panel of judges and prizes for the best movies. If you would like to participate, please call the SAB office at x5094.