Note: Viewers beware – this film is sexually graphic and filled with clips of pornography.
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has captivated Hollywood and the public with his approach to the subject matter of the new film he wrote and directed, Don Jon.
Don Jon follows the life of a young man named Jon, who has a great life but struggles with a dark secret – an addiction to porn. So many people in the world today struggle with pornography and their addiction to it can affect their relationships and their lives. This film takes a surprisingly honest look into addictions, specifically porn.
The film begins with the lead character Jon, played by Gordon-Levitt, highlighting the things that he cares most about.
“There’s only a few things I really care about in life…
My body. My pad. My ride. My family. My church. My boys. My girls. My porn.”
Throughout the film, Jon seems like a normal guy, living a normal life; but is plagued by his addiction to porn. Jon has it all: a good family, good friends, a faith life, and every girl loves him. Then one night, Jon meets Barbara.
Barbara, played by Scarlett Johansson, is “the most beautiful girl” Jon has ever seen (his words, not mine). He falls head over heels for her, but she plays hard to get. But Jon pursues her and eventually wins her heart.
Jon and Barbara’s relationship begins to blossom, and they love everything that they know about one another – including each other’s crazy families. But, there is one lingering issue – Jon’s porn habit.
Jon keeps his porn usage hidden, but one night, Barbara walks in on him getting his daily porn fix. Naturally, she freaks out and says, “How can you watch that?” His reply? “Everybody watches it.”
This is a poignant part of the movie where Barbara laments how she thought he was different and better than all of the other guys she knew. And Jon rationalizes it by saying everybody’s doing it, so it must be ok.
After a bit of back and forth, Jon vows to quit watching porn. But, he doesn’t. As the movie unfolds, the viewer sees that Jon is enslaved by his porn addiction and the consequences of his addiction are dire.
Barbara breaks up with him. His family life suffers. He can’t hold a job, other than a bar-tending position he’s had for years. He can’t even finish a college course, because he is unable to sit through one class without being compelled to watch porn on his phone. And when he’s not watching porn, he’s thinking about it.
This is the sad reality of porn addiction.
A recent study in the U.K., looked at pornography addiction and the effects that the use of porn has on the brain. The results of the study were shocking. One of the most interesting discoveries: Porn affects the same part of the brain that other addictions take root in. And worse- if porn is introduced at an early age (pre-teen or teen years), it negatively impacts the child’s life for years to come.
One example from the study was a handsome, articulate 19-year-old young man, who works full-time as an apprentice electrician, but his life is dominated by a porn addiction. The 19 year-old said:
‘Every bit of spare time I have is spent watching porn. It is extreme. I can’t hold down a relationship for longer than three weeks. I want porn sex with real girls, but sex with them just isn’t as good as the porn.’
Porn addiction (and sex addiction) is becoming an epidemic problem in the world today. There’s even new research showing porn to be just as addictive- if not more so- as cocaine or heroin.
The good news is- people are beginning to recognize the problem, and are working to bring awareness to the issue and find ways to reconcile it. More people are talking about the effects of porn and the addiction to it, and even Hollywood has started to take notice.
There are many redeeming things about the film Don Jon, but the best thing it does is give an honest portrayal of porn addiction at work in someone’s life today and how it can negatively impact your life and relationships.
The movie ends on a positive note, because Jon finds a cure to his addiction. He realizes that he needs to “lose himself in another person” and finds a woman he truly loves and who truly loves him, so he has no void for porn to fill.
True love conquers all things.
Porn affects the way that people think, the way they love, and the way they live their lives. We need to take a stand against porn and work to promote true love within our culture.
To find out more about truth about porn, visit: http://pornharms.com