I remember when I used to be in the electronic music scene. As I danced to the music I literally felt as if something took over. As creepy as it sounds, I gave myself over to the music. My body was able to do things that I could not do on my own. It seemed as if something else was bending and moving me. When I look back, I'm convinced that it was possession.
Praise God that once I was born again, God took the love of that kind of music out of me. I remember driving down the road shortly after I was saved. I was listening to my favorite music and I came to a stop sign. At that very moment I thought, "I can't listen to this anymore!" It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Immediately, I turned off the music and it hasn't been turned back on. That was almost four years ago.
Some pop songs actually include instructions to surrender yourself to the music. For example, in Madonna's
Vogue, she tells her listeners to let their bodies "move with the music" and "go with the flow". In essence, she tells them to give themselves over to the music. And in the song
Everybody Dance Now by C & C Music Factory, they actually tell you to let the music TAKE CONTROL and let its rhythm move you. And when you let the music take control, you're basically letting the spirits behind it take control, I think. But yeah, many of these songs actually tell you to give yourself to the music, let it take control of your movements and so on. You can also get allusions to the singers themselves losing control. For example, in
Blame it on the Boogie, there's a bridge where Michael Jackson sings that he just
can't control his feet. In fact, he repeats this four or five times, kind of like a mantra. And later in the same song, he actually sings that the Devil has gotten to him through the dance he's doing! He also says that the boogie has him in a "super TRANCE". At an earlier stage of the song, he says the boogie has "drugged" him. It's all right there in the song, but people generally miss it because of the catchy melody and rhythm. They focus on that rather than the lyrics. It's amazing what songwriters can get away with saying if they set it to the right music. That song is going back to the disco era. But a lot of electronic music has its roots in disco, I think. There's not much difference between today's electronica nightclubs and the disco clubs of the '70s, I suspect. I'm sure the people behind these songs know exactly what they're doing when they insert these sorts of instructions or comments into the lyrics.
Just briefly on tantra, that is rather closely associated with sexuality, from the little I know of it. I remember seeing an item on tantric sex some years ago (I think it was on a current-affairs show). One thing that stood out to me at the time was that the lady they interviewed said that there was a whole lot more to tantra than just the sex. She admitted flat-out that tantric sex is really just a way to get people involved in tantra as a whole! So it is really bait to lure and then ensnare people into New Age and pagan spirituality.
Switching to television, some years ago I bought a book by Ben Shapiro called
Primetime Propaganda. It was one of my first e-books after I got a Kindle. At the time, I did not actually know who Ben Shapiro was. Anyway, in this book, he discusses a number of different TV shows and quotes Hollywood writers and producers that he interviewed. They all seemed quite happy to reveal to him that they want to influence how their viewers think. One of the simplest and yet most effective tactics they use (and I noticed this before I read the book) is in the characters they choose for their shows. They always make the characters with liberal or left-wing values likable, while they endeavour to make Christian and conservative characters as unlikable as possible. In addition, whenever there is a dispute between the characters, the Christian and conservative characters always make the dumbest arguments possible, while the liberal and left-wing characters are made to appear logical and rational by comparison. However, this tactic has backfired sometimes. Certain conservative characters, like Archie Bunker of
All in the Family and Alex Keaton of
Family Ties, ended up becoming very popular, which wasn't what was meant to happen. They overshadowed the liberal characters who were meant to be the heroes of those shows. Most of the time though, the indoctrination of the Hollywood writers worked as intended.
Before I gave up most television, I remember that sitcoms (especially American ones) often used to get "preachy". You'd have an episode where a bigoted person (usually a racist) would come on, cause some trouble and end up being lectured and taught a lesson by the liberal "good guys". They would either see the error of their ways and apologise, or retreat with their tail between their legs. The laughs would stop and it would be clear that this was A Very Serious Episode with an Important Lesson. In fact, they would often call them "special episodes". Increasingly, they started conflating "homophobia" with racism, and you would get episodes where a "homophobe" would be taught a similar type of lesson to the earlier racist. Now, the "homophobe" would often act in a genuinely bigoted manner, but it was all part of the plan to make people associate criticism of homosexuality with actual bigotry like racism in their minds. By the grace of God, I never fell for that, because somehow I could see the fallacious logic behind what they were doing. But yeah, many TV shows were full of that. And of course, the propaganda extends to dramas. I remember a storyline on a show here in NZ where a pregnant woman was contemplating an abortion, and was harassed by a "crazy Christian" woman. The clear message of this storyline was that Christians and pro-lifers are dangerous and irrational people, while "sane" and "normal" people are "pro-choice". (In the end, I think the woman didn't actually have the abortion, but they still made sure their viewers got the message they wanted to convey. This was in the early to mid-90s, by the way.)
Nowadays, as Aussie Chris as said, the indoctrination is not even subtle anymore. TV shows have, from what I have read, gone fully woke. They've all got to have gay characters, or trans characters, and feature "alternative" families, and so on. And they've got to throw some climate change fearmongering in there too, no doubt. They also seem to want to reimagine white people in history (like Cleopatra or Ann Boelyn) as black. Historical accuracy no longer matters. However, it seems that the woke indoctrination on TV is getting so blatant and over the top that many people are being turned off it. So that's good, although I'm sure the younger generation (who have been raised with woke values from birth) still lap it up. And sadly, those who are cutting back on TV and movies are not turning to Christ, but other forms of entertainment.
When it comes to people wanting fame, I am reminded somewhat of these verses in Matthew 6:
Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matthew 6:2)
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (Matthew 6:5)
People seeking fame have that exact same desire to be seen of men and receive glory from men. And for a time, they do get that glory, along with all kinds of other sinful "perks" of fame. But like the hypocrites Jesus is referring to, they have their reward, and unless they repent, that's all the enjoyment they'll ever have. Fame has its cost, both in this life and the next.
