By Michael Hichborn
This past May, I traveled to Rome to participate in the Rome Life Forum, the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family, and the Rome March for Life. While I was there, I made a pilgrimage to Norcia to visit the birthplace of Sts. Benedict and Scholastica. It was a fantastic trip, and a good opportunity to pray for the intentions of our readers and supporters while continuing to fight against the encroaching Culture of Death.
Unfortunately, my flight to and from Rome was terribly marred by the decision of Aer Lingus to include pornographic “entertainment” on the seat-back video screens. Two programs readily available to all passengers on the flight included nudity and graphic sex-scenes that were visible to anyone and everyone (including young children) sitting in the rows behind those viewing them. The two programs were “The Game of Thrones” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Having never watched either of these programs, I didn’t really understand why lengthy scenes of nudity, sexual intercourse, and graphic rape were popping up on screens all around me. And truth be told, I’m not sure what shocked me more … that these scenes were being played on screens easily viewable by young children, or that the viewers (mostly women) didn’t seem to be ashamed by the graphic nature of the scenes played before their eyes in a public space.
When I got home from my trip, I contacted Aer Lingus’s Press Office to complain about the shows and let them know that I planned on writing an article about my experience. Here is what I wrote:
To whom it may concern,
I am a journalist for a number of pro-life, pro-family websites, and I just finished a 6.5 hour flight from Dublin to NYC and I am very upset about the pornographic material being played on the entertainment screens during the flight. The material to which I am referring is the series, “The Handmaiden’s Tale.”
I had never heard of this series until flying on Aer Lingus, and because of the number of people watching this show around me during the flight, it was impossible for me to completely shield my eyes from the graphic and lengthy sex scenes that clearly ran rampant through each episode of that show. The scenes were so graphic and so prolific it was a near constant bombardment on my eyes anytime I glanced up from my seat.
I am very upset about this, not only for my own desire to keep my eyes away from such filth, but because any children on the flight could very easily have seen those scenes as well.
I have also made note that the extremely sexually graphic series, Game of Thrones is readily available as well.
Before I write an article complaining about the graphic nudity and sexual content of the entertainment provided by Aer Lingus, I would like to give Aer Lingus an opportunity to provide a statement about its content selection guidelines, it’s consideration for young audiences, and justification for providing graphic nudity and sexual content in its programs.
Sincerely,
Michael Hichborn
Since that email, I did a little research on what The Handmaid’s Tale was all about. Apparently, the series is based on a book originally published in 1985. In an article by LifeSiteNews last year on The Handmaid’s Tale, Claire Chretien described it this way:
The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a post-modern, fundamentalist America called Gilead. Men run the deeply misogynist society, which is plagued by a fertility problem.
Think The Scarlet Letter meets Brave New World meets 1984 meets a little bit of North Korea.
Infertile women are either wives of powerful men or their servants. Fertile women are “handmaids,” forced to undergo ritualized rape in the hopes that they will bear children for the ruling class. When they do, the father and the wife take the child from them. The handmaids are then assigned to live with another couple and do the same thing all over again, producing children who are biologically theirs for the privileged, infertile women and their husbands.
To say that Gilead “misinterprets” the Bible or just takes Christianity too far would be more than an understatement. Rape, adultery, surrogacy, and the subversion of parental rights are deeply embedded in Gilead’s society.
Chretien pointed out in her article that The Handmaid’s Tale was becoming “iconic in the feminist world and has inspired advocacy against the pro-life movement. Pro-abortion rhetoric suggests opposition to abortion means one wants the world to be like the dystopia in The Handmaid’s Tale, where women are brutally abused, the totalitarian government cuts off hands, arms, fingers, eyes, and regularly hangs people.”
The point is, it is absolutely unconscionable to air such filth in a contained space where its imagery cannot be escaped.
Five days after my email to Aer Lingus’ Press Office, I received the following response:
Hi Michael,
Thank you for sharing your feedback on Aer Lingus’ infight entertainment.
We offer complimentary inflight entertainment on board all our transatlantic flights in the form of a Video On Demand service. All guests are in charge of their own personal screen and choose the content they wish to watch. The content on offer comprises a very broad selection – everything from the latest blockbuster movies to TV box sets, games, music and a dedicated ‘Kidszone’ for all our younger travellers.
Content is selected very carefully and tailored based on current trends and popularity from a terrestrial perspective. We carry out regular surveys among our guests to ensure we are showing content we know they want to see. Recognising our rich Irish talent we also offer a strong selection of short films and documentaries that were filmed and produced here in Ireland.
We rate our content accordingly so guests are aware of its suitability and this is visible in our CARA magazine as well as on the screen itself. To protect children against any unsuitable content we have a parental lock feature on the system where parents / adults can automatically make any content unavailable should they wish. There is also ample kids content ready in our ‘Kidzone’ which includes a number of kids movies and TV shows.
Our content offering is in keeping with other European and North American airlines’ inflight entertainment offering.
Regards,
Paula
Paula Donaghy, Head of Consumer PR
The response is woefully inadequate.
- While guests may be in charge of their own personal screens, Aer Lingus is in charge of what content they provide. Programs that depict graphic sexuality and rape simply aren’t suitable viewing for anyone.
- Selecting content based upon popularity and trends without any guidelines on suitability is irresponsible.
- Merely rating the content of the programs and providing parental lock features does nothing to protect other guests (especially children) from the extremely offensive material being broadcast on multiple other screens.
- Just because other airlines are doing it, it doesn’t mean you have to.
As I was preparing this article for publication, I took a final look at Aer Lingus’ currently listed entertainment content and am happy to note that neither The Game of Thrones nor The Handmaid’s Tale are on the list. While there’s no accounting for any of the other selections made available by Aer Lingus, it’s nice to think that perhaps the fact that these highly offensive programs are no longer listed is an indication that Aer Lingus got the message and acted accordingly.
Thank you for sharing, Michael. God bless your work always!
It will be nice to know from other subscribers that might be flying that airline if they truly remove it
Also I would contest that if they still offer it children seating nearby or passing thru will be exposed to this
Way to go Michael!! I’m grateful for people like you that speak up! This is what I routinely do and what all faithful Catholics really must do, in this age of moral depravity!
I appreciate your efforts ! God Bless.
Was it graphic, though? You didn’t mention if you found it graphic or not, so I’m just wondering if you found it graphic.
You’re a woefully poor writer for a “journalist,” and didn’t even bother to get the titles correct. As for the “graphic”-ness of it all, I’m guessing it’s been a while, huh?
Very proud of you Michael and thank you for doing so much work of investigation and for holding Aer Lingus accountable. God bless your work and my prayers will be with you in this spiritual battle.
You seem to only post the comments where people blow sunshine up your ass.
You need a thesaurus. This is awful writing.
I will let you know in August if Aer Lingus has changed what it shows or not.
Realize that Ireland is fast becoming a pagan nation, it is one of Satan’s triumphsRS, sadly.
I fly all the time and almost never see what is on other people’s screens. If I do happen to set eyes on something offensive, I merely go back to my book or my own show. We know from the Bible that evil is everywhere and it is our job to avoid it. Even Christ was tempted. Frankly, from what you’ve said, you watched quite a bit of these graphic shows.
Yesterday at Mass, I thought about how much hope and joy Jesus brought to ALL of us (Yes, even the “lepers”). He brought us redemption, hope, joy, comfort. He preached kindness, generosity and faith. He reminded us that charity is the greatest of the virtues. And importantly, he reminded us that whatever we do to the least of us (as in any kind of “unacceptable” person) we do to him. The only people Christ seemed to disdain were the ones who argued about the rules of law while ignoring the spirit.
The spirit of Christianity is love for God and Man. Why not spread the joyful message of Christ and ignore the rest? Is showing The Handmaid’s Tale on a plane really worse than attacking the Church and the children of God? After all, Jesus told us we would be tempted, just as he was.
Pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and I’m sure you’ll use this blog to spread the word of God and to support the Church and the Holy Father. Right now it seems that you are sowing the seeds of dissention and division, although I’m fairly sure that is not your intention.
This is an ignorant comment that is sadly representative of the thoughts of many today who have managed to reduce the Gospel to “do not judge anyone or anything, ever”. This is the only command for some who have decided they will follow their own “Gospel”.
Every person is responsible for doing what is morally right and for protecting others, especially children, from harm. Christians in particular have a serious responsibility to protect children from moral corruption and abuse. To allow self centered adults to expose children on a plane to pornagraphy is abuse.
Read my comment again because I did not say “do not judge anyone or anything ever.” What I said is that the message of Christ is love and redemption and that is what every Christian needs to emphasize. This blog supposedly exists to spread the word of Christ and to defend the church but almost every entry focuses on the negative and the sins of others. That is not the essence of Christianity.
Sowing the seeds of dissention in the Church and cultivating distrust of the Holy Father are among the among the greatest wrongs today. Don’t be a part of it.
Your comment implies that people should not oppose pornagraphy on planes but merely look the other way, because opposing it would be negative or divisive or something. Well I will oppose it, I do oppose it, I will say something both about the obnoxiousness of pornagraphy and the limp, lame version of “gospel values” that can’t be bothered with moral problems because it’s not happy talk. And if anything is a big problem today, the inability of average Christians to identify and act on their moral responsibilities has got to rank as very big one. Bravo to Mr Hichborn, who, frankly, exhibits courage, moral character, and a humility that is far beyond me. I don’t know how he manages to do it except by the the grace of God, I’m sure.
You did not get my point. Of course I oppose pornography on planes. If I were forced to watch it on a large screen, I’d complain too.
My point is that it is the job of the practicing Christian to promote the words of Jesus Christ and to defend the Church. Christ taught us how to do this and it is mostly through positive acts of love and compassion. To prevent an abortion, we strive to help the woman keep her child; we don’t attack her. To support the woman and save the child is Christian; to expose and humiliate her is not. This is not my opinion but it is church teaching. Check it out.
Read many of the comments on this blog and you will see that most are centered on the real or perceived sins of others, including the Holy Father. If that is OK with you, well, you have a right to your beliefs. To me, this blog reeks of anti-Catholicism and flirts with heresy; and frankly, I’m appalled.
Linda, if the point of Christianity is to be positive and not call out others, then why are you here calling out Mr Hichborn?
Did I call out a specific person? If I did I shouldn’t have. If the purpose of this blog is to bring people closer to Christ, I am trying to present positive ways on how this can be done: follow the words of Jesus, heed the advice of the Church and respect the guidance of the Holy Father. Pray for understanding.
Si Jesús es el camino la verdad y la vida. Jesús predicaba la moral y denunciaba el pecado eso es lo que creo que hace. Este Blog. Ya que el mundo entero se ha vuelto inmoral y a nadie le gusta lo que escucha. La moral. La pureza,castidad,etc..y no hacernos sentimentalista protestanizados
Thank you Michael for sharing this. God bless you in your good works.
Dear Linda, this blog has every reason to criticize the Holy Father, because he is not so holy
as you might think. Read e.g. George Neumayr’s book ” The Political Pope”. It is not this blog
that flirts with heresy but Pope Francis. It is this blog that brings me closer to Christ, not the Pope.
St Paul wrote:” It is no concern of mine to judge outsiders. It is for you to judge those who are
inside, is it not? But outsiders are for God to judge ( 1 Co 5:12)
It is fairly easy to tell who is being guided by the Holy Spirit. Listen to the words of Pope Francis and you will see that he is repeating or emphasizing the words of Jesus Christ. He is guiding his flock as he was asked to do. Catholics believe that the pope is guided by the Holy Spirit; that is a core belief of our faith. Of course if a pope goes against the commandments of God (steals, kills, assaults, etc.) then surely we must oppose him; but so far Francis has only reminded us of the teachings of Jesus. As pope, it is his job to make changes in the church so it will survive as an institution.
Now contrast the words of Francis with the words on this blog. Practically every post and comment name-calls, judges or criticizes. Of course, we don’t judge these people because we don’t know their motives but does it sound “Christian” to you? Follow the words of Jesus and you can’t go wrong. Think carefully and pray for guidance before sowing the seeds of dissent in the Church.
Dear Linda. I have a problem believing that this Pope is guided by the Holy Spirit.
Since 2000 years the Church believed that the multiplication of the bread and
fishes was a miracle caused by Jesus. This Pope does not believe that. He thinks
people were just sharing the food that some had hoarded. What does the Pope
believe about the other miracles?. The Pope praised and gave pontifical Orders
to renowned abortionists and abortion advocates like Emma Bonino, Renate
Brauner and Liliane Ploumen. He reinstated the pedophile priest Fr. Inzoli,
aka Don Mercedes, in his priestly functions after Pope Benedict a few years earlier
had defrocked him. Mercy done. But the Italian police got hold of him and
put him in jail. At last justice done. Last year the Pope appointed to the
Vatican three homo-lobbyist priests: Fr James Martin, Fr Jose Tolentino and
Fr Timothy Radcliffe. This Pope needs our prayers urgently.
Jesus asked us to treat the lepers of our society as we would treat him. He expressly told us not to judge the sins of others, although of course we are not to sin ourselves. To me, Pope Francis is carrying out the teachings of Jesus Christ but you must follow your own conscience. I do agree that we need to pray for the pope and for ourselves.