Does 'It Ends With Us' Promote a Toxic Message?
Controversy around the movie It Ends With Us, starring Blake Lively, has had teens talking for weeks. The novel the movie is based on first became popular on BookTok, a corner of the internet that makes or breaks romance novels. But these books often present a shallow version of real love, one that normalizes lust, cheating, promiscuity, and violence in relationships. We break down the buzz around It Ends With Us and look at how the message of the film stacks up against what the Bible has to say about finding real and lasting love.
//HIGHLIGHTS//
00:00 Colleen Hoover and 'It Ends With Us'
00:39 What is BookTok?
2:45 Is reading smut the same as watching porn?
3:58 What does BookTok teach teens about love?
6:01 What does the Bible say about love?
//CONVERSATION STARTERS//
Can you think of an example of a healthy relationship in books or the movies?
How would you define “real love”?
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//SOURCES//
Emba, Christine. Rethinking Sex. (2022).
Harris, Elizabeth A. “How TikTok Became a Bestseller Machine.” (2022). The New York Times.
Hoover, Colleen. It Ends With Us. (2016).
“How Many Women Watch Porn?” (n.d.) Fight the New Drug.
Kaplan, Anna. “Colleen Hoover outsold the Bible last year — but she’s happy still living as a ‘homebody’ in her small town.” (2023). Today.com.