By REY FLORES
I have watched and reviewed many great movies and documentaries about God, faith, love, life, families, and marriage, but with much confidence I can say that Unprotected: A Pope, the Pill, and the Perils of Sexual Chaos is the best one thus far. I have not enjoyed learning so much about the value and frailty of human relationships as I did with this film.
Unprotected is an absolutely beautiful and powerful tool. Each and every human being with a desire to truly love and be loved needs to watch this film. Its collection of views and honest heartfelt thoughts, opinions, and some painful memories and experiences will open one’s eyes to the true power and potential of love, sex, and life as God created it.
Not only did it inspire me to be a better person to those around me, it educated me and forced me to look in the mirror and reassess so many things I have gotten wrong on what it means to love another person.
Aside from being very inspirational, the film isn’t just fluff. Unprotected offers us a thorough examination into the human condition, and how sin has caused us to sometimes twist and pervert God’s plan for marriage, life, and family with our own fallen, selfish, and deliberate behaviors and actions — or inactions.
Filmmaker Donald J. Johnson brought together some of today’s most respected individuals who know John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae inside and out. Johnson filmed one terrific interview after another with authors like Leila Miller, who wrote a powerful book titled Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak.
Others in the film include Jason and Crystalina Evert, both of whom have spoken to countless teens about chastity and who co-wrote the inspiring How To Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul, among other works.
Others interviewed include the Ruth Institute’s Jennifer Roback Morse, whom I’ve met and who always has very profound knowledge of the damage the sexual revolution has had on marriage and families. Others interviewed include well-known figures in Catholic and Christian circles like Patrick Coffin, Jennifer Fulwiler, Sue Ellen Browder, and Damon Owens.
I like the way the film is broken up into segments, focusing on specific topics like abortion, contraception, divorce, and the meaning of love. This is where we are reminded of St. John Paul the Great’s words on what love means, “The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is use.”
When we hear the word “unprotected” today, the first thing most people think of is contraception. This shows just how brainwashed we have become regarding human sexuality and how disordered it has become. The great thing about this film is that it redefines the word “unprotected” to mean that we need to protect ourselves from becoming soulless, Godless beings who view sex as nothing other than selfish sexual gratification; an empty pursuit of our own perverse desires, devoid of love, patience, kindness, sacrifice, and procreation.
Who Was Right
There’s just so much I want to share with you about this film, but you have to see it for yourselves. Before I wrap this review up, I’ll share just a few more nuggets of what I call either spiritual or intellectual “gold.”
Author Leila Miller made an immensely poignant statement when she shared this in regard to how divorce affects children, and inevitably innumerable future generations: “The message that kids get (when their parents divorce), is that love can stop. Even when (we believe) that love is supposed to go on forever, it ends when one is no longer happy with that person. That sets kids up for a life of thinking, ‘I’m only lovable until I’m not’.”
Christopher West shared this when discussing Natural Family Planning (NFP), and the importance of spouses abstaining from sexual intercourse when they aren’t ready to become pregnant: “Love demands abstinence, (if one doesn’t want to abstain), your love is called into question.”
Then Damon Owens brought it all into focus for me when he said, “We need to see sex through the lens of love, not love through the lens of sex.”
Another golden nugget of wisdom shared in this film regarding contraception was this: “Love is patient, but I’m not.” And if that statement alone isn’t enough to convince us of the selfishness of contraception, the film even quotes atheist Sigmund Freud: “The abandonment of the reproductive function is the common feature of all perversion.” How about Mahatma Gandhi’s quote about birth control? “Birth control made beasts out of men.”
In filmmaker Donald J. Johnson’s own words about Unprotected:
“For over 50 years, Margaret Sanger led a battle for unrestricted and widespread use of contraception. She promised that it would result in happiness, freedom, and fulfillment. Her opposition came primarily from one source: The Catholic Church. Pope Paul VI argued that contraception would lead only to enslavement, abuse, and heartache. For over 50 years now we have clearly seen who was right. This is that story.”
The film and the film’s website include the popular #MeToo hashtag and addresses how teen girls are experiencing “sexting pressure” from their male peers, also addressing teenage depression. The all-too-important question, “How did the culture become so toxic for women?” is not only asked but answered in spades.
I encourage all parents, teachers, clergy, and youth groups to visit www.uprotectedmovie.com. See how you can bring this important story to light and get it in front of as many people as possible. Learn how to sign up to inquire about hosting a screening.
The movie is presented by Runaway Planet Pictures and Djem Media in association with Ignatius Press.
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(Rey Flores writes opinion and book and movie reviews for The Wanderer. Contact Rey at reyfloresusa@gmail.com.)
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