ASSIST NEWS SERVICE
PO Box 2126
Garden Grove, CA 92842-2126
USA
E-mail: assistcomm@cs.com
www.assistnews.net
September 13, 2001
MORAL AND SPIRITUAL TRENDS IN 'HOLLYWOOD BABYLON'
By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor of MOVIEGUIDE®
Special to ASSIST News Service
HOLLYWOOD, CA (ANS) -- For many years, Christians have had a defeatist
attitude toward Hollywood. With good reason, they believe that little good can
come out of Hollywood. The popularity of horrible movies like AMERICAN PIE 2,
HANNIBAL and SCARY MOVIE has greatly added to this impression.
For more than 16 years, however, the Christian Film & Television Commission and
its family guide to movies and entertainment, MOVIEGUIDE®,
have been working tirelessly behind the scenes in Hollywood to redeem the
values of the entertainment media for the benefit of our children and
grandchildren. Despite all of the bad things that Hollywood produces, the press,
which focuses on the bad news and all the reports of an increasing immoral
paganism among many young people, we are here to report that God has not
forsaken Hollywood, nor has He forsaken our children and grandchildren.
The following brief report describes some very positive moral and spiritual
trends in Hollywood during the last 10 years, when the Christian Film &
Television Commission began to host MOVIEGUIDE®'s
Annual Family Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry. The trends
during the last 10 years have been so significant that, even though we know that
there are many other Christians besides us trying to do what they can to redeem
the values of the entertainment media, we can't help but point to those
statistics to show not only that God is sovereign but also that our efforts have
not indeed been in vain. As Jesus Christ told His disciples, "I will be with
you always, even to the end of the age."
MOVIEGUIDE®'s
IMPACT: 1991-2000
The moral and redemptive impact of the MOVIEGUIDE®'s
Annual Family Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry and the
Christian Film & Television Commission has become tremendously exciting in
recent years. MOVIEGUIDE®'s
extensive analysis of the theatrical box office, which is included in Dr. Ted
Baehr's Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry distributed at each Awards
Gala, proves this to be the case.
For example, in the last ten years, the number of movies with positive moral
content has increased from 68 such movies in 1991 to 179 such movies in
2000! This is an increase of 163 percent! Furthermore, the number of movies
with spiritually uplifting, redemptive and/or Christian content has increased
from a mere 27 in 1991 to 118 in 2000. This is an incredible 337 percent
increase (see table below)! Clearly, the entertainment industry has started to
respond favorably to the demand for better, higher quality movies with positive
moral and spiritual values.
NUMBER OF MOVIES WITH POSITIVE MORAL/SPIRITUAL CONTENT
1991 - MORAL 68 out of 260 movies or 26%
1991 - SPIRITUAL 27 out of 260 movies or 10%
2000 - MORAL
179 out of 288 movies or 62% - A 163% Increase
2000 - SPIRITUAL 118 out of 288 movies or 41% - A 337% Increase
In the last five years, the number of movies with at least some positive
moral content has risen from 87 movies in 1996 to 179 in 2000, an increase
of 106 percent. During that same period, the number of movies with at least
some positive redemptive or Christian content has risen from 77 movies in 1996
to 118 movies in 2000, an increase of 53 percent (see table below).
NUMBER OF MOVIES WITH POSITIVE MORAL/SPIRITUAL CONTENT
1996 - MORAL 87 out of 272 movies or 32%
1996 - SPIRITUAL 77 out of 272 movies or 28%
2000 - MORAL 179 out of 288 movies or 62% A 106% Increase
2000 - SPIRITUAL 118 out of 288 movies or 41% A 53% Increase
MORAL, CHRISTIAN MOVIES EARN THE MOST MONEY
Just as interesting as these figures is what happened in 2000 to movies which
had a very strong moral and/or biblical worldview and to movies, which had a
very strong redemptive and/or Christian worldview. Movies in these categories
didn't just have strong moral, biblical, redemptive, and/or Christian content,
their whole point of view and philosophy was almost completely moral, biblical,
redemptive, and/or Christian.
Thus, 2000 movies with a very strong moral and/or biblical worldview
consistently, and significantly, outperformed movies with a very strong pagan,
Rousseauian romantic, humanist, homosexual, or Communist worldview (see chart
below).
Worldview B.O. Average
Very strong moral and/or biblical worldview $33,583,665
Very strong pagan worldview $23,620,686
Very strong politically correct worldview $6,819,755
Very strong homosexual worldview $6,540,167
Very strong secular humanist worldview $4,106,457
Very strong immoral, anti-biblical, anti-Semitic, or anti-Christian worldview
$ 2,176,096
Very strong Rousseauian romanticism worldview $1,688,160
Very strong Communist worldview $76,424
Very strong radical environmentalist worldview $17,565
The kind of movies which win the Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie at the
Annual Awards Gala, however, are movies which have a strong or very strong
redemptive and/or Christian worldview. This means that the movie's whole point
of view and philosophy was strongly, or almost completely, Christian and
redemptive. In fact, movies with a very strong Christian and redemptive
worldview, including the 2000 Epiphany Prize nominees THE PATRIOT, THE BASKET,
REMEMBER THE TITANS, and MERCY STREETS, earned far more money on average in 2000
($42,882,055) than movies with a very strong pagan, Rousseauian romantic,
humanist, homosexual, or Communist worldview (see chart below).
Worldview B.O. Average
Very strong Christian and redemptive worldview $42,882,055
Very strong pagan worldview $23,620,686
Very strong politically correct worldview $6,819,755
Very strong homosexual worldview $6,540,167
Very strong secular humanist worldview $4,106,457
Very strong immoral, anti-biblical, anti-Semitic, or anti-Christian
worldview $2,176,096
Very strong Rousseauian romanticism worldview $1,688,160
Very strong Communist worldview $76,424
Very strong radical environmentalist worldview $17,565
Figures for 1999 were nearly as positive:
Worldview B.O. Average
Very strong moral and/or biblical worldview $27,126,773
Very strong pagan worldview $15,626,251
Very strong politically correct worldview $18,243,969
Very strong homosexual worldview $1,422,091
Very strong secular humanist worldview $12,104,047
Very strong immoral, anti-biblical, anti-Semitic, or anti-Christian worldview
$24,327,128
Very strong Rousseauian romanticism worldview $22,346,115
Very strong Communist worldview $ 0
Very strong radical environmentalist worldview $ 0
Worldview B.O. Average
Very strong Christian and redemptive worldview $30,135,701
Very strong pagan worldview $15,626,251
Very strong politically correct worldview $18,243,969
Very strong homosexual worldview $1,422,091
Very strong secular humanist worldview $12,104,047
Very strong immoral, anti-biblical, anti-Semitic, or anti-Christian worldview
$24,327,128
Very strong Rousseauian romanticism worldview $22,346,115
Very strong Communist worldview $ 0
Very strong radical environmentalist worldview $ 0
MOVIEGUIDE®'s
statistics also clearly show that movies with a very strong moral, biblical,
redemptive, and/or Christian worldview also consistently outperform movies with
graphic sexual immorality, explicit nudity, and, more often than not, movies
with extreme foul language or excessive violence, as shown by the following
tables. In fact, movies with a very strong Christian and redemptive worldview
have outperformed such immoral movies 90 percent of the time over the last five
years [18 times out of a possible 20 times]. Meanwhile, movies with a very
strong moral and biblical worldview have outperformed such movies 85 percent of
the time during that same period [17 times out of a possible 20 times].
Theatrical Movies Released in 2000
Category B.O. Average
Very strong Christian and redemptive worldview $42,882,055
Very strong moral and/or biblical worldview $33,583,665
Movies with excessive violence $28,020,396
Movies with extreme foul language $21,884,419
Movies with strong graphic sexual immorality $15,068,855
Movies with strong explicit nudity $14,493,227
Theatrical Movies Released in 1999
Category B.O. Average
Very strong Christian and redemptive worldview $30,135,701
Very strong moral and/or biblical worldview $27,126,773
Movies with excessive violence $29,933,907
Movies with extreme foul language $23,552,405
Movies with strong graphic sexual immorality $14,278,558
Movies with strong explicit nudity $13,227,652
Theatrical Movies Released in 1998
Category B.O. Average
Strong or very strong Christian and redemptive content $32,117,585
Strong or very strong moral and/or biblical content $38,385,050
Movies with excessive violence $21,919,697
Movies with extreme foul language $18,902,784
Movies with strong graphic sexual immorality $11,647,524
Movies with strong explicit nudity $12,181,569
Theatrical Movies Released in 1997
Category B.O. Average
Strong or very strong Christian and redemptive content $20,594,696
Strong or very strong moral and/or biblical content $56,493,551
Movies with excessive violence $36,843,484
Movies with extreme foul language $21,672,394
Movies with strong graphic sexual immorality $ 8,438,477
Movies with strong explicit nudity $ 9,929,104
Theatrical Movies Released in 1996
Category B.O. Average
Strong or very strong Christian and redemptive content $37,503,858
Very strong moral and/or biblical content $16,595,705
Movies with excessive violence $21,898,576
Movies with extreme foul language $21,564,050
Movies with strong graphic sexual immorality $ 6,429,246
Movies with strong explicit nudity $12,982,635
CONCLUSION
MOVIEGUIDE®'s
statistics convincingly show that the top producers and studio executives in
Hollywood are producing significantly more movies with moral and redemptive, and
even Christian, content. These movies consistently earn more money at the box
office than other kinds of movies, including movies with abundant and graphic
sex, nudity, violence, and vulgarity. God is still sovereign. Sex, violence,
vulgarity, and immorality do not really sell as well as many people think and as
the news media tries to report. Together, we can build a better, more
civilized culture for future generations, our children and grandchildren.
Editor's Note: For more information about MOVIEGUIDE®;
the Annual MOVIEGUIDE®
Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment Industry; Dr. Baehr's MEDIA-WISE
FAMILY speaking engagements, courses, workshops, and seminars; and/or, the work
of the Christian Film & Television Commission, please call (800) 899-6684, or
write to P.O. Box 190010, Atlanta, GA 31119, USA.
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