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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR2011.116  (2011), PG [13-PG*] (1hr 25.2min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1300 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Production (US): Angel City Pictures, McCreary Entertainment, Rick Bieber Films Distribution (US): Fox Home Entertainment Director(s): Rick Bieber Producer(s): Ryan Johnston, Doug Ames, Alan Cohen, Bob J. McCreary, Rick Bieber, Joe McDonnell, Aby GailPlanker Written by: Rick Bieber Cinematography/Camera: Craig Haagensen Music: Andy Mendelson Film Editing: Mark Conte Casting: Monica Mikkelsen, Sheila Jaffe, Tracy Kilpatrick Production Design: Sophia Mandalana Martinez Moore Viewed on Fox Home Entertainment DVD  I've been accused of dragging my knuckles on the floor as I enter a room. I have been called "strong like boo-ull." I can bust three 12"x12" boards sandwiched together with one forward punch. But The 5th Quarter had me misting up ... more than once. If you are the least bit sensitive, have a box of tissues handy when you watch this movie. One or two tissues won't be enough. Leave your macho elsewhere because this film might tear it down it. The 5th Quarter is rated PG by the MPAA. Under the CAP analysis model it earned a final score of 63 which places it in the high side of the scoring range earned by PG-13 movies (55 to 67 out of 100) in the comparative baseline database. If all the abuses of God's name and the assault on His Love were left out and if all the episodes of emotional turmoil were left out The 5th Quarter would have earned a final score of 77 which would place it in the scoring range earned by PG-rated films. But our analysis model cannot ignore abuses of His name or His love nor the influence of emotional turmoil as apparently does the MPAA model. The 5th Quarter is a detailed story of the loss of Luke Abbate (Stefan Guy) to a senseless motorized show-off. The loss decimated the fiber of Luke's whole family and brought an entire community to mourning. The story starts building characters with soccer-mom, Maryanne (Andie McDowell ) dropping Luke off at high school then switches to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC where Luke's Brother, #40 Jon (Ryan Merriman) trains for the football team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In a cut-away to Albany, NY we meet Lynn Garber (Anessa Ramsey) while she enjoys visiting a park with her daughter. The distress Lynn suffers is key to the plot and story but I won't spoil why because it is one of the multiple emotional crescendos of the film. Next we are taken to the Abbate kitchen where we meet dad, Steven (Aidan Quinn), mom and sister, Rachel (Mandy Manis) as work-at-home dad whips up some breakfast. Not yet seen is their 4.0 GPA son, Adam (Matt McGrath). It is all in an idyllic setting of comfortable suburban life with all the attention to detail of a close-knit American family down to Luke missing his ride home after school because his ride needed to take a missed Biology test. Luke decided to get a ride with his friends who were going to ride with Henry (Patrick Stagner). That was a big mistake. Luke did not make it home. Ever again. There I will leave the story in case you wish to watch this film for yourself. This film is particularly effective in generating emotions in the viewer. That is what Hollywood filmmakers do for a living. They generate tons of it. But director Bieber and the cast are particularly good at it. Following are brief discussions of the content per individual CAP investigation area. As always the Findings section of this report is the best source for discovering the full accounting of the content of this film. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 10 out of 100 Though the violence aspects of this film are not all that intense or gory, it contains a serious amount of violence and violence-related content. One example is the speeding Henry and his "sick-air" high-speed vaulting over a crest in a road crushing so many lives so deeply, all for a few seconds of showing off behind the wheel. When that happens is where the emotional violence begins. Additional matters of violence and/or crime include reckless driving, disobeying posted signs and injury gore. No matter how slight the violence might seem, violence takes its toll on the observer. God warned us of this years ago in Proverb 16:29 where He warns that violence is "catching" and that violence may lead one "into the way that is not good." Now that God has warned us of this, man has decided to cash in on God's Wisdom by four professional public health agencies jointly publishing findings that warn of violence in and as entertainment may, among other behavioral aberrations, lead to real life violence and may lead the viewer to believe violence is an acceptable mean of settling conflict. Impudence/Hate (I) - 88 out of 100 Only one use of profanity was found and it was spoken by one of the teens. [Col. 3:8, Luke 17:2] An adult used a euphemism of the most foul of the foul words. [Eph. 5:4] Sexual Immorality (S) - 88 out of 100 A background song spoke of sexual conquest twice. Steven and Maryanne are seen in bed together. [Mark 7:21] Although Steven and Maryanne are married in the film, Quinn and McDowell are not. Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 49 out of 100 Drinking was noted three times and drunkenness once. Jon was noted as seeking relief from the emotional pain with booze. One character was seen with a lit cigar. While these behaviors may be essential to the desired statement being of the filmmakers, there are dangers in exposing adolescents to drinking (and smoking) in and as entertainment. A 2002 study by the American College of Physicians (ACP) revealed that adolescent exposure to drinking in and as entertainment undeniably leads to abuse of alcohol among underage viewers. The finding entitled Relation Between Parental Restrictions on Movies and Adolescent Use of Tobacco and Alcohol reports that of 4544 youths from grades 5 through 8 of fifteen Vermont and New Hampshire middle schools (90% of the youths were under fourteen years old) only 16% were completely restricted in their entertainment diets. Within the ACP study population, the prevalence of having tried alcohol without parental knowledge was There is nothing to say that viewing smoking in and as entertainment does not carry the same danger of influence as viewing drinking. The same matter of behavior influence applies to any behavior demonstrated in and as entertainment, including good behavior. Offense to God (O) - 45 out of 100 God's name was used in vain eight times, five times by a teen and three times by an adult but each time without the four letter expletive. With or without the four letter expletive, using God's name in vain is sin. Yes, that includes the popular social concoctions such as the three-syllable sentence with His name trailing it and the one-syllable version of "Jesus." [Deut. 5:11] Further, Jon was noted saying "If God is so good how can He let such bad things happen to good people." If the tragedy that happened in the film were real life, God did not let happen the tragedy. Henry made it happen by choosing to show off while driving. Certainly God could have stopped it from happening but to do that God would have had to have taken away Henry's God-given freedom of choice to drive the way he chooses. God won't do that. God is not accountable for our choices, we are. And if God took away our freedom of choice He would make puppets of us. He won't do that because He wants us to love Him of our own free will. Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100 There are no murders or suicides in the entire 85.2 minutes of the film. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE o Prov. 16:29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good. [The issue is the violence, the 'way that is not good' no matter how "small" or "fantasy" or "justified" the violence might seem, and its "leading" effect on the observer. "A violent man" can be any character of any age, any gender, human or not in the act of committing (demonstrating in the case of entertainment) violent behavior/action whether for good or evil OR the violent behaviors/actions themselves. Such exposure can and does embolden the viewer into aggression, especially youth. It took years for the American professional health community to finally affirm, probably without knowing it, that which God told us in 1 Cor. 15:33 below. See also Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: Congressional Public Health Summit for more information. Their findings include: --> Children who see a lot of violence are more likely to view violence as an effective way of settling conflicts. Children exposed to violence are more likely to assume the acts of violence are acceptable behavior. --> Viewing violence can lead to emotional desensitization towards violence in real life. It can decease the likelihood that one will take action on behalf of a victim when violence occurs. --> Entertainment violence feeds a perception that the world is a violent and mean place. Viewing violence increases fear of becoming a victim of violence, with a resultant increase in self-protective behavior and a mistrust of others. --> Viewing violence may lead to real life violence. Children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children who are not so exposed. Further, God speaks darkly of violence 56 times in the Old and New Testament of the KJV.] As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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(The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model, independent of and insulated from the Summary / Commentary section.)  Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 10 out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - 88 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 88 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 49 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - 45 out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100 |
| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
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| For G rated Films with G equivalence: G PG equivalence: PG-G PG-13 equivalence: 13-G R equivalence: R-G< | For PG rated Films with G equivalence: G-PG PG equivalence: PG PG-13 equivalence: 13-PG R equivalence: R-PG | For PG-13 rated Films with G equivalence: G-13 PG equivalence: PG(13) PG-13 equivalence: PG-13 R equivalence: R-13 | For R rated Films with G equivalence: G-R PG equivalence: PG-R PG-13 equivalence: 13-R R equivalence: R | For NR rated Films with G equivalence: G-NR PG equivalence: PG-NR PG-13 equivalence: 13-NR R equivalence: R-NR |