CAP Report MAR-0040, INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)

ChildCare Action Project:
Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP)

Entertainment Media Analysis Report

MAR-0040
Independence Day (1996)
PG-13
CAP Score: 52
CAP ID: 0.87

Thomas A. Carder
CAP President

ALERT: To fully understand this report you should first visit the topics suggested by
the CAP Home Page Table of Contents.

In the Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Investigation Area, Independence Day was saturated with violence. Examples included

multiple deaths in Hollywoood style warfare battle
multitudes being killed by fire and explosion
alien attack of a human
fire enveloping actors
walls of fire chasing the viewer (the camera)
vehicles and buildings tossed like toys slamming into the viewer

However, the gore of blood and guts dripping off the screen usually associated with this type of "entertainment" violence was absent. At least in that sense Independence Day was relatively tame. But the movie was still violent -- realistically violent.

As projected by CAP Special Report-0001, Investigation Area and Scoring Trend Independence Day was saturated with the three/four letter word vocabulary typically labeled as foul language and "bad words." Frequent use of such language ground down the Impunity/Hate Investigation Area (I) score from 100 starting points to two points!(1)

In Sex/Homosexuality (S) the movie presented a smattering of sexual material such as

sexual insults
illicit sexual activities such as strip tease dancing and glorifying it as a respectable form of employment
partial nudity
soliciting sexual favor
cohabitation by an unmarried heterosexual couple which, of course, was couched in a warm and loving setting
urinating in a commode

Drugs/Alcohol (D) was freckled with abuse of alcohol by a "washed-up" Vietnam pilot being frequently presented as drunk. Beside the inappropriateness of portraying the abuse of alcohol in a movie, this investigator was offended by the seeming protrayal of a man's abuse of alcohol being associated with the fact that he was a Vietnam veteran. This part of the script seemed to imply that Vietnam veterans are drunks, or that the man was a drunk because he was a Vietnam veteran. I am not a Vietnam veteran, but I know a lot who are and none are alcoholics. No points were lost due to my suspicion of belittlement of the honorable men who fought the Vietnam war.

Offense to God (O) took hits in the use of God's name in vain with and without the three/four letter word vocabular.(2)

There was only one example of Murder/Suicide (M): heroic suicide, at least by Hollywood's standards, presented in warm and loving sacrifice.

In accordance with the comparative baseline data, Independence Day was equivalent to R-rated material in Wanton Violence/Crime, Impunity/Hate, and Offense to God. It was equivalent to PG material in Sex/Homosexuality and Drugs/Alcohol. The movie was equivalent to G-rated material in Murder/Suicide. Thus, 50% of Independence Day was equivalent to the comparative baseline data corresponding to R-rated material. Thirty-three percent was equivalent to PG material, and 17% was G-rated material.

Below is the table showing the scoring in each of the Investigation Areas plus the Final Score drawn from the actual CAP Report. In addition, the number of examples per hour of unacceptable material in each of the Investigation Areas is provided.

Independence Day CAP Scorecard

This movie was two points into the CAP scoring range for R movies, just over the boundary differentiating PG-13 from R material. While Gaussian skewness might statistically absorb this narrow two-point variance, I feel Independence Day should have been rated R by the MPAA.

(1) As noted in CAP Special Report-0001, "Investigation Area Scoring and Trend," Impunity/Hate was the strongest presence in all four movie classifications. I pray you will find time to read Special Report-0001. It has a strong revelation about the entertainment media.

(2) The use of the three/four letter word vocabulary is incorporated into the Impunity/Hate Investigation Area. The use of God's name in vain with and without the three/four letter word vocabulary is incorporated into the Offense to God Investigation Area.

Additional reviews of this movie may be located at Movie Review Query Engine at Telerama.

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