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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 MAR2011.017  (2010), PG [Very Lite R-PG*] (1hr 41.75min) 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.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Saturn Films, Broken Road Productions, Junction Entertainment Distribution (US): Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Director(s): Jon Turteltaub Producer(s): Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicolas Cage, Todd Garner, Norman Golightly, Ben Haber, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Brigham Taylor, Barry H. Waldman Writing Credits: (Screen Story) Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Matt Lopez: (Screenplay) Matt Lopez, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard Cinematography/Camera: Bojan Bazelli Music: Trevor Rabin Film Editing: William Goldenberg Casting: Ronna Kress Production Design: Naomi Shohan Art Direction: David Lazan, David Swayze Viewed on Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment DVD  This analysis is sponsored by the generosity of several folks who have bought TVGuardian units through links on our pages, each such purchase earns the CAP Ministry a commission. First, a little sermon about "magic." Is there such a thing as supernatural power? Magic? How do you suppose Jesus raised the dead [John 11:43], healed the sick [Matt. 8:15] and made the blind see [John 9:6, 7] and the lame walk [John 5:8]? He used what could be called magic in a figurative sense but is more accurately called holy power from the Father. And since Satan was a chief angel and is second in power only to God he possesses magical power, too. If not, how else could Satan have displayed all the kingdoms to Jesus when Satan tempted Him [Luke 4:5] or how else could he have transported Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple [Luke 4:9]? By whatever name magic is called it is a supernatural power that serves the one who possesses it. Embedded in the previous few lines is a key point. There is magic but it is either from God or not from God; it is either holy "magic" power or evil magic. No "in between." Therein lies another point to magic. First, the term "magic" appears nowhere in the English KJV Bible. The KJV uses "sorcery", "sorceries" and "enchantments" but not "magic." The NIV and Strong's translate these terms to "magic", "magical arts" and so on. The focus here being that the term "magic" is consistently not a positive entity and that "magic" is not associated with Jesus. Now to the heart of the matter: the source of the power not the user nor the use of it determines whether the power is good or evil. Jesus used His "magical" power for good and noble purposes but that is not what makes His power good. What makes His power good is that it is from the Father. Now to the key point as it relates to The Sorcerer's Apprentice. If someone uses power from Satan it is evil no matter how it is used or who uses it because it is from Satan. Even if the user of magic from Satan uses the magic for good purposes it is still evil because it is from Satan. Merlin, the famous sorcerer or wizard of Arthurian times and quintessential magician in this film is purported to be a good wizard because he used his power to fight evil to save mankind. But, IF Merlin was real his power was not from God. Likewise, not one erg of magic power portrayed in this film was hailed as being from God nor was God given any credit for the power. And if the power is not from God ... One significant influence in this film is that the "magic" might lead the observer to dabble or experiment with magic whether now or years ahead. The depth of influence of the "magic" portrayed in this film might be a measure of the perspective of the viewer. Whether the perspective be from the lightning-speed, microscopic attention to detail and most morally malleable mind of the average young boy or girl,whether it be from the thousand-things-on-the-mind harried, time-strapped parent or somewhere in between will in most cases determine how deep the observed influence(s) might dig. There is danger in exposing our youth to the dazzling grandeur of Disney "magic" in this film. Be cautious and observe closely your children if they watch this film. Watch for increased general attitudinal intensity and degree of retention of what they see and hear and be ready to respond with the Light of the Truth when your children start expressing an interest in "magic" they did not express before watching The Sorcerer's Apprentice. In addition to the possible negative influence by the "magic", there are quite graphic presentations of other elements of possible corruption of how our youth capture moral values and develop coping skills. Morgana, the evil sorceress enemy of Merlin, graphically impales Merlin with a sword and enjoys it, incinerates characters and a number of other possibly value-changing or challenging demonstrations. "...and enjoys it" may be the most powerful influence since it is the attitude portrayed which, likely more than the content, is most likely to distort the home-taught or Bible-taught moral values of the observer. The reason I have spent so much of your time on "magic" is this story is based entirely on magic that is not from God. Sure, it is all fantasy but all too often a bad influence does not have to be real to influence badly. From the days of King Arthur in 740 AD, Merlin trained three apprentices, Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), Veronica (Monica Bellucci) and Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina). Both Balthazar and Horvath were in love with Veronica but Veronica chose Balthazar over Horvath. That romantic burr has been sticking in the side of Horvath for 1000 years. A thousand years ago Morgana le Fey (Alice Krige), the most deadly enemy of Merlin (James A. Stephens), vowed to implement The Rising -- the raising of all dead wizards and sorcerers to rule mankind. In a battle with Merlin, Morgana impaled him with a sword. Later, as Morgana tried to kill Veronica and Balthazar, Veronica transferred Morgana's soul into herself to save Balthazar. Morgana tried to kill Veronica from inside so Balthazar trapped them both into the Grimhold, a doll where they remain to this day. Eventually Balthazar trapped Horvath in the Grimhold doll as well. As Merlin laid dying, he gave Balthazar his dragon ring and told Balthazar it would guide Balthazar to Merlin's successor, the Prime Merlinean, the only one who can kill Morgana and save mankind from enslavement by her. Balthazar searched for centuries for the Prime Merlinean and would not rest until he was found and Morgana was dead. Enter David Stutler (Jake Cherry then Jay Baruchel). Ten year old David chased a wind-blown note from Becky Barnes (Peyton List then Teresa Palmer) whom David was trying to have as his girlfriend into Balthazar Blake's Arcana Cabana, a magic store. There, Balthazar found that Merlin's dragon ring wrapped itself kindly about David's finger. From that moment Balthazar knew he had found the Prime Merlinean. And the story goes on ... with much more detail than I have included. But I will spoil no more of it in case, after hearing of its content herein, you decide it is fit for your family or other audience. But I will tell you that this is not a story about good against evil. Because all the supernatural powers portrayed are not from God, all powers were evil, unholy. It is about evil against evil with a good benefit to mankind. Following are discussions of the content of the film by individual investigation area. A detailed listing of the content findings is provided in the Findings/Scoring section of this report. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 15 out of 100 Please note that the CAP Analysis Model does not permit incorporating any single event of cinematic assault on morality and decency into more than one investigation area. If an example of the demonstration of an assault on morality and decency seems to fall into more than one investigation area, only one may be used. Scoring loss duplication is not permitted. For example, Balthazar committed breaking and entering and used magic to open the door. This event may be incorporated into Wanton Violence/Crime OR into Offense to God but not both. Many of the displays of the violent or criminal nature in this film also occurred with the use of unholy magic. While operational procedure prevents duplication of scoring loss, it can alter the scoring distribution across the six investigation areas but does not impact the final score. Meaning, if more of the examples of violence by magic were incorporated into the Wanton Violence/Crime investigation area and thus fewer into the Offense to God investigation area, the Wanton Violence/Crime investigation area score would have been lower and the Offense to God investigation area score would have been higher but the final score would remain the same. Nevertheless, there were a large number of issues of the violent nature not using unholy magic including a threat with a knife, orders to kill, a number of action violence sequences of varying intensities and a mugging. No matter the intensity man might assign to an event of violence, each takes its toll on the observer and can conjure violent aggression in him/her. God says so [Prov. 16:29, 1 Cor.15:33 and more]. And four American professional health agencies say so (see Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children: Congressional Public Health Summit for more information). In other words, violence in and as entertainment can lead to real life violence. When do you suppose Hollywood will listen? Impudence/Hate (I) - 54 out of 100 There were only two uses of profanity in the entire 101.75 minutes of this film. But that is two too many. [Col 3:8] The biggest reason for the dismal investigation area score is all the lying. God hates lies. He does not hate the liar but He hates lies, so much so that the [unforgiven] one who "loveth and maketh a lie" will not enter the gates of the city (Heaven). [Rev. 22:14, 21:8] Note that Rev. 22:14 and 21:8 also condemn they who practice the magical arts -- sorcerers, wizards, etc. -- upon which this entire film is built. Sexual Immorality (S) - 80 out of 100 The sexual content of this film is entirely of the Hollywood sex-ettes such as a crotch hit, an adult in underwear, a man in the shower, women as toys/ornaments and gamming. (Note that most of you are not old enough to know the term "gamming" so I will explain. It is the intentional display of the upper rear female leg such as when crossing legs in a short skirt as did Palmer.) There is not one moment of nudity in the entire 101.75 minutes of the show. Nor does anyone get in bed with anyone else. In that sense this is a "clean" movie. But God advises us against crude and coarse humor [Eph. 5:4, Col. 2:23] Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 97 out of 100 The only instance of anything even remotely connected with alcohol possession or consumption, illegal drugs possession or consumption or abuse of prescription drugs was the reference to getting drunk. However "tame" this might seem, any attention given to alcohol and/or illegal drugs (and smoking) can and does influence the observer, especially the young -- gets them to thinking about it. This was found by the American College of Physicians (ACP). 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 Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 God's name was abused twice in this film. That in and of itself is condemnable by God Himself who warns that they who abuse His name will not be held guiltless [Deut. 5:11] However, the film is saturated with embracing evil magic. God has made His position clearly known about they who do such things as demonstrated in this film [Deut. 18:10 - 14]. Murder/Suicide (M) - 74 out of 100 While there are a number of killings (which are incorporated into the Wanton Violence/Crime investigation area) there are several murders. 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 ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** 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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 Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 15 out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - 54 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 80 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 97 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 74 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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