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MAR2011.117

(2011), PG-13 [PG-13*] (1hr 44.5min)

Final Score
Analysis Date
Date Posted
Influence Density
MinMax
September 14, 2011
September 15, 2011
58
0.91
-97

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Christian Long Distance

SUMMARY / COMMENTARY:
(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)

If Scriptural references appear, the full text appears at the end of the Summary / Commentary.



(2011), PG-13 [PG-13*] ... a rather hard PG-13


Production (US): Paramount, Marvel
Distribution (US): Paramount Home Entertainment
Director(s): Kenneth Branagh
Producer(s): Kevin Feige, Patricia Whitcher, Louis d'Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel, Craig Kyle, Victoria Alonso
Screenplay by: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stenz, Don Payne
Story by: Michael Straczynski, Mark Protosevich
Novel: Stan Lee, Larry Leiber, Jack Kirby
Cinematography/Camera: Haris Zambarloukos
Music: Patrick Doyle
Film Editing: Paul Rubell
Casting: Randi Hiller, Sarah Halley Finn
Production Design: Bo Welch
Viewed on Paramount Home Entertainment DVD


According to The Norse Gods, the nine worlds, or realms as used in this film, of Norse mythology are

The First Level
Asgard, world of the Aesir; Vanaheim, land of the Vanir; Alfheim, land of the light elves.
The Second Level
Midgard, Land of humans (middle world/garden); Nidavellir, Land of the dwarfs; Jotunheim, Land of the giants (Jotuns); Svartalfheim, Land of the dark elves.
The Third Level
Hell, Realm of the dead; Niflheim, World of the dead.

Strange that the three levels might be equated to Heaven, Earth and Hell with Asgard as Heaven with its "light elves", with Midgard (middle, between Heaven and Hell) as Earth, and especially since the third level with both realms combined as one into Muspelheim is thought to be the land of the fire giants.

Be that as it may, this story is about Asgard of the first level and Midgard and Jotunheim, both of the second level.

Loki (Ted Allpress, when older Tom Hiddleston), the deceiving son of Odin Allfather (Anthony Hopkins), King of Asgard, grows up in what Loki feels is the shadow of his hotheaded brother, Thor Odinson (Dakota Goyd, when older Chris Hemsworth). To Loki Thor seems to be the favorite son. Maybe Loki's contempt for Thor has meaning since Loki turns out to be the rescued son of Laufrey (Colm Feore), the Jotun king of the Frost Giants of the Realm of Jotunheim, sworn enemies of the Asgardians. The Jotuns and Asgardians have been nursing a fragile truce for years.

In time Odin felt Thor was ready to become the new king of Asgard. Odin began the crowning ceremonies but just as Thor was to make his final vow and consummate the crowning the Frost Giants invade Asgard and interrupt the crowning ceremonies a moment before Thor is crowned the new king of Asgard. By his impetuousness and arrogance, Thor swears to make war on the Frost Giants because of their attack on Asgard and its revealing of a breach in the security of the borders of Asgard. Little did it matter to Thor that the attack was not by an army but by just a handful of Frost Giants trying to retrieve their stolen casket of power.

Thor leads his band of warrior friends, Fandral (Josh Dallas), Hogun (Tadandbu Asano), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Siff (Jamie Alexander) over the Bifrost (a celestial bridge between Realms) to the ice realm of Jotunheim and attacks Laufey and his soldiers. When the tides of battle begin to sway to the Jotunians favor, Odin appears like the Cavalry and rescues Thor and his band of warriors back to Asgard.

In an effort to patch the disturbed peace because of Thor's recklessness, Odin banishes Thor to Earth along with the invincible Hammer of Thor, the Mjolnir. All might seem not so destitute since Thor is still alive. But when Odin banished Thor to the Earth, Odin stripped Thor of his "godly" powers. Now Thor must live among mortals as a mortal. But Thor's friends, who were not okay with Thor's exile, banded to defy King Odin and bring Thor back to Asgard.

On Earth, a group of scientists notice Thor's arrival by hitting him with their van. Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgárd) is mentoring Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in her post-doctrinal work on the theory of an Einstein-Rosen bridge (a wormhole in sapce). It is when Jane and company are studying the night skies over Puente Antiguo, New Mexico that the group of scientists literally run into Thor. As part of their new discovery, the scientists notice a huge heavenly disturbance in the night skies. The disturbance is the Earth-end of the Bifrost delivering Thor's hammer 50 miles West of their location.

From there ... I will leave discovery of the rest of the rather intricate and somewhat complex story to your discover should you decide this film is fit.

This film is definitely R-equivalent in violence (W) but earned a PG-13 equivalent final score of 58 due to the higher-than-R-equivalent scores in the other investigation areas. A final score of 58 is a rather hard PG-13 equivalent score and is only four points above R-equivalence (54 and below out of 100) but it is PG-13 equivalent nonetheless. Thor also earned R-equivalence in Impudence/Hate (I) but the rest of the above-R-equivalence scores brought the final score up into the range of scores earned by PG-13 movies in the comparative baseline database.

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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) - Zero out of 100
Violence in this film is concentrated around action violence and battle/warfare with deaths but little gore. There are also some creature attacks plus assaults and attempted murder. While some may feel that such cinematic violence is "clean violence" it is violence nonetheless. Any form of violence can take its toll on the observer. God warned us of this in His Word 2000 years ago in, for example, Proverb 16:29 which is just as righteous today. He warned that violence can be "catching": that it can lead one into the "way that is not good." And as miniscule as is man's wisdom in comparison to His, four public health agencies jointly published their findings about viewing violence in and as entertainment. They reported that cinematic violence can (among other behavioral aberrations) lead the viewer, especially the young, into real life violence and that it can lead the viewer into believing violence is an acceptable means of settling conflict.

Impudence/Hate (I) - 39 out of 100
Seven times someone utters a word of profanity. [Col. 3:8, Eph. 4:29]. Throughout the film Loki is treacherous and deceiving. [2 Tim. 3:1 - 5] Thor throws a tantrum (once) which might be expected of one who shows arrogance at and rebellion toward his father. In addition, there is government intrusion in the name of national security. Additional matters of impudence and/or hatred content can be found in the listing in the Findings section.

Sexual Immorality (S) - 97 out of 100
Most atypical of PG-13 films is the lack of sexually immoral demonstrations in Thor. The only behavior and/or display to which this investigation area applies was Hemsworth displaying his below-navel skin which threatened to expose that which follows.

Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 55 out of 100
In addition to occasional bars and booze, Thor and Erik participate in a boilermaker guzzling contest. Erik claims he needs a drink (to relieve) and becomes drunk once. At the end of the show is a celebratory feast with drinking. All this might be thought of as just part of life but maybe it shouldn't be. And maybe it is a part of life because of films that present drinking (and smoking). At least the American College of Physicians says so.

A 2002 study by the American College of Physicians (ACP) revealed that adolescent exposure to drinking (Adolescent? This IS a PG-13 film y'know) 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

  • 46% for those with no viewing restrictions
  • 16% for those with partial viewing restrictions
  • four percent for those with complete viewing restrictions. [Eph. 5:18]

    There is nothing to say that viewing smoking in and as entertainment does not carry the same danger of influence as viewing drinking. Actually, the same matter of behavior influence applies to any behavior demonstrated in and as entertainment, including good behavior.

    Offense to God (O) - 62 out of 100
    This is unusual. There are precisely as many abuses of God's name as there are uses of profanity - seven. And each was a sin [Deut. 5:11] as was each of the uses of profanity.

    Murder/Suicide (M) - 94 out of 100
    Though there are many warfare/battle killings and deaths there are no murders but there is one suicide as Loki intentionally releases his grip of Odin's staff while dangling from it and falls to his death. Please note that suicide is a sin since it is murder of the self.

    Note also that killing and deaths due to warfare and police action, defensive killing and attempted murder/suicide are not incorporated into this investigation area but are incorporated into the Wanton Violence/Crime investigation area. Only portrayal of successful murder and/or suicide are incorporated into this investigation area.


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    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

  • 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.]
  • Col. 3:8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice [kakia: ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity, evil, trouble, not ashamed to break laws, etc.], slander and filthy language [aischrologia: foul speaking, low and obscene speech] from your lips.
  • Eph. 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
  • 2 Tim. 3:1 - 5 (NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
  • Eph. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. [Since "drunk" is methusko {meth-oos'-ko}: to intoxicate; make drunk; to get drunk; become intoxicated, "wine" can be any intoxicating substance including illegal drugs or abuse of prescription drugs. The issue is do not abuse the body by intoxicating it [1 Cor. 6:19]. Though it is not a sin to drink, it is a sin to get drunk OR to influence to get drunk OR to drink in defiance such as underage drinking.
  • Deut. 5:11 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. [Vain is shav {shawv}: emptiness, nothingness, vanity, such as in slang or profanity. With or without the four letter expletive, the use of God's name in any way other than respect, reverence or responsible discussion and in praise and prayer is in vain. That includes the popular three syllable sentence with His name trailing it AND the misuse of Jesus' name or title. So, trying to excuse such expressions with "I was talking TO God/Jesus when I said that" or It's just words" or "I was acting" will not work with Him. Nor will "Everybody says that" excuse the sin of using His name in vain. If everyone on the planet who has ever drawn a breath used His name in vain, it would still be a sin to do so. If no one ever did, it would still be a sin to do so. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we like it or not. Whether we care or not.]

    Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry

  • Jer. 37:9 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, 'The Babylonians [the destroyers from within] will surely leave us.' They will not!
  • Ps. 12:8 The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men [when enough people continue to defend what is vile, embrace it, enjoy it, want it, submit to it.]
  • Col. 2:8 Beware lest any man [by his influence] spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
  • 1 Cor. 15:33 Be not deceived: evil [kakov: of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be] communications corrupt good manners.
  • Rom. 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
  • Jude 1:4 For there are certain men* crept in unawares [secretly slipped in among us], who were before of old ordained to this condemnation [whose condemnation was written about long ago], ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [a license for immorality], and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. [*men: anthropos {anth'-ro-pos}, generic, a human being, whether male or female]
  • Matt. 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
  • Luke 17:2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. [Offend: skandalizo {skan-dal-id'-zo} - scandalize; to entice to sin; to cause a person to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey; to cause to fall away.]
  • Ps. 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me [let no sin rule over me].
  • John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
  • 1 Thess. 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. ["Evil" includes all things that are sinful.]


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    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.
  • FINDINGS / SCORING:
    (The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model, independent of and insulated from the Summary / Commentary section.)


    Thor (2011) CAP Thermometers

    Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100
  • action violence, numerous, of varying intensities
  • vehicle impact with man, twice
  • creature attack, repeatedly
  • battle with many deaths, repeatedly
  • dead bodies strewn about
  • order to kill, twice
  • breaking and entering
  • treason to kill, throughout
  • assault to kill, repeatedly
  • attempted murder

    Impudence/Hate (I) - 39 out of 100
  • seven uses of profanity
  • tantrum
  • arrogance/rebellion at father, repeatedly
  • government intrusion in the name of national security
  • lying, repeatedly
  • treacherous brother, throughout

    Sexual Immorality (S) - 97 out of 100
  • exposure to below navel skin threatening to expose that which follows, male

    Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 55 out of 100
  • forced injection to subdue
  • drinking
  • bar
  • "Get a drink" to relieve stress
  • booze, repeatedly
  • guzzling, two
  • drunkenness
  • feast with drink

    Offense to God (O) - 62 out of 100
  • seven abuses of God's name
  • embracing polytheism
  • satan-looking creature, repeatedly
  • magic powers, repeatedly
  • portrayal of Asgard as Heaven

    Murder/Suicide (M) - 94 out of 100
  • suicide, once















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    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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    * CAP Equivalence to MPAA Rating Scale:
    Please note our new manner of indicating a film's Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rating in comparison with the CAP equivalence such as "PG-13 [R-13]." The first term is the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) rating. The second term [in brackets] indicates that which the film earned under the CAP analysis model. In the example, "PG-13 [R-13]" indicates the MPAA rated the film PG-13 but the film earned a CAP final score in the scoring range earned by R-rated movies in the comparative baseline database. Other comparative terms used might be "PG [13-PG]", "G [PG-G] or even 'PG-13 [PG]" as was the case for Alien vs Predator. I doubt there will ever be a "G [R]" used, but only time will tell. The CAP analysis model is Rock-solid. The MPAA is not.

    The current CAP to MPAA** nomenclature is:

    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
    ** G, PG, PG-13 and R are registered trademarks of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).




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