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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 MAR2011.117  (2011), PG-13 [PG-13*] (1hr 44.5min) 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): 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
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. 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 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. 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 --> 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) - Zero out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - 39 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 97 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 55 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - 62 out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 94 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 |