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Reel World Reality 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 MAR2012.016  (2011), PG-13 [R-13*] (106.3min) 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): Summit Entertainment, Sunswept Entertainment, TSBD Canada Productions, TSBD Louisiana, TSBD Productions, Temple Hill Entertainment, Total Entertainment, Zohar International Distribution (US): Summit Entertainment Director(s): Bill Condon Producer(s): Bill Bannerman, Wyck Godfrey, Stephenie Meyer, Mark Morgan, Irina Neves, Karen Rosenfelt, Isabelle Tanug Screenplay by: Melissa Rosenberg Novel: Stephenie Meyer Cinematography/Camera: Guillermo Navarro Music: Carter Burwell Film Editing: Virginia Katz Casting: Debra Zane Production Design: Richard Sherman Art Direction: Troy Sizemore, Lorin Flemming Viewed on Summit Entertainment Home DVD If the tag line "We compliment each other just like Satan and Christ." (which I quoted from the script of this film) offends you (it should), so should the movie. That line perfectly and finally exposes the heart of the Twilight Saga. The first thing I want to point out about the content of this film and do so boldly is what is said in a background song that your mind likely captures but your head might not. The writers have finally exposed this saga for what it is. As Bella readies for nuptial consummation, a background singer speaks the following: I suspect the intent of using that line was to attach what that line says to the personae of the two quintessential characters, Edward and Bella. But I cannot remember ever hearing a more subtle sacrilegious, unholy and e-v-i-l attack of Jesus than that. There is nothing about Jesus that compliments Satan or vice versa. Not only did Jesus allow Himself to be mutilated, tortured and murdered so we, indeed any of us who believe, even if just one, could have Life, He spent three days in Hell so you and I would not have to spend one moment there. I take great offense at that line. The Twilight films and others like them lead the viewer to embrace evil by whitewashing and sanitizing evil with romance in the name of courage and sacrifice; by calling evil good by the evil doing "good." [Isa. 5:20] There are many who would use all manner of vain philosophy [Col. 2:8] and smooth talk [Rom. 16:18] to deny Christ just enough to excuse getting their fix of such entertainment, who will defend access to it and will take joy in exposing others to it. The Twilight films and others like them nurture self-absolution from His Word and indeed from Him to excuse embracing such "attractive" evil in the name of entertainment. One of the techniques Satan uses to get people to lift him above Jesus is to get people not to glorify Jesus: to minimize Jesus; to walk away from Him. That line in the song indeed does just that by reducing Jesus to a flattering equal status with Satan. Satan doesn't care that much if we don't believe in him as long as we don't believe in Jesus. One step to that end is to set Jesus aside for a couple hours. Long enough for influences such as Twilight to sink in. Team Edward? Team Jacob? Maybe Team Satan. The story is predictable if one has seen any of the other Twilight Saga films. This installment is a culmination of the buildup of the previous three installments, which in turn sets the stage for more of the same in the next installment. Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) do battle with all that is righteous to marry. Together they create what the film terms a demon fetus, a fetus that threatens to kill Bella. And that gives Edward the right to "save" Bella by killing her by making a vampire of her. Discovering that the fetus will kill Bella, the Cullens tear it out of Bella in the most horrific procedure ever shown on a PG-13 screen. I am not going to take the time to share any more of the story or subplots with you because to do so might imply some sort of grandeur for this work of immoral cinematic cyanide. I feel such profound disapproval of this piece of "sin-ema" that I may not do an analysis of the next installment. Besides, the trend revealed below predicts more of the same in future installments: more "R-13."   As shown in the graphic to the right, another "much" to the data we have gathered is that our prediction of the final score for the Breaking Dawn, Part 1 installment was 15 out of 100, placing the it deeply into the R-13 realm of 54 and below out of 100. Instead, Breaking Dawn, Part 1 earned a final score of 33 which is about 17% higher than the prediction of 15 but is still deeply buried in the R-13 realm. Though the prediction was about 17% off, the actual result was still deeply into the R-13 realm ... as predicted. There is much more revealed by the above data but I suspect your parental intellect is quite enough to gather much of the rest of the "much" yourselves. Breaking Dawn, Part 1 is yet another beautiful piece of cinematic work with exemplary thespian performances and flawless story flow ... but at what cost? Beautiful? Remember, the antiChrist will be beautiful, too. Following are brief discussions of the content per individual content investigation area. As always the Findings section of this report, the heart of the CAP Analysis Model, is the best source for discovering the full accounting of the content of this film. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 The largest portion of violence in this installment is due to the quite intense and rather frequent animal attacks such as pursuit to kill, battle and threats. Other violence includes the extraordinarily bizarre removal of the demon fetus from Bella and the bloody aftermath. In a dream Bella sees all her wedding guests as bloody victims of vampire killing. The listing in the Findings section provides itemization of the violence content. The magnitude of the violence in this film is enough to steal all 100 of the starting points in this content investigation area. R-rated films earned scores of 54 and below in the comparative baseline database. This film earned a violence area score of zero out of 100. You do the math. The violence content in Breaking Dawn, Part 1 is clearly R-equivalent. God warned us a long time ago in Proverb 16:29 that violence can lead the observer into the path that is not good: that violence is "catching." Almost 2000 years later man has plagiarized God's Word by four public health agencies publishing their findings which warn that viewing violence in and as entertainment, especially by the young, can, among other things, lead to real life violence and to believing violence is an acceptable means of settling conflict. God also warned us of embracing violence in 1 Cor. 15:33. Indeed He has spoken darkly of violence more than 50 times in the Old and New Testaments. When are we going to listen? Impudence/Hate (I) - 66 out of 100 Pleasantly enough this installment is atypical of "PG-13" in profanity with only three uses of it throughout the entire 106.3 minutes of programming. However, other matters of impudence and/or hatred drag the score down. Please see the Findings section for a full accounting of the Impudence/Hate content. [Mal. 4:1] Sexual Immorality (S) - Zero out of 100 This is another area that is clearly equivalent in magnitude to many R-rated films. In addition to other matters of sexual immorality (see the listing in the Findings section) at least 11 times Edward and Bella are in bed together making out either nude or in their underwear (note that gender-specific parts are seen only once). That we do not "see anything" does not mean the actor, actress, filmmakers and more do not. While each of the times they were in bed together was ostensibly in preparation for intercourse, one of those times the viewer sees them clearly having intercourse under the bed sheets. "But Edward and Bella just got married. What would you expect them to do on their wedding night?" Well, Edward and Bella may have been stage "married" but Pattinson and Stewart were not. Even if they were married such antics are not for public viewing. [Hebr. 13:4] The extent and intensity of sexual demonstrations in this film are clearly equivalent in overall magnitude to the same in many R-rated films. Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 53 out of 100 The only alcoholic beverages noted in this film was during the wedding and once after. Also, Bella's dad said "I plan on getting drunk." But at the wedding alcoholic content was intense enough to lose quite a few of the starting 100 points in this content investigation area. Other than the alcoholic content, the forced injection of Edward's "venom" into Bella was the only other content applicable to this investigation area. The comment by Bella's dad is what might carry the most severe influence regarding underage drinking -- a reel reality corroborated by the American College of Physicians (ACP) which published in 2002 a report which revealed that adolescent exposure to drinking in and as entertainment undeniably leads to abuse of alcohol among underage viewers. The report 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 o 46% for those with no viewing restrictions o 16% for those with partial viewing restrictions o 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 implantation applies to any behavior demonstrated in and as entertainment, including good behavior. Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 This is the third of three of the six investigation areas that earned an area score equivalent to many R-rated films in this content area. And that does not surprise me what with this movie being a glorification of vampirism and lycanthropy. The content applicable to this investigation area is much too lengthy to even summarize here. Please inspect the listing in the Findings section for a full accounting of the content applicable to this investigation area. [Deut. 18:10 - 12] Murder/Suicide (M) - 78 out of 100 A vampire or vampires murder two men as Edward describes his history of which Bella is not aware. And later in the show Edward finally murders Bella by wantonly killing her by changing her into a vampire. 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) - 68 out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - Zero out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 58 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - Zero out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 78 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 |
