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Entertainment Media Analysis Report
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MAR2012.078

(2012), PG [G-PG*] (78.3 min)

Final Score
Analysis Date
Date Posted
Influence Density
MinMax
October 14, 2012
October 19, 2012
95
0.09
-13

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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.



(2012), PG [G-PG*] ... The answer doesn't begin at the Whitehouse. It begins at your house.

The disk of this film is available from ChristianCinema.com.


Production (US): Kirk Cameron presents in association with Camfam Studios a Pyro Pictures Production
Distribution (US): Monumental Media
Director(s): Duane Barnhart
Producer(s): Duane Barnhart, Kirk Cameron, Angela Alvarez, John Bona, Bill Hough, Mark Gambee, Marshall Foster
Written by: Kevin Miller
Cinematography/Camera: Mike Robinson, Tim Rygh
Viewed on Monumental Media Home DVD


While Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure is entertaining for me, it is not a piece of entertainment in the strictest sense but is rather a video documentation of the search of one man, Pastor Kirk Cameron, for an answer to the decay of America by retracing the paths of the men and women who built America: an answer to why are we in a crisis as a nation economically, morally and spiritually? Cameron found "The answer doesn't begin at the Whitehouse. It begins at your house."

This is not a "Saturday night" flick or a "doom and gloom" story but is the culmination of a great deal of dazzling work and patience by Pastor Kirk Cameron of Left Behind fame plus a large number of supporting professionals ... a "monumental" effort indeed.

To hear the truth about the Pilgrims, the Puritans who sailed the Atlantic to separate themselves from the Church of England, is intensely interesting and inspiring. This film is one of the very rare films to have content that earns G-equivalence under the brutal scrutiny of the CAP Analysis Model. The analysis scoring bears a green CAPCon Alert light since each six content investigation areas (W, I, S, D, O, M) earned G-equivalent scores in accordance with the comparative baseline database of film scoring. Click on the CAPCon Alert green light atop this page for an explanation of the CAPCon Alert lights.

As a side note, let me poke a little camaraderie fun at Pastor Cameron. At 05:13 into the show Pastor Cameron says the pilgrims could be "drawn and cornered" for disagreeing with the king. The correct expression is "drawn and quartered." :-) The expression indeed comes from English history. The full expression is "drawn, hung and quartered" meaning drawn by horse-pulled cart to be hung until almost dead then cut into four parts. This was the fate of practitioners of treason which included them who spoke out against the king and his edict of how worship may be practiced.

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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) - 87 out of 100
The only content applicable to this content investigation area were the numerous uses of burning, destruction and abuse. Each instance was not "Hollywood" extreme but was portrayed only to the degree necessary to impart story matters. Though gore or butchery and death happened to the Pilgrims none of such were noted in the content. Though necessary to imparting the weight of the events portrayed in the film, they were at times unsettling and might be of concern to parents of younger children.

Impudence/Hate (I) - 87 out of 100
Twice the name of the lake of burning sulfur was used. But each time it was used not as an expletive or term of profanity but rather the proper name for the place. No profanity was found. However, numerous matters of suffering and persecution of Christians were noted.

Sexual Immorality (S) - 96 out of 100
Maybe the native American Indian males wore only panels in front and back but the actor which appeared dressed in such a way was not a Native American at the second half of the 17th century. That the Native Americans dressed that way does not excuse it in film. What if they were nude instead of scantly dressed? Would that excuse putting full male nudity in film? An American Indian girl was also portrayed but she was in below-knee-length dress. And I doubt very much that the males wore only panels in front and back during the fall/winter months, the season of focus in this presentation. One could easily imagine what would happen with a gust of wind. God warned against such dress in Exodus 20:26 for the same reason. He warned the priests not to climb the steps to His altar so their "nakedness** be not discovered thereon" to the people below.

Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 100 out of 100
There were no references to or portrayal of possession or consumption of illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco found in the entire 78.3 minutes of the program nor was abuse of prescription drugs found.

Offense to God (O) - 100 out of 100
God's name was not abused once throughout the show and there was no sorcery, witchcraft, Satanism or other such unholy practice found.

Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100
No murders or suicides were portrayed.

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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

** "Nakedness" (display of nudity) is spoken of as dark, restricted, undesirable, shameful, etc. 47 times in the KJV from Genesis to Revelation. For example, Ezek. 16:36 "Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers,..." thus associating display of nakedness with ill repute. What makes display of nudity okay in entertainment/art if it is not okay in flesh? God even advised the priests not to climb the steps to the altar lest the wind expose their nudity to the people below in Exodus 20:26 - "Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon." The display of nakedness, even accidental (preventable) or the tease of it is not good in God's eyes. Note that the images of nudity in some bibles are not put there by inspiration of God but by the mind of man. And just because there is nudity on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel does not mean it is acceptable to God.

Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry

  • Jer. 37:9 - 10 This is what the LORD says: Do not deceive yourselves, thinking, 'The Babylonians [the destroyers from within] will surely leave us.' They will not! Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn this city down. [The "destroyers form within" do not have to be army warriors. They can be the ones who destroy through corruption of moral standards as well, such as filmmakers who perpetuate desensitization against wholesome standards. They aren't going anywhere, folks. Not until Jesus comes again.]
  • 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. And remember, mom/dad, "little ones" is mikros, meaning less by birth; younger. All of your children are younger than you and less by birth than you. So, "little ones" includes at-home teens.]
  • 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.)

    MONUMENTAL: In Search of America's National Treasure (2012) CAP Thermometers

    Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 87 out of 100
  • tales of suffering and persecution to the death of Christians, throughout

    Impudence/Hate (I) - 87 out of 100
  • lite images of burning, destruction and abuse to impart story matters

    Sexual Immorality (S) - 96 out of 100
  • full side nudity, male

    Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 100 out of 100
  • none noted

    Offense to God (O) - 100 out of 100
  • none noted

    Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100
  • none noted















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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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