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Entertainment Media Analysis Report
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MAR29037

(2009), PG [13-PG*] (1hr 38min)

Final Score
Analysis Date
Date Posted
Influence Density
MinMax
December 29, 2009
January 2, 2010
64
0.69
-100

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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.



(2009), PG [13-PG*] ...


Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database
Production (US): Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, 1492 Pictures, 21 Laps Entertainment, Museum Canada Productions
Distribution (US): 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Director(s): Shawn Levy
Producer(s): Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Thomas M. Hammel, Shawn Levy, Josh McLaglen, Mark Radcliffe, Ellen Somers
Written by and Characaters by: Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon
Cinematography/Camera: John Schwartzman
Music: Alan Silvestri
Film Editing: Dean Zimmerman, Don Zimmerman
Casting: Donna Isaacson
Production Design: Claude Paré
Art Direction: Michael Diner, Anthony Dunne, Helen Jarvis, Grant Van Der Slagt Viewed on 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment DVD



This analysis is sponsored by the generosity of E&HP.

This film contains one of the most self-serving, conniving, deceitful, underhanded, treacherous morally dangerous soliloquies of convenience I have ever heard: "Sometimes it's more noble to tell a small lie than deliver a painful truth." Never mind about that small lie developing tentacles (as lies do) by those who are duped into believing it. And who says it is "small?" What measure is used to declare "small?" For whom is it "small?" In Proverbs 6:16 - 17 God warns us that "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: ... a lying tongue ... a false witness who pours out lies" A lying tongue -- what part of that do we not understand? The ninth commandment of The Ten Commandments [Exod. 20:2 - 17] is worded a little different but even it warns of lying "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." As a final example, God warns that all [unforgiven] liars will not make it to Heaven [Rev. 21:8]. Just ask yourself "When is a lie not a lie?" If it takes a lie to make something good happen or spare feelings, the conditions surrounding the matter are at fault. A lie will not make them go away.

The story is much the same as the likewise PG-rated first Night at the Museum but with a different location and a logically sequential goal. In this second installment in the Museum franchise all the original key characters are there with a new one brought back to life: Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria), a lisping evil Egyptian king wannabe from 3000 years ago. In the first Museum it was Kahmunrah's younger brother Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) who was king from long ago. This time, Kahmunrah wants to usurp Ahkmenrah. It was to Ahkmenrah whom their parents gave the resurrecting tablet, the Tablet of Ahkmenrah with the power to open the gates of the underworld. Kahmunrah wants it to resurrect his armies to plunder and rule the world. According to Kahmunrah, Ahkmenrah was the favorite son who got everything.

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) made good since he left the Museum of Natural History. He invented the glowing flashlight and a couple other cool things that sold well. Now rich, Daley was an entrepreneur to match all entrepreneurs. He lived the high life with his son, Nickie (Jake Cherry) who thought his father's night guard job was the coolest job in the world. Now, Nickie is bored with all the expensive toys his father's wealth had accrued in the two years since Larry left the museum.

On a visit to the old job Larry discovers that the museum is undergoing a major renovation that will remove many of the original characters. Larry finds this deplorable. All the characters, even the "demon" Capuchin monkey, are his friends. During a one-more-time thrust to see his old friends, Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) informs Larry that most of the "family" will be sent to forever storage in the archives under the Smithsonian. Larry feels his friends deserve better.

Finding this unacceptable Larry follows the characters to the Smithsonian. With espionage that would rival 007 Larry finds his way into the archives and revives all his friends. In the melee Kahmunrah gets resurrected and does battle with Larry and company to oust his younger brother to become king of the world.

As you can tell from the cursory description above, this second installment to the Museum franchise is much the same as the first. The following comparative scoring data display should help you envision the similarities if you have seen the first Museum.



The slope of the columns of "mercury" in the thermometers shows a similar trend in content: both films earned R-equivalent scores (54 or less out of 100) in Wanton Violence/Crime (W); both films earned perfect scores (100 out of 100) in Drugs/Alcohol (D) and Murder/Suicide (M); both films earned close to the same loss in Impudence/Hate (I); both films earned close to the same loss in Offense to God (O). While the 2006 film lost very few points to the content revealed by the Sexual Immorality (S) investigation area, the 2009 film lost a significant portion of the investigation area starting 100 points due mainly to all the animated nudity that was not present in the 2006 film.

Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100
Violence content was mixed with crime this time. Daley broke into the Federal archives using an ID badge he stole from a Federal security officer. The violence content is largely due to action violence of varying intensities, hostage-taking with blades to control and blades to the face intimidation.

As with many PG films there are no particularly severe or graphic instances of violence but there are so many instances of violence of the "lesser" kind that the film presents the optics (or "feel") of a much more severely rated film. See our CAP rule of 1000 for more information on this relatively new technique of loading or weighting of behavioral/imagery content to achieve the "feeling" of a more severely rated film. Though much of the violence was "slapstick" in nature some of it was not. Any violence can create a desensitized perspective of the harm that can be caused especially when experienced in and as entertainment. Our Father has much to say against any form of violence, especially its influence on others. One example is found in Prov. 16:29.

Impudence/Hate (I) - 66 out of 100
There are two uses of profanity in this film. One of them is an implication of the most foul of the foul words by placing a non-profane word in such a way as to emulate the foul word. [Col. 3:8] It was so obvious what the writers were trying to do that it was nauseating. Other forms of impudence, either on the part of the characters, the actors or the writers include despicable excusing of lying, involving an underage child in crime (trespassing, in a "Riley" role [National Treasure]) [Matt. 18:10, Luke 17:2] and a son defying his mother's command. [Exod. 2:12]

Sexual Immorality (S) - 59 out of 100
Aside from the revealing and flimsy pants Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams) wore and some of the poses she took for obvious reasons, the writers inserted a great deal of animated nudity. An animated "The Thinker" sculpture challenged the threshold of acceptability (just because there is nude art does not make nudity acceptable, including that in the Sistine Chapel). In addition, three Cupids flew around repeatedly in all their nude glory. [**]

Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 100 out of 100
There was no possession, use or consumption of any alcoholic beverage, any illegal drugs and no abuse of prescription drugs noted in the entire 98 minutes of the show.

Offense to God (O) - 59 out of 100
As in the first Museum film, unholy power is used to give life to inanimate things throughout the latter 3/4 of the show. Remember, an influence does not have to be real to influence. Further God's name was abused six times though each time was without the four letter expletive. [Deut. 5:11]

Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100
No murders or suicides were noted. The attempts to murder by spear were incorporated into the Wanton Violence/crime 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. 6:16 - 19 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
  • Exod. 20:2 - 17 [1st] 2) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3) You shall have no other gods before Me. [2nd] 4) You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5) you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6) but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments. [3rd] 7) You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. [4th] 8) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10) but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11) For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. [5th] 12) Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. [6th] 13) You shall not murder. [7th] 14) You shall not commit adultery. [8th] 15) You shall not steal. [9th] 16) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. [10th] 17) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
  • Rev. 21:8 But the [unforgiven] cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars -their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
  • Matt. 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment [krisis: accusation, trial]: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca [senseless, empty headed: a term of reproach among Jews at the time of Christ], shall be in danger of the council [any session or assembly or people deliberating or adjudicating]: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool [moros: impious, godless], shall be in danger of hell fire.
  • 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 "justified" the violence might seem, and its "leading" effect on the observer. "A violent man" can be any character of any age, any gender, or 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 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. 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.], and filthy language [aischrologia: foul speaking, low and obscene speech] from your lips.
  • Matt. 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. ["Despise" is kataphroneo {kat-af-ron-eh'-o}: to condemn, despise, disdain, think little or nothing of, to look down upon (which includes abuse, even by influence or bad example, lying to them, enticing/teasing them, seducing them and/or their thoughts, involving them in crime, etc.). What do you want the angels for your kids to say to God? By the way, "little ones" is mikros meaning less by birth, younger. All of your children are "less by birth" than you. All of them are younger. So, "little ones" includes at-home teens, the most morally vulnerable age stratum.] **"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 or the tease of it are not good in God's eyes.
  • 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 an expletive. With or without the four letter expletive, the use of God's name in any way other than respect, reverence or responsible discussion 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" will not work with Him.]

    ***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 [e.g., create progressively vile/offensive entertainment with impunity and no consequences and present it to younger and younger audiences every year] when what is vile is honored among men [when enough people continue to defend it, embrace it, enjoy it, want it, submit to it. I call attention to Ps. 12:8 to warn of the creeping desensitizing power of "entertainment."]
  • 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.)


    Night at the Museum: The Battle of the Smithsonian (YEAR) CAP Thermometers

    Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100
  • casing a Federal installation for breaking and entering
  • assault on a Federal security officer
  • theft of official identification badge
  • breaking and entering into a Federal installation
  • holding man hostage by spears, repeatedly
  • spear blades to the face and other blade threats, repeatedly
  • threat to kill, frequent, with and without weapons
  • action violence of varying intensities, repeatedly
  • thrown spears narrowly missing human, repeatedly
  • large animal chomping on the head of one of the animated characters
  • intense blade fight

    Impudence/Hate (I) - 66 out of 100
  • one use of profanity
  • euphemism of the most foul of the foul words
  • promotion of lying
  • childish challenge of fair authority
  • involving son in trespassing on Federal property
  • portrayal of security officers as idiots
  • son defying mother's instruction

    Sexual Immorality (S) - 59 out of 100
  • woman in flimsy, revealing pants for most of the 98 minutes
  • sexual innuendo, repeatedly
  • Cupid nudity, full nudity of three characters, repeatedly
  • rude glaze
  • large statue nudity, animated, full nudity, repeatedly

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

    Offense to God (O) - 59 out of 100
  • evil Egyptian "magic" creating animated characters of inanimate things, many, throughout
  • calling others "Fool!" [Matt. 5:22], twice
  • moving still pictures
  • passing into another world
  • six abuses of God's name
  • story character claiming godhood

    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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