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MAR2012.075

(2012), PG-13 [G-13*] (101.9min)

Final Score
Analysis Date
Date Posted
Influence Density
MinMax
October 3, 2012
October 5, 2012
90
.019
-33

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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-13 [G-13*] ... I wonder if anyone who has not adopted a child can fathom the immensity of those words?


Production (US): Samuel Goldwyn Films, American family Studios and Provident Films present a film by Jon & Andrew Erwin
Distribution (US): Provident Distribution
Director(s): Jon & Andrew Erwin
Producer(s): Dan Atchison, Justin Tolley, Jonathan Erwin, Andrew Erwin, Dave Allan Johnson, Joyce Childs, James Stannard, Raymond Harris, Cecil Stokes, John Bauman, Kristopher S. Kimlin, Joshua Walsh, TK McKamy
Written by: Jon Erwin & Theresa Preston
Story by: Jon, Erwin, Andrew Erwin, Theresa Preston, Cecil Stokes
Cinematography/Camera: Jon Erwin
Music: Paul Mills
Film Editing: Andrew Erwin
Casting: Beverly Holloway
Production Design: Ed Gurney
Art Direction: Ed Gurney
Viewed on Provident Home Entertainment DVD


In this film 19 year old Hannah Lawson (Rachel Hendrix), after a failed try at stage performing which was foiled by asthma and epilepsy, found that she was adopted. As sometimes happens when adopted children are not told early on that they are adopted, Hannah reacts to the news of being adopted with belligerence and begins to let curiosity about her "real mom" consume her every waking moment. I put "real mom" in quotes to make a point. A child's adopted mother may not be the child's mater but she is indeed the child's mom. Likewise, and later on in the film, Hannah's boyfriend, during an immature bout with parental authority, blasts at Hannah's adopted father that "She's not your daughter!" How wrong can a script be. Hannah's adopted father may not be her pater but he is her father. Her dad. Any healthy adult male can sire a child but only a father can be dad for the child.

After Hannah found out she was adopted and that her birthplace was Mobile General Hospital, Alabama she decides to go along with a group of friends [including her life-long buddy and eventual boyfriend, Jason Bradley (Jason Burkey)] on a Spring Break trip to New Orleans ... via Mobile. Maybe Hannah can find at least a thread of evidence of Hannah's biological mother in Mobile.

She found it, er, her. The nurse that signed Hannah's birth certificate. Nurse Mary Rutledge (Jasmine Guy). From Nurse Mary Hannah found out her biological mother's name to be Cindy Hastings (Shari Rigby) plus a little of her history and where she works. Hannah also found out she was a failed attempt at abortion. Hannah found out also that she had a twin brother, Jonathan who died four months after their birth who had lost his arm in the failed abortion attempt.

From there the path of the story winds through a series of battles and discoveries, through decisions made with the heels dug in just to be changed and changed again, and an ingenious display of many other events particular only to the path of an adopted child. The writers present a path of a perfect journey into forgiveness and restoration: a path that leads to Hannah telling her dad "Thank you for wanting me." I wonder if anyone who has not adopted a child can fathom the immensity of those words?

Well, folks. It appears to finally have happened -- a G-equivalent film has been labeled PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) likely because of its Christian content. This film is rated PG-13 for "mature thematic material", the most useless informative category I have ever heard, as if it is supposed to tell the parent anything about the content of the film. Apparently, according to the MPAA, "thematic material" is material such as positive reference to God, portrayal of dependence upon Him, freely praying to Him and a Catholic priest leading a young woman in life's trials ... Christian content ... which has become unfit for children under 13 years old. The challenges and emotional "war" sometimes faced by adopting children and abortion may be part of "PG-13" but not so in any of the more than 1500 titles I have seen. Besides, whether the film is fit for your 13 year old kids is not the MPAA's call to make. It is YOUR call to make. There is no law, tort or ordinance that says you must let your kids see any MPAA classification.

While the scoring distribution earned by this film revealed the content in Impudence/Hate (I) and Wanton Violence/Crime (W) to be equivalent to most PG-rated films, the film earned G-equivalence in everything else. Thus the overall score or magnitude of content is clearly G-equivalent, thus this film is a G-13*. How the MPAA got a PG-13 out of this film is beyond me. I suppose there might be some credence in the PG-13 rating if one views discussion of abortion to be unfit for kids under 13 years old, but again it is not their call to make. It is your call to make.

One thing about abortion not mentioned once in the entire film or in so many other films presenting abortion is that if the participants in the sexually immoral behavior that caused the unwanted pregnancy had kept their clothes on there would not be any pregnancy. The bottom line: if the participants in sexual intercourse had kept their clothes on there would be no baby. Those are harsh things for me to say but they are the harsh facts. Keeping one's clothes on is a sure-fire contraceptive. The baby, whether born of married parents or otherwise is absolutely blessed, but the deed that brought about the baby is not. Nor is murder of an unborn child. I am not about to start an argument with the pro-choicers about the viability of an unborn child but I will argue to my death that life starts at conception and that life has a voice that deserves to be heard whether we want to hear it or not. Whether we like it or not. Whether we care or not.

I take a hard stance on the issues of abortion and adoption ... the two key elements of this film ... because, as most of you have heard me spout before, 42 children have called me "daddy": two biological boys and 40 foster kids; from the 40 foster kids we adopted eight, five of them are still at home. So, I can speak credibly to the issues at hand in this emotionally powerful film. And will. Boldly. Unashamedly. I can tell you with certainty that the love a father holds for an adopted child he raised is just as strong as his love for a biological child. Tonya, one of my adopted children, an 18 year old girl, is moving out on her own just today (last night was her last night here where it is safe) and it hurts just as much as when my biological kids struck out into the big bad world on their own.

Note that the movie is followed by Shari's Story during the rolling credits in which Shari Rigby (who played Cindy Hastings, Hannah's biological mother) tells of her own experience with abortion. This analysis does not include that almost equally moving piece.

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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) - 84 out of 100
The content that applies to this content investigation area includes a portrayal of Hannah suffering an asthma and epileptic attack, Hannah's journal entries about contemplating suicide plus an evident contemplation of suicide while setting on a dock. In addition, it was very risky for Hannah to walk the roads of Alabama alone at night. Finally, Hannah and Jason commit a breaking and entering of a hospital.

Impudence/Hate (I) - 67 out of 100
Here is where the concentration of content lies, enough content to warrant a yellow CAPCon Alert light indicating the need of your sober attention to the contents revealed by this report prior to deciding on which age stratum this film is fit. Content includes portrayal of lying, deception, a minor teen tantrum, social hatefulness borne of jealousy and a rather graphic discussion of abortion but no display of it. However the strongest content was the repeated displays of disrespect toward fair authority, parental in particular. [Heb. 13:17]

Sexual Immorality (S) - 93 out of 100
The only content that applies to this investigation area is the night Jason and Hannah spent in the motel. Granted, "nothing" happened but that nothing happened does not excuse cohabitation. It is less likely that two teens in a motel room will be chaste than yielding to powerful drives. Even Hanna started talking about sexual immoral behavior to Jason from her bed. Finally, one scene was noted in which the camera slowly panned up from Hannah's feet to her head while she was walking.

Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 93 out of 100
One of the troupe travelling to New Orleans with Jason and Hanna was Truman (Austin Johnson). He was seen in a hangover from alcohol intoxication. But there is not one possession, consumption or even reference to illegal drugs or abuse of prescription drugs. And no tobacco.

Offense to God (O) - 100 out of 100
God's name is not abused even once in the entire 101.9 minutes of programming. Nor is there any witchcraft, sorcery, occultism, Satanism or other such unholy practices.

Murder/Suicide (M) - 100 out of 100
There are no murders or suicides portrayed. While there are a number of moments in which suicide is referred to, this investigation area incorporates only portrayal of completed murder or suicide. Attempts at or contemplations of murder or suicide (and deaths by police action, war or defensive killing) are 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

  • Heb. 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you [fair and responsible authority, properly appointed, such as parental], and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account [report to God], that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. [Remember fathers, it was not Eve God called to for an explanation of the sins in the Garden of Eden. Whom do you suppose God will call on the carpet for mishandling of your children?]

    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.)

    October Baby (2012) CAP Thermometers

    Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - 84 out of 100
  • asthma attack with epilepsy
  • journal entries about suicide
  • strong suggestion of contemplating suicide by drowning
  • teen girl alone after dark on the highways of Alabama - risky situation
  • breaking and entering

    Impudence/Hate (I) - 67 out of 100
  • lie to deceive - "Thanks for buying ..." when nothing was bought
  • teen disrespect toward caregivers, repeatedly
  • minor teen tantrum
  • social hatefulness borne of jealousy
  • graphic discussion of abortion
  • teen disrespect at fair authority

    Sexual Immorality (S) - 93 out of 100
  • teen pair in motel room talking about immoral sex
  • camera angle (slow pan) from feet to head, frontal, of girl walking

    Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 93 out of 100
  • aftermath of teen drunkenness

    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
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    PG equivalence: PG-G
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    R equivalence: R-G<
    For PG rated Films with
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    PG equivalence: PG
    PG-13 equivalence: 13-PG
    R equivalence: R-PG
    For PG-13 rated Films with
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    PG-13 equivalence: PG-13
    R equivalence: R-13
    For R rated Films with
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    R equivalence: R
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    R equivalence: R-NR
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