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Entertainment Media Analysis Report
A service to His little ones (which includes at-home teens) through you, their parents and grandparents, in His name by His Word

MAR23020
Old School (2003), R
Analysis Date: February 21, 2003
CAP Score: 18
CAP Influence Density: 3.08

MinMax: -100

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ALERT: To fully understand this report you should first visit the topics suggested by the CAP Site Map (Table of Contents). Further, if you do not want the plot, ending, or "secrets" of a movie spoiled for you, skip the Summary/Commentary. In any case, be sure to visit the Findings/Scoring section -- it is completely objective to His Word and is the heart of the CAP Entertainment Media Analysis Model applied to this movie.


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SUMMARY / COMMENTARY:


If Scriptural references appear, the full text appears at the end of the Summary / Commentary likely using a mix of KJV and NIV.


OLD SCHOOL (R) -- No one should attend this "school"



Cast/Crew Details Courtesy imdb.com
Production: DreamWorks SKG, Montecito Pictures
Distribution: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
Director(s): Todd Phillips
Producer(s): Paul Deason, Daniel Goldberg, Joe Medjuck, Todd Phillips, Tom Pollock
Written by/Screenplay: Story: Court Crandall; Todd Phillips; Scot Armstrong. Screeplay: Todd Phillips, Scot Armstrong
Cinematography/Camera: Mark Irwin
Music: Theodore Shapiro
Film Editing: Michael Jablow
Casting: Joseph Middleton
Production Design: Clark Hunter
Art Direction: Max Biscoe
Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6


I do not want to believe that DreamWorks would get connected with such "entertainment" as Old School which is even a step down from "Animal House" (for the 30-somethings), but seeing is believing. Old School is the wrong kind of education and in no way represents the actual ethics and values of the traditional "old school" education. No one should attend this "school", 17 or otherwise. I am no longer as happy with you, Steven. For those who do not know, "SKG" in "DreamWorks SKG are the last-name initials for Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenburg and David Geffen.

Old School is not how college life is or is supposed to be. People who watch these genre of films who have not gone to college or have not yet gotten there will not have the slightest idea how it really is. Hard Work. Dedication. Sacrifice. Perseverance. There certainly are some shenanigans such as in Old School that go on in college, but soon the participants are made to understand in no uncertain therms that there is a price to pay for such licentious behavior. In more ways than one. Expensively.

Successful and comfortable real estate lawyer Mitch Martin (Luke Wilson) arrives home earlier than his shack-up girlfriend had expected [1Cor. 7:2]. And her expectations of life were the downfall of their relationship. Mitch caught her in a group sex with at least three people and one knocking on the door for his share [1Cor. 6:9-10]. Her racy lifestyle makes her hungry for group sex with strangers [Gen. 34:7]. That is not his kind of fun and he moves out to a small but quaint house near a local college. A quiet abode where Mitch can sort things out and reconstruct his feelings. Along with Mitch went Frank (Will Ferrell) and Beanie (Vince Vaughn). Beanie and Frank did not want to spend their moments away from their "commitments" in quiet reflection. They wanted to P-A-R-T-Y [Rom. 13:13]. Frank and Beanie think a gala party will cheer up Mitch. So they throw a massive kegger party in which a few unmentionable behaviors are performed. One of the unmentionables is adult sex with a minor child [Luke 17:2].

Such revelry.captures the attention of Dean Pritchard (IMDb does not give his name) who just so happens to be a victim of Mitch, Frank and Beanie's tormenting as a child. Now comes an opportunity to get even [Rom. 12:19]. The house Mitch is living in is zoned on college property and Pritchard uses that leverage to try to kick the trio out. The house must be used for official college-related activities such as organizations or students. Well, now! Mitch, being a real estate lawyer finds a way to make the house into a fraternity house. The only problem is that none of the trio were students. So, Mitch, Beanie and Frank go out and kidnap a gaggle of men to form the fraternity, only a few of which were college students.

One of the initiation rites was to test team trust, much like the Ropes training I attended where a participant is to face away from the edge of a ledge about six feet off the ground with his arms crossed and eyes closed then fall backwards into the waiting arms of a number of teammates. In this "class" the teammates were lined up atop a wall, nude from the waste down with shirt tails hiding their immodesty, with one end of a rope tied to a cinder block in their hands and the other end tied to their privates. The object of the initiation was to determine whether the inductees could trust the organizers to have made the rope long enough when the cinder block to be thrown down hits the ground. That is the caliber of this "entertainment." By the way, one of the ropes is not long enough. There is a great deal more to the sexual immorality and other ignominy of this enemy of God's Will for us. It is another perfect example of the truth in Ps. 12:8 and Jude 4 and will remain so as long as "enough people continue to defend it, embrace it, pay for it, enjoy it, want it."

Please at least read the listing of findings in the Findings/Scoring section before you contemplate setting yourself down before this vileness. You'd be wiser to donate the admission costs to a worthy ministry, but that's just my opinion. Whether you watch or let your kids watch this movie (as several parents did when I saw it) is your call. We just tell you what is there so you can make an informed decision whether a film is fit for your family and apply His Word to some of the behaviors.


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SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S)
If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ]. 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.

  • 1Cor. 7:2 But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
  • 1Cor. 6:9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor ... will inherit the kingdom of God.
  • Gen. 34:7 Now Jacob's sons had come in from the fields as soon as they heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob's daughter -a thing that should not be done. [If intercourse outside of a monogamous heterosexual marriage was wrong in Moses' day, it is not okay now.]
  • Rom. 13:13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting [orgies, revelry] and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
  • Rom. 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

    ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry***
  • Ps. 12:8 The wicked freely strut about [e.g., create progressively vile/offensive entertainment with impunity and no consequences to younger and younger audiences every year] when what is vile is honored among men [when enough people continue to defend it, embrace it, pay for it, enjoy it, want it]. [I call attention to Ps. 12:8 to warn of the creeping desensitizing power of "entertainment."]
  • 1 Cor. 15:33 (KJV) Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. (NIV) Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.
  • Jude 4 For certain men* whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change [warp, distort, falsely represent] the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. [*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 [or for] one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto [or for] me.
  • Luke 17:2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. [cause by teaching or example]
  • Ps. 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; 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.


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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:


    Old School (2003) CAP Thermometers

    Wanton Violence/Crime (W):
  • firearm to control
  • reckless driving with property damage
  • assault with attempted strangulation
  • multiple kidnappings
  • other assaults
  • impalement of tranquilizer dart, graphic
  • extortion
  • fighting
  • two deaths by crushing and incineration
  • beating
  • near drowning after tranquilizer intoxication

    Impudence/Hate (I)(1):
  • 24 uses of the three.four letter word vocabulary
  • 13 uses of the most foul of the foul words
  • trying to excuse sexual immorality with "It's purely sexual"
  • additional uses of the three.four letter word vocabulary before children
  • lies, repeatedly
  • lie to hide lies
  • cruelty
  • divorce talk
  • vulgar name-calling
  • sports tantrum
  • near constant belittlement of marriage, e.g., "It just doesn't feel right to be married"

    Sex/Homosexuality (S):
  • sounds of intercourse
  • intercourse with nudity in porn video
  • nudity, repeatedly: rear male full, male frontal full, female upper
  • sex talk, repeatedly
  • inappropriate touch, man's hand up front of woman's dress
  • class in how to perform oral sex
  • cohabitation
  • dressing to maximize the female form and/or skin exposure
  • adult in underwear, repeatedly
  • camera angle for force viewer on private parts
  • row of men with pants down
  • sex games
  • streaking (rear male nudity, repeatedly)
  • vulgar motions, repeatedly
  • inflatable sex doll
  • licking kissing
  • two males tongue kissing
  • various vulgarities, repeatedly
  • crotch kick, repeatedly
  • ghosting of female anatomy through thin clothing, repeatedly
  • sexual invitation
  • wet t-shirt on female
  • sexual motions, repeatedly
  • death of an old man by "sexual overload"
  • drunken sex with a minor child, adult male, minor female
  • self touching

    Drugs/Alcohol (D):
  • booze, repeatedly
  • smoking, repeatedly
  • drinking, repeatedly
  • drunkenness, repeatedly
  • funneling

    Offense to God (O)(2):
  • one use of God's name in vain with the four letter expletive and 12 without
  • adultery, repeatedly
  • revelry

    Murder/Suicide (M)(3):
  • none noted




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    NOTE: While the Summary/Commentary section of these reports is precisely that -- a summary in commentary format which can be and sometimes is subjective, the actual CAP Analysis Model (the Findings/Scoring section) makes no scoring allowances for trumped-up "messages" to excuse, for manufacture of justification for, or camouflaging of ignominious content or aberrant behavior or imagery with "redeeming" programming. Disguising sinful behavior in a theme/plot does not excuse the sinful behavior of either the one who is drawing pleasure or example of behavior or thought from the sinful display or of the practitioners demonstrating the sinful behavior. We make no attempt to quantify the "artistic" or "entertainment" value of a movie -- whether a movie has any positive value or "entertainment" value is up to mom/dad. The CAP analysis model is the only known set of tools available to parents and grandparents which give *them* the control they need, bypassing the opinion-based assessment of movies by others and defeating the deceit of those who would say anything to convince their parents otherwise. The model is completely objective to His Word. Our investigation standards are founded in the teachings and expectations of Jesus Christ. If a sinful behavior is portrayed, it is called sinful whether Hollywood tries to make it otherwise. That the sinful behavior is "justified" by some manufactured conditions does not soften nor erase the price of sin. Whether there is application of fantasy "justification" or "redemption" is up to mom/dad.


    "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 more than eight 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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    (1) As noted in CAP Special Report-001, "Investigation Area and Scoring Trend," of the six CAP Investigation Areas, Impudence/Hate was the strongest presence in all four movie classifications. It has a strong revelation about the entertainment media.

    (2) The use of the three/four letter word vocabulary without God's name in vain is incorporated into the Impudence/Hate Investigation Area. The use of God's name with or without the four letter expletive is incorporated into the Offense to God Investigation Area. There is no duplication.

    (3) Only portrayal of successful murder or suicide are incorporated into Murder/Suicide. Portrayal of attempts to commit murder or suicide and deaths by police action or war are incorporated into Wanton Violence/Crime.



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