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What The Ratings Mean

AN EXPLANATION OF OUR RATINGS

Many people ask us for an explanation of our ratings for movies. The information below should help answer most questions they and other people may have about this issue. Please contact us for any further information.

Quality Ratings:  * to * * * *

* * * * EXCELLENT

* * * GOOD

* * FAIR

* POOR

Our Quality Ratings refer to the production values in the movie, the entertainment quality of the production, and whether the movie fulfills what it tries to do. A four-star rating does not guarantee that the movie will meet our criteria for what makes a truly fine, much less great, work of art. That kind of criteria depends a lot on one’s moral and spiritual values, issues that our Acceptability Ratings (see below) are meant to address.

Acceptability Ratings:  +4 to -4

+4 EXEMPLARY: Biblical, usually Christian, worldview, with no questionable elements whatsoever.

+3 MORAL: Some minor questionable elements (media-wisdom is suggested to discuss).

+2 GOOD: Moderately questionable elements – discernment required for young children.

+1 WORTHWHILE: Caution advised for young children.

-1 CAUTION: Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

-2 EXTREME CAUTION: Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

-3 EXCESSIVE: Excessive sex, violence, immorality, and/or worldview problems. (Sometimes excessive content such as violence is in otherwise redemptive movies such as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, but usually these are movies to avoid.)

-4 ABHORRENT: Intentional blasphemy, evil, gross immorality, and/or worldview problems. (To be avoided)

Acceptability Ratings take into account cognitive stages of development in children and teenagers, moral issues and theological issues. Acceptability Ratings help parents (fathers and mothers) with children and the media-wise adult viewer. Acceptability Ratings are based on a traditional view of the Bible and Christianity. Some movies receive positive ratings because they fit a biblical worldview of ethical monotheism, even though there is little specific Christian content in them. The ultimate evaluation of a movie depends on one’s moral and spiritual values. Those values depend on one’s worldview or total philosophy of God, Jesus, the Bible, life, humanity, society, the universe, morality, politics, and the supernatural. A Minus Three or Minus Four rating means the movie or program is unacceptable.

 

Traditional Literary Genres (5-step scale):

1. Mythic: The triumph of God or gods (may also be called Apocalyptic; some myths are heroic, ironic or demonic, or involve “trickster” protagonists).

2. Heroic: The triumph of man by his own means.

3. High Ironic: The triumph of man by a quirk of fate.

4. Low Ironic: The failure of man by a quirk of fate.

5. Demonic: The triumph of evil, demons, etc.

 

Aristotle’s Four Basic Plots:

1.     Man Against Man

2.     Man Against Nature

3.     Man Against Himself

4.     Man Against the Supernatural or Subnatural

To which we might add, for our science fiction fans, Man Against Aliens. There are also other basic genre plots for genres like science fiction, westerns, mysteries, horror movies, police procedurals, musicals, comedies, suspense thrillers, etc.

Positive Worldviews

A worldview is a way of interpreting all of reality. It is usually a broad philosophical viewpoint with theological implications.

There are basically two positive worldviews. The first one accounts for the fact that some movies are about the Old Testament (e.g., THE TEN COMMANDMENTS), rather than Christian history or theology per se, and some movies have strong or very strong moral worldviews or a broad ethical monotheism that reflect basic biblical values, virtues and principles in both the Old Testament and the New. Thus, even an action movie with violence and with no implied or direct Christian references may have a dominant worldview that promotes or extols some positive moral truths, like justice.

Moral/Biblical Worldview:  Any worldview that implicitly or explicitly reflects and/or promotes the moral principles, values and virtues of the Bible (charity, love, compassion, justice, sexual purity, mercy, truthfulness, faithfulness, honoring one’s parents, the ubiquity of sin, etc.), that rebukes evil (such as hatred, envy, greed, lust, sexual immorality, drunkenness, cruelty), that refers to the God of the Bible or a Creator God who is personal and benevolent rather than impersonal (as in the paganism and pantheism of the Buddhists and New Age), or that tells a story or a group of stories that directly come from the Bible, such as THE TEN COMMANDMENTS or THE NATIVITY STORY. A movie can broadly fit the term ethical monotheistic worldview, in which case its got a moral and/or biblical worldview.

Christian Worldview:  Any worldview that implicitly or explicitly reflects and/or promotes specific Christian principles, values and virtues (such as repentance, forgiveness, sacrifice, the deity of Christ, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, etc.) that are not just part of a basic moral worldview, that refers in a positive way to the New Testament or a passage from the New Testament, and, especially, that refers to Jesus Christ and/or His Gospel in a positive way. A Christian worldview can be allegorical (as in SUPERMAN RETURNS) but it must be accompanied by some positive Christian principles, values and virtues, like sacrifice (which is what Superman does in SUPERMAN RETURNS).

Anti-Christian Worldviews

(See Dr. Ted Baehr’s book, THE MEDIA-WISE FAMILY, pages 248-268)

Humanism:  Humanism posits man as the measure of all things; however, modern humanism is not just an anthropocentric or man-centered system. Accepting (as a matter of good faith!) the definition of humanism posited by THE HUMANIST MANIFESTO, modern humanism (unlike traditional or Christian humanism) believes that only the material world exists; there is no supernatural or nonmaterial world, no God, no gods, and usually no alien “others.” Man has no soul. He is just a meat machine that has “evolved” according to some form of Darwinism. Modern humanism always has a strong anti-supernatural bias. Marx said that his Communism was the ultimate Humanism and advocated that a humanist society should abolish religion, abolish family, abolish nation, and abolish private property.

Romanticism:  Man is essentially good and noble, and civilization (by which Rousseau, the “father” of Romanticism, meant Christianity) corrupts man. Man is controlled by his “heart” and emotions, not by his intellect or logical mind. Paganism and mob rule are related to Romanticism, though Romanticism is more consistent and avoids totemism. Romanticism is not related to the idea of romance, but is an idealistic worldview.

Paganism:  Eclectic, “anything goes” worship of whatever gods or non-traditional belief system anyone so desires to worship (or a mixture of belief systems), without Christian or biblical values. In contrast, to an organized system such as shintoism. Sensual pleasures and material goods are often, but not always, the main goal in life. Often paganism leads to hedonism, anarchy or a fascist dictatorship. Often involves spiritism, use of magic or worship of many false gods, with one of the gods sometimes being singled out for special worship or particular lifelong devotion. Includes what is sometimes called the New Age.

 

Glossary:

Profanity — Language that desecrates the sacred. Usually, profanity refers to taking God’s Name & the Lord Jesus Christ’s Name in vain.

Obscenity — Foul, disgusting, offensive, lewd, and filthy language.

Blasphemy — Language or actions which curse, revile, mock or blaspheme God, His Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus, or His Church.

 

ABBREVIATIONS

Ab                        – Mild or light anti-biblical, anti-Christian or anti-Jewish worldview or elements

AbAb                        – Strong anti-biblical, anti-Christian or anti-Jewish worldview or elements

AbAbAb                        – Very strong anti-biblical, anti-Christian or anti-Jewish worldview or elements

AC                        – Anti-Communist element worldview (may be increased to ACAC or ACACAC)

ACap                        – Anti-capitalism, anti-wealth, politics of envy (may be increased)

AP                        – Anti-patriotism or anti-Americanism (may be increased to APAP pr APAPAP)

A                        – Light, brief or some alcohol use

AA                        – Alcohol use and drunkenness or light abuse

AAA                        – Heavy drunkenness, alcoholism and/or abuse

B                        – Mild or light biblical or moral worldview, principles, perspective, or character

BB                        – Strong biblical or moral worldview, principles, perspective, or character

BBB                        – Very strong biblical or moral worldview, principles, perspective, or character

C            – Mild or light Christian worldview or elements, Gospel witness, redemptive elements, or

positive reference to Jesus Christ, Christianity or a Christian church or service

CC            – Strong Christian worldview or elements, Gospel witness, redemptive elements, or

positive reference to Jesus Christ, Christianity or a Christian church or service

CCC            – Very strong Christian worldview or elements, Gospel witness, redemptive elements, or

positive reference to Jesus Christ, Christianity or a Christian church or service

Cap                        – Capitalism (may also be increased to CapCap or CapCapCap)

Co                        – Communism (may also be increased to CoCo or CoCoCo)

D                        – Light, brief or some smoking

DD                        – Smoking and light illegal drug use and/or illegal drug selling

DDD                        – Smoking and heavy illegal drug use and/or illegal drug sales

E                        – Environmentalism or environmentalist worldview (may be increased)

Ev                        – Evolutionary worldview or elements (may be increased)

Fe                        – Feminist worldview or elements (may be increased to FeFe or FeFeFe

FR                        – Light Non-Christian worldview, or false religions, such as Mormonism or Legalism

FRFR                        – Strong Non-Christian worldview, heresy or false religious elements

FRFRFR                        – Very strong Non-Christian, heresy or false religious elements

H                        – Light humanist worldview or humanism (incl. Marxism, communism, socialism, etc.)

HH                        – Strong humanist worldview or humanist elements

HHH                        – Very strong humanist worldview or humanist elements

Ho                        – Light homosexual worldview or homosexuality (incl. sodomy & lesbianism)

HoHo                        – Strong homosexual worldview or homosexual elements

HoHoHo                        – Very strong homosexual worldview or homosexual elements

I                        – Internationalist or globalist worldview or elements (may be increased to II or III)

L                        – Few obscenities and profanities (1-9)

LL                        – Several obscenities and profanities (10-25)

LLL                        – Numerous obscenities and profanities (more than 25)

M                        – Light miscellaneous immorality (gambling, revenge, theft, blackmail, etc.)

MM                        – Strong or much miscellaneous immorality

MMM                        – Very strong or extreme miscellaneous immorality

N                        – Naturalistic nudity (not in a sexual context)

NN                        – Partial or brief nudity

NNN                        – Extensive, graphic, or full in your face nudity

O                        – Occult worldview, occult elements or Satanism (may be increased to OO or OOO)

P                        – Patriotic worldview or elements (may be increased to PP or PPP)

Pa                        – Mild or light pagan worldview or elements

PaPa                        – Strong pagan worldview or pagan elements

PaPaPa                        – Very strong pagan worldview or pagan elements

PC                        – Politically correct worldview or elements (may be increased to PCPC or PCPCPC)

Ro                        – Light Romantic, idealistic worldview or Romantic elements

RoRo                        – Strong Romantic, idealistic worldview or Romantic elements

RoRoRo                        – Very strong Romantic, idealistic worldview or Romantic elements

RH                        – Revisionist history (may be increased to RHRH or RHRHRH)

S                        – Implied adultery, promiscuity, sexual perversion or sexual immorality

SS                        – Depicted adultery, promiscuity, sexual perversion, or sexual immorality

SSS                        – Graphic adultery, promiscuity, sexual perversion, or sexual immorality

So                        – Socialist worldview or elements (may be increased to SoSo or SoSoSo)

V                        – Brief or action violence

VV                        – Moderate violence (may include some blood)

VVV                        – Very strong, extreme or graphic violence

 

Criteria

 

Please take into account the criteria used by MOVIEGUIDE magazine to evaluate movies and television programs. These criteria include looking at each movie and program:

 

  • Aesthetically       by looking at the artistic value of the movie, and by looking at how well the movie is made, just as other reviewers do.
  • Emotively       by looking at how it captures and amuses the audience as entertainment and amusement.
  • Semantically       by looking at the individual elements – such as words, nudity and incidents of violence – and their meanings, just as many parents do.
  • Syntactically       by looking at how the elements of the film come together and how the characters relate to each other, just as many teenagers and young adults do.
  • Propositionally       by looking at what the movie is communicating, as summarized in the movie’s premise.
  • Generically       by comparing it to other movies in its genre.
  • Thematically       by looking at the themes that are present in the movie.
  • Morally          by looking at its moral perspective and content.
  • Biblically        by looking at the biblical perspective and principles in the movie.
  • Systematically       by looking at how the movie relates to other movies.
  • Economically       by looking at how it does at the box office and how its box office gross compares to other movies’.
  • Intellectually       by looking at how the movie fulfills its goals and premise.
  • Sociologically       by looking at how the movie relates to culture and society.
  • Politically       by looking at the political perspective of the movie.
  • Cognitively       by looking at the age group to whom the movie is marketed, the age group for whom it is suitable, and how it will impact a particular age group.
  • Psychologically       by looking at how the movie deals with mind and soul.
  • Historically       by looking at how accurate the movie is in presenting history.
  • Sexually          by looking at how the movie deals with sex and sexual relationships.
  • Philosophically       by looking at the philosophical perspective and worldview of the movie.
  • Ontologically       by looking at how the movie deals with the nature of being.
  • Epistemologically       by looking at how the movie deals with the nature of knowing.
  • Spiritually       by looking at how the movie deals with God, faith and religion.