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By Movieguide® Staff
Movieguide®’s founder Dr. Ted Baehr discussed the roots of Hollywood and how the industry went from majority family movies, to the edgy culture it is known for today, but the good news is that the Entertainment Industry is turning around.
“I grew up with my father receiving awards. So, when Jesus Christ saved me from self-destruction, I didn’t want awards; instead, I was called to redeem the mass media of entertainment. So, I asked God, ‘How do we influence the industry?’
Related: #JesusChangedMyLife – Dr. Ted Baehr
“Soon, I found out about the church film offices, such as the Catholic Legion of Decency, the Protestant Film Office and Jewish Defense League. I even inherited the files from one of them. They had cleaned up Hollywood during the 30s, after the roaring 1920’s,” Dr. Baehr told Alexia Melocchi.
“From 1933 to ‘66, Hollywood produced 100% movies that you could take your children to,” Dr. Baehr continued. “And then in 1965, they shut down the Protestant Film Office. The head of Paramount Pictures, Sam Engel said, ‘If you take the salt from the meat, the meat’s going to rot.’ Well, within three years, 1965 to 1968, it went from 100% family movies such as THE SOUND OF MUSIC and THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, to 82% R-rated, including the first sex and satanism movie, ROSEMARY’S BABY… because the church left Hollywood.”
Because of this departure, Hollywood was also left without a moral perspective. While Christian ethics endured for a long time, in the past few decades, those have been replaced as well.
However, turning away from faith and family led to reduced profits and an alienated fanbase.
“Our job is to entertain first and foremost, and by telling great stories, we continue to have a positive impact on the world and inspire future generations, just as we’ve done for over 100 years,” Robert Iger said. “I’ve always believed that we have a responsibility to do good in the world, but we know our job is not to advance any kind of agenda. For as long as I’m on the job, I’m going to continue to be guided by a sense of decency and respect, and we’ll always trust our instincts.”
Movieguide®’s research has found year after year that the most profitable movies cater to a family audience and teach positive messages. So far this year, only one of the top ten movies at the domestic box office was rated R.
Thankfully, in the past five years, faith-based content has seen a massive revival. Through productions like THE CHOSEN, HOUSE OF DAVID, SOUND OF FREEDOM, and JESUS REVOLUTION, Hollywood has come to see that Christian content has a massive, underserved audience. For one, the industry has responded and major studios like Amazon Prime Video are now funding faith-based projects to continue to serve this audience. While there is still a way to go, it is encouraging to see how Christian faith and family has begun to return to the entertainment industry.
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