The Flix Are Coming!

The Golden Compass, a children’s fantasy film starring Nicole Kidman is opening December 7^th. The film is based on Philip Pullman’s trilogy of books promoting atheism and the death of God. Do a Google on the movie title and you get a host of opinions, but they all seem to agree that the movie is bound to have anti-Christian theme.

Trailers for another holiday feature, Beowulf are peppering the commercial breaks these days in advance of this movies’ November 16 release. The special effects are spectacular, but some of the images I saw left me wondering if the movie would be appropriate for adults let alone children. These and other movies coming out will stir familiar questions for parents about which movies they should allow their children to watch.

Here are a few helpful tips for guiding the movie choices of your children this holiday season:

• Don’t make blind decisions, do some research. Look up the movie for a review on screenit.com or pluggedinonline.com. Both of these sites will give you detailed descriptions of the movie so you won’t get surprised. Screen it offers a subscription price (which makes finding their reviews easier but they also allow you to wade your way through their website for free by clicking on the “No Thanks” button at the bottom of their home page.

• Keep your standards high. Wayne Wilson in his book Worldly Amusements recommends “Christians should hold the arts to a clear standard of morality in order to justify Christian patronage.” Too often we ask the question “Is it permissible?”, instead of the more mature question, “Is it beneficial?” Let’s not settle for movies which might squeak by our conscience but slowly desensitize us toward an ungodly culture.

• Don’t get caught up with the holiday movie frenzy. Avoid the “gotta see the movie on opening night” syndrome. I find that children can be tempted to find their identity in the latest movie they see. And the movie industry clumps a lot of product into the time when kids are out of school. Even if you let a week go by for a new release you’ll be amazed at how ‘must see’ movies become ‘has been’ movies in just a few days. You might find your teenage son or daughter is not as interested in paying $25 for a movie and popcorn once some of the hype has faded.

• Don’t just show up at a theater and pick the “best movie.” Review before you go view.

The benefit of all this advertising is that you can do all your review well in advance of an opening date. Movie experiences are much richer if we plan what we’ll see, not just see what comes out.