Dr. Ted Baehr:
His MovieGuide Has Broken
The Stranglehold of Hollywood Perversity

For example, among other things we had death & taxes. We had the Berlin Wall. We had a “Fairness Doctrine” that stifled anything controversial on the radio airwaves. (Yes, Virginia there was no Rush Limbaugh). And we had monolithic Hollywood perversity.

Unfortunately, we still have death & taxes, but in the providence of God one man delivered us from the Berlin Wall and the “Fairness Doctrine.” That man was Ronald Reagan.

And while it may not be quite so obvious to the casual observer, God used another man to deliver us from monolithic Hollywood perversity. That man is Dr. Ted Baehr.

His MovieGuide is a ministry dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles, by influencing entertainment industry executives and helping families make wise media choices.

Everybody claims to be “busy” these days, but let me tell you a little secret. There is “busy” and then there is “busy.” Dr. Baehr is one of the few that falls into the latter category.

Nonetheless, he was gracious enough to chat with us by phone recently about the impact of his career over the past 20 years. Rarely have we encountered a more humble, yet knowledgeable Christian gentleman.

I grew up in a Hollywood family. My father was actor, Tex Allen, and my mom was an actress. Not a Christian family, but a wonderful family life during the Great Depression. Upon graduation from high school, I studied Comparative Literature at Dartmouth College as a way to succeed in difficult times.

Out of college I started packaging and arranging for funding of films. In the course of that activity somebody challenged me to read the Bible. A friend took me to a Bill Gothard seminar, but I walked out of the first session. My friend challenged me to read the Bible and tell him what’s wrong with it. I still resisted, but jogging around Central Park in New York City, a pastor invited me to his church located next to the Park. At last, another friend led me to Christ on February 12, 19xx.

That set the stage for my desire to get back to the wholesome days when my father was a cowboy star. While serving on the Communication Board of the National Council of Churches I met George Heimrich, former Director of the Hollywood Film Office, one of the three groups (protestant, catholic, and jewish) that had kept Hollywood clean. He inspired me to resurrect the activities of that group. MovieGuide was born.

2. Prior to the days of MovieGuide, how did Christians lose their early influence over Hollywood?

From the 1890s to about 1914 Hollywood produced primarily biblical epics and the films were shown mostly in churches. Small theaters complained and Will Hayes of the Teapot Dome Scandal bought off many of the legislatures [in a campaign to get the movies onto more neutral ground]. As a result movies were increasingly debauched during the 1920s [Roaring Twenties], climaxing in 1929.

At that point Jack Warner invited three churchmen in to help clean things up. They proposed a plan to help him understand his audience and developed the Movie Code, whose moral influence prevailed for 33 years until 1966. In that year a lack of funds shut down the Protestant Film Office.

In just three years the industry went from movies with 100% broad audience acceptance to 82% R-rated movies. The climax came with Midnight Cowboy winning the Academy Award in 1969.

3. Is MovieGuide picking up a Christian resurgence in Hollywood in recent years? What are some examples of recent inroads by Christians?

For example, Disney has an annual prayer meeting. There are a lot of Christians at the top in Warner. They are portraying romance with no sex, dialog with no foul language, action with no violence. There are many G-rated movies coming out of Disney now.

4. Is Hollywood changing for the better, worse, about the same?

There are two sides to Hollywood. Sixty percent of the films are independent, but they produce only 10% of the box office. Usually – but not always – they are the one’s producing the “ugly” movies. “W.” is a recent example.

The major studios produce 40% of the movies, but they get 90% of the box office. The majors have moved significantly away from foul language, etc. in recent years.

This is a critical shift because the average child spends 63,000 hours in front of a movie or TV screen by age 17. As a result 90% of kids are leaving the values of their parents by the time they graduate from college, according to a Cornell study.

5. What are some biblical principles related to entertainment that you incorporate into MovieGuide?

Paul speaks to this in Philippians when he says, ”Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things”(Phil. 4:8).

So we also work on the demand side. My books teach media literacy and wisdom so kids will make wise decisions at the box office. Today 84% of girls and 69% of the boys don’t want sex and violence in the films they watch.

6. What are the guidelines a Christian should use in evaluating a movie that MovieGuide factors in?

My book, “The Media Wise Family” lists 24 basic questions for evaluating a film. A couple of important ones are, who is the hero? Is he expressing biblical values? For example, at the end of the latest Batman film, the Dark Knight advises covering up the truth.

Another important question is what is the nature of reality in the film. How is love portrayed, how is family portrayed, how is business portrayed, how is government portrayed?

7. How would MovieGuide define or identify a “Christian” movie?

Just because a movie talks about Jesus doesn’t mean it’s a Christian movie. For one thing MovieGuide looks at the dramatic aspects of a film. We consider elements such as plot, character and spectacle, among other things. Note that “spectacle” comes last. If a film is all spectacle – all special effects – it should be discounted.

We also look at the spiritual and moral acceptability of the movie. What is the ontology? Does it portray a real world, with real suffering, in need of a real Savior?

Harry Potter can change reality simply by speaking a secret word. This makes Jesus irrelevant. Does the film fit within a biblical perspective in relation to key doctrines? The doctrine of God. The doctrine of man. Is it overt about the redemptive aspect.

8. How do you go about influencing media executives?

Our economic reports are 100 pages of detail [about a film’s performance]. The executive asks, what is it going to cost me? We ask him, why did movies with Christian perspective and moral content end up as 88% of the top 25 films in the United States in 2007? The figure is over 90% worldwide.

Thus, we’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the past 22 years. When we first started out with MovieGuide there was only one movie with explicitly Christian content – “Return to Bountiful.” Today 48.7% of movies produced contain explicitly Christian content. That’s out of an average five movies released every week.

9. How does MovieGuide determine ways that a movie uses to communicate a worldview?

MovieGuide evaluates the content of the film for acceptability based on its "dominant worldview" (Biblical, Christian, Environmentalist, Humanist/Socialist, Homosexual, False Religion, New Age/Pagan, etc.) and on secondary elements, (hints of worldview, foul language, violence, sex, nudity, alcohol, smoking/drugs, miscellaneous immorality, or miscellaneous philosophical or theological problems).

10. Is Harry Potter suitable viewing for a Christian audience? What’s the difference in Harry and Frodo, and their respective movies?

My new book, “Frodo and Harry” gets at the heart of what I was saying above. We have to look at the 24 elements in each film. Harry mocks authority and makes fun of his parents. Does the nature of reality portrayed in Harry Potter comport with a biblical worldview? You say the right word to get candy to appear in your lap. Another word can make a snake disappear.

On the other hand, Frodo is in the real world. It is make-believe, but it mirrors the real world, not a world of chaotic nominalism. Frodo has a real burden to carry. He must endure suffering. There are consequences to his actions.

11. What suggestions do you have for Christian youth seeking a career in the entertainment industry?

Pick up my book “So You Want To Be In Pictures.” You’ll be inspired as the chairmen of Disney and Warner Brothers tell their faith story. You’ll learn that there are about 120 jobs associated with the entertainment industry, each with a different career path. What’s best for you? Editor? Cameraman? Producer? The book helps you evaluate which is right for you and lays out a game plan.