Entertainment Media Archives - Page 17 of 50 - Jonathan's Blog From The Source

That Was PG-13?

Posted on: 10/18/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Rock of Ages is yet one more example of why parents shouldn’t offer a blanket “yes” to PG-13 movies.

“But mom… the movie doesn’t have any nudity!”

Neither does the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition… would you buy it for your teenager?

Parents might wanna to rethink this one.

Maybe it’s just because I graduated from high school in 1988, or maybe it’s because I actually have groups like Foreigner, Journey and REO Speedwagon on my iPod… whatever the reason, when I first saw the preview for Rock of Ages, starring Alec Baldwin, Tom Cruise and Catherine Zeta-Jones… I thought it looked really good.

My wife Lori and I went to see it, and we were immediately captivated by the music. The movie was funny, creative… and WOW… was it uncomfortably sensual Continue reading “That Was PG-13?”

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Dissecting R-rated Movies Like Looper

Posted on: 10/10/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“Looper was awesome!”

“It’s rated R for sex and violence. I don’t want to watch that trash!”

These comments were from two different friends of mine, both dedicated believers. So, who’s right? Or more specifically, is “art” even appropriate when it includes “inappropriate” material?

It’s definitely a risky endeavor providing reviews for films like we do on our Movie Reviews & Quick Q’s page on both our parents website and youth ministry website, because no matter which way we side, we draw criticism. Everyone’s scale is different. If I call Pulp Fiction a good movie, some will wholeheartedly agree… and some will write me off as a liberal who’s gone to the dark side.

Being real, I think Pulp Fiction is an amazing movie… while dangerously irresponsible. Bad guys are the heroes, drug use is glorified, and killing is just no big deal. So do I call it “Theatre Worthy” on our movie scoring scale, or do I say “Skip it,” because of moral objections?

In this post I’ll give you a glimpse into the method behind my madness, letting you know why I’d give Looper a “Theatre Worthy,” but films like Sin City a “Skip It” (when both films were extremely well done). Continue reading “Dissecting R-rated Movies Like Looper”

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Jersey Shore Shrinks as it “Grows”

Posted on: 10/8/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Parents are always shocked to find out that Jersey Shore is the number one show watched by teenagers. The question is… will it remain #1 for its final season?

The answer to that question might be good news… but a sad commentary about our society.

The situation (no pun intended) is intriguing. Season 6, which started last Thursday, might be taking a precarious leap. The show might just possibly be revealing actual consequences of behaviors this season Continue reading “Jersey Shore Shrinks as it “Grows””

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Bikini Basketball Association

Posted on: 10/4/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“Have to play basketball well… and you have to look good in a bikini.”

Sexualization of our women at its finest.

If you’ve heard me speak to parents or you’ve read my blog for even a little while, then you’ve probably heard me mention the sexualization of our young girls. “Sexualization” is what the American Psychological Association describes as, when a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics. In other words, forget skill, academic ability or personal character… are you sexy?!!

Well, I think the Bikini Basketball Association just added another example to the list. This video tells it all:

My favorite line is, “What’s next, bikini beach volleyball?”

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Parenting “Gamers”

Posted on: 10/1/12 6:40 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Teaching our kids video game discernment isn’t an easy task today. Some games are so extremely across the line it’s an obvious- “sorry, not in this house.” But today’s parents will find many games where they might need to try to pick there battles (I’ve written about this before).

My 19-year-old son has always been a video game buff, and I’ve always tried to stay a little bit current with games, especially now that we have our video games review page for parents. Yesterday he showed me this trailer for the new Assassin’s Creed 3 video game. I gotta admit… it was kinda catchy. Interesting historical stretch.

The most important principle I emphasize with parents today is Continue reading “Parenting “Gamers””

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Skipping “The Mindy Project”

Posted on: 09/24/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Fox’s new The Mindy Project began with good intentions, but that objective was quickly soiled with the typical inappropriate elements that contemporary television programming can’t seem to part with: crude humor, and poor role models who reek of imitatable negative behaviors.

We can only hope young people won’t be gleaning “wisdom” from Mindy this fall. Sadly, the show, premiering Tuesday, September 25^th, is already creating a lot of buzz.

The show’s biggest momentum is probably from the popularity of Emmy Award nominated author/actress Mindy Kaling who both writes and stars in NBC’s The Office (Mindy plays Kelly). The Mindy Project is… well… Mindy’s new project where she plays a young woman named Mindy (yes, Mindy is playing a woman named Mindy) who, despite her successful career, is unlucky in her love efforts.

I can’t help but respect the producers’ intent, striving to provide a realistic lead character who young women can actually identify with. In an interview about the show, she confessed Continue reading “Skipping “The Mindy Project””

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Permission to Go to the Homecoming Dance

Posted on: 09/19/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

This morning Alyssa and I had an very honest and open conversation about the homecoming dance this coming weekend.

I basically asked her, “Why am I letting you go?”

I think you’ll find the conversation intriguing.

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the homecoming dance. Last year I blogged about my struggle with the decision, giving my readers a glimpse at what goes on at school dances, and the second I posted it (Dad, Can I Go to the Homecoming Dance?), the comments started pouring in.

“I’m disgusted that parents would let their kids go.”

“Christians have no places at dances.”

“Why are all these kids who have a heart for Christ wanting to hang out in a place that is so entirely sinful?”

As I look at the playlist for this year’s dance (my daughter caught a sneak peek of it on Facebook and sent me a copy—I just wrote about it in detail here in my latest post at DougFields.com), I began second-guessing my decision to let her go. So I decided to Continue reading “Permission to Go to the Homecoming Dance”

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The Top of the Charts… are Clean?

Posted on: 09/12/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

Is there any good music worth downloading?

Speaking personally, I love music. My daughters and I share an iTunes account, and when one of us downloads a song, the other two automatically receives the download. Rarely will a week pass without one of us downloading something, and then you’ll hear the other two of us commenting…

“Oh cool, I didn’t know The Script had a new song!”

“Have you heard this one from The Killers.”

“Sweet one from Gungor.” (Isn’t Gungor awesome? Can’t get enough of them!)

But at times, I’m a little disappointed with today’s music that makes it to the top of the charts. Sure, there was raunchy music and music videos when I was in high school, but not as commonplace, and not so easily accessible for curious young eyes and ears. (When I was a teenager I didn’t have a screen that allowed me an abundance of risqué videos just a click away.)

I teach at least two workshops a month where I provide a glimpse at pop-youth culture. So I have a pretty good taste of what’s usually in the top 10. And let’s just say, I don’t have to go hunting for raunchy lyrics and videos. Like this past weekend, where I simply showed them the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a song about oral sex.

But I encouraged parents, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” The charts aren’t all bad. As I write this, the charts are actually particularly clean Continue reading “The Top of the Charts… are Clean?”

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Caring and Careless

Posted on: 09/10/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

“What’s the big deal?” “It’s no biggie!” “Who Cares!”

Sound like something out of your teenager’s mouth? Then you’re not alone. If I had to describe today’s generation of young people in one sentence, I’d probably say something like this: “They care…but they don’t care.”

I gave my Twitter followers a morsel of this while I was working on my youth culture presentation for my parent workshop yesterday. I described today’s teenagers as caring, but careless. They are sensitive to causes, but desensitized to the lure of risky behaviors in their lives.

I Care
Today’s young people seem to want to make an impact more than any generation prior. I don’t mean any disrespect to past generations; it’s just that young people today are Continue reading “Caring and Careless”

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The “Right” Kind of Porn

Posted on: 08/27/12 3:01 AM | by Jonathan McKee

People have described me as “edgy” at times when I speak, because I’m not afraid to talk about the uncensored truth. I’ve even offended a handful of ultra-conservative individuals when I shared my talk, “Sex Isn’t Naughty,” using scriptures like Proverbs 5:18-20 to teach the unedited truth about God’s design for sex.

But when I read articles like last week’s piece about Internet Porn and Body Image in the Huffington Post… my “edginess” might be put into perspective. Especially when psychologist and author Vivian Diller, Ph.D. proposes a “right” versus “wrong kind” of porn.

I encourage you to read the whole article, so we don’t take her words out of context. It’s a thought-provoking article suggesting that pornography today has distorted sex to become Continue reading “The “Right” Kind of Porn”

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