by Bill Fancher
(AgapePress) – An author and speaker with a reputation for being a rational voice for families amidst the debate surrounding feminist ideologies is deeply concerned over the false images being portrayed to today's youth.
The latest census figures indicate that only 23.5% of children in the U.S. live with both of their biological parents. Dr. Janice Crouse of the LaHaye Institute is worried by that finding.
“This is where values are inculcated in children, where children are nurtured to be citizens where they learn how to be upstanding people of character and integrity,” Crouse says, “and once we do away with that essential element of our culture, I worry about the future … and about the future of our nation.”
Crouse says the American culture has embraced the image of the family as defined by television shows such as Murphy Brown, Friends, and Sex and the City. She worries that young Americans are beginning to believe in an image of life that just does not exist — an image portrayed by the Murphy Brown television series. Crouse says that image is destroying the traditional family.
“I think our culture has embraced that image and said this is something that's desirable,” she says. “We have spun off of that to the Friends show on television and to Sex and the City and all sorts of distortions of the Murphy Brown [image]. But the reality is very different from that.”
Crouse says the single mother struggling to find a normal life is very different than the polished image the media feeds American youth on the television. She wants to see a reconnection with the idea that children who live in the home with both of their biological parents will be better equipped to face the problems of life.
Media Report: Profit$ Down on R-Rated Flicks
by Sherrie Black and Fred Jackson
(AgapePress) – R-rated movies are not the money makers they once were. One reason may be strict enforcement of age restrictions.
A new study from MarketCast has found that R-rated movies are taking a hit at the box office. The report shows that large numbers of the 17-and-under age group who want to see R-rated films are not going because the movie theaters are strictly enforcing the age restrictions on the rating. And that, according to a report in The Washington Post, has Hollywood taking notice, because their projected profits are down considerably as a direct result.
Michael Schwartz, research director with MarketCast, believes “that studios will take a hard look at movies that could be cut to be PG-13.” In fact, veteran Hollywood executive Joe Roth says he is “consciously steering away from the R [rating].”
While many pro-family groups might consider this shift in Hollywood a victory, others are warning about a possible “ratings creep” in which R-rated films will be edited only slightly and given the PG-13 rating instead.
Meanwhile, it appears Hollywood could learn something from the world of figure skating. The International Skating Union has decided some of the on-ice maneuvers of figure skaters are getting a little too “undignified.” It has warned members it will no longer tolerate certain lifts and poses, such as sustained upside-down splits and spread-eagles performed by women skaters.
The ISU has advised judges and referees to deduct points for any moves they deem indecent. Press reports quote judges, and even some skaters, who say they welcome the move and say it will create a clear system of point deduction — as well as challenge dancers to be more creative in their choreography.
British ice dancing champion Marika Humphreys told Reuters that “we want to keep the sport looking elegant and graceful as that's the reason people watch it.”
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
