Review: Captivated The Movie

I am a part of that special generation of people who have witnessed the takeover of technology into our culture during my lifetime.  I remember when phones had cords, TV's had 3 or 4 channels, and you always carried a dime in your pocket in case you needed to call home from a payphone. I somehow managed to survive my teen years without a cell phone. In fact, I remember when the first ones came out!

Having known and lived in these two separate worlds, I admit to having many concerns about what I see becoming 'normal' in our tech saturated culture. It's not just the content of what we see in the media and entertainment industry, but the actual medium of it's delivery. So many questions I have pondered, and they were all addressed in this Captivated DVD that I reviewed from Media Talk 101 through The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. 

Captivated the Movie was produced by Phillip Telfer, who founded Media Talk 101 to address the needs he saw in families who were becoming saturated with our modern media. Captivated has an award winning production team of people who truly care about families and the assault of modern media and the entertainment industry on the Christian families of our day. 

Captivated is 107 minutes long. There are also over 2 hours of extra features and interviews with experts in the media industry. Spanish subtitles are also available on the DVD.

Some of the awards that Captivated has won include:

2013 Gold Crown Award for Best Documentary at the International Christian Visual Media Conference

2013 Best Documentary at the GloryReelz Christian Film Festival
2013 Official Selection at the Midwest Christian Inspirational Indie Film Festival
2012 Best Documentary Runner-Up at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival
2012 Best of Festival Finalist at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival

Some disturbing statistics: As we watched the movie, there were some statistics that were brought out that I found startling! Did you know that by the time the average child graduates high school, they have absorbed 18-22 thousand hours of television in their lifetime? Or that the average teenager is directly involved in approximately 56 hours of media screen time per week? Given the number of televisions in place in American homes, there are more TV's than people in our homes! And how about this....There are more TV's than toilets in America! As was stated in Captivated, this means that "there is more sewage coming in to American homes than is going out!" 

How Captivated Addresses These Topics:  The movie is broken down into three main areas of focus: Media Consumption, Media Content, and Captivity. It addresses all areas of screen time, including TV, Hollywood movies, video games, social media, and cell phone use. When addressing consumption, the point is made that even "good" media can take over our lives and become a source of negativity that hinders our family relationships. While discussing content, much is discussed about desensitization, and the affects of viewing on our minds. Captivity addresses the control that media can have over our everyday lives, blocking out things that are good, and controlling our lives and relationships. 

My personal opinion: I think this movie is extremely well done! It is very creative. The graphics and interviews are well laid out, to keep the movie moving along. While it is a documentary, it does not have a 'documentary feel' about it. Also, because it is a Christian movie, it uses Biblical principles as the foundation for the statements that are made, encouraging the viewer to seek God and determine what is right for their family. It does not specifically "call out" certain movies or elements as evil, but instead tries to teach the principle for the viewer to make good choices. Because of the great balance between Bible principles and thorough research, this movie does not come across as "preachy" but as a helpful tool for families who are concerned about the influence of modern media in their lives. I was very much impressed with the abundance of good research, interviews, and quotes that are used in this movie - everything from Hollywood producers and companies, to preachers, to doctors who discuss the brain functions of media viewing. 

A challenge: At the end of the movie, there is a challenge issued to viewers to institute a media fast in their life. What I really liked about this is how they presented it, with real life people who shared their own experiences with a media fast and how it changed their perspectives. 

Very relatable: While many experts were interviewed and included, there was also a number of real life people just like you and me, whose stories were included in this movie. There were young people and older people who shared about their various addictions to TV, texting, and innocent online games. 

My recommendation: I highly recommend this movie to EVERYONE! And especially to parents who have to navigate our culture of technology with their family. Personally, we have tried to balance our involvement with technology in our own family, and are always striving to adapt to using what is necessary while maintaining a distance from the evil traps that it holds. It is a tricky balance, but like this movie says, it is a battlefield! This movie is a wonderful way to equip yourself with the tools necessary to fight the battle! 

Appropriate Viewing Age: I think that all teens and adults could benefit from watching this movie, and I didn't find anything inappropriate for younger viewers. Our entire family watched it. 

Price: Captivated the Movie is currently selling for $16.95 and there is also a special that is available now where you can purchase a second copy for $5. There are also quantity discounts available. 

You can follow the production team on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CaptivatedTheMovie

If you would like to read what other Crew members thought of this movie, please click the banner below:

Copyright 2012-2014 - "Be The One" - www.aclassofone.blogspot.com  All rights are reserved. No text, photos, or content may be reproduced without direct permission from the author.

"Give Up Your Small Ambitions"

That is the title of the book that we just finished reading. One of my kids hijacked my blog and wrote today's post - a critical book review of the book "Give Up Your Small Ambitions" by Michael Griffiths.

Give up your small ambitions, {An affiliate link to Amazon - the book is available for as low as $1.49)

Mr. Michael C. Griffiths explains what he believes to be the qualities of modern missionaries in his informational book Give Up Your Small Ambitions.  Griffiths uses examples from both personal experience and the Bible to explain a "missionaries' life", and how to get started on a life dedicated to foreign missions. 

The author sums up his work by giving a charge to the reader to be open to the idea of missions.

Personal Notes: I felt the book was often repetitive.The writing was at a very deep level for a high schooler. On the other hand, the author covered so many ideas and systematically gave every reason why God calls everyone into a ministry of missions no matter where you are located. The book is very challenging and compelling. 

Copyright 2012-2014 - "Be The One" - www.aclassofone.blogspot.com  All rights are reserved. No text, photos, or content may be reproduced without direct permission from the author.

March for Missions

Missions is a subject very near and dear to my heart, and I am trying to do my best to make it a priority in the lives of my children as well. We are very blessed to attend a church that places a strong emphasis on reaching the lost through missions, both locally and across the world.

Every March is Missions Emphasis Month at church, and we use this as an opportunity to develop a deeper interest in missions for our children.

This year, our family chose two countries: Colombia and Brazil. The girls made some recipes for their countries, contacted a missionary and got some firsthand pictures and information, and made a display to represent their country.

Colombia:

We included a prayer letter from the missionary that our church supports, as well as some current pictures and information that they sent. We found a vine at our local craft store that had plastic fruit that surprisingly resembled coffee beans, so we also included that.

Of course, we included real Colombian coffee beans:

And for a special treat, we included chocolate and chocolate covered coffee beans to represent Colombia's two main crops.

The other country we studied about was Brazil, specifically the orphans in Brazil. There are about 7 million orphans or homeless children living on the streets in Brazil. Many are not traditional orphans, but have been forced out of their homes because the parents cannot afford to care for them. The third leading cause of death of children in Brazil is the intentional killing of these street children, supposedly done as a way to prevent the crimes they commit. It is heartbreaking to read about, and motivates us to help the missionaries build orphanages in Brazil to reach these children for Christ and give them a chance at a good life.

For Brazil, we cooked Brigadeiros which are traditional chocolate truffles served at celebrations in Brazil. They were absolutely delicious and tasted like little hot fudge bites.

Several ways to enhance an in-depth study of a country is by doing an art project from that country, or by cooking and tasting foods native to that country. 

We made several dishes from countries around the world, and the girls enjoyed trying them. If you follow me on Pinterest, than you might have seen some of the dishes we made. If not, you can visit my recipes from around the world page.

I also did a review last year for a book called Global Art, which has been a really neat book to find projects to complete when learning of other cultures.

Copyright 2012-2014 - "Be The One" - www.aclassofone.blogspot.com  All rights are reserved. No text, photos, or content may be reproduced without direct permission from the author.

I have invited some other homeschoolers to join up and link some of their favorite posts with lesson ideas to learn about other cultures and develop a love for missions in our children. Stop by to visit some of their pages for some more ideas!