Resources: Plugged-In Online

Today is the first entry in what will be an ongoing series of various resources you can use in order to live a more pure life in today's world. Until I can come up with a catchier title, I'm just going to call this series "Resources". We're going to begin with Plugged-In Online.




Plugged-In Online (http://www.pluggedinonline.com/) is a website put together by Focus on the Family. What they do is review movies, TV shows, music, and video games from a Christian perspective. Instead of giving a rating the movie based on the usual standards, they review them based on content and what are the appropriate and inappropriate elements you'll be subjected to if you watch/listen/play.

The website first categorizes what they are reviewing (Movies, Video/DVD, Music, Television, and Games). The movies section covers films that are currently in theaters, while Video/DVD covers things that are currently out on video or DVD (snazzy, eh?). The other three are pretty self-explanitory. I use it mostly for the Movies section, so that's what I'm going to concentrate on here.

When you click on an article to read, they start off with a brief synopsis of the plot. This is to give you a general idea of any blanks you might need filled in before partaking. Don't worry, they do NOT spoil the plot. They give a Spoiler Warning before they list anything that will spoil the movies/shows plot lines.

After that, they list out the Positive Elements. They are pretty thorough, and sometimes some of the positive elements they list are kind of a stretch. Take, for example, this Positive Element from the movie G-Force:

When in the midst of a smash/crash chase scene that concludes with a massive fireworks explosion, one of the careening guinea pigs looks at some observing children (and us) and says, "Don't try this at home, kids."

While that is indeed a positive element, it's kind of stretch, but it does go to show you how thorough they really are in their reviews. This section also gives you a good idea of what to reinforce with your child if you take them along with you.

After that, they start to review the bad stuff. They break the bad stuff into several different categories (Sexual Content, Violent Content, Crude or Profane Language, Drug and Alcohol Content, and Other Negative Elements). They continue their thoroughness in each of these different categories as they break down specifically what occurs in the movie. For example, they will tell you how many times various words are used in the film, even down to "jeez", "suck", and "what in the heck?" (again using the G-Force review as an example). In place of the filthier language, they give us the good ol' grade school trick of "s---" and "f---" (remember using the phrase "the f word" back in the day?) instead of the actual words. Again, they will give you a Spoiler Warning before they spoil anything you may not want to know before seeing the movie.

Finally, they give you a conclusion on the movie. This is the writer's general summary of taking the positive elements and the negative elements and telling you their overall opinion on the movie. By the time you've reached this point, you already should have a pretty good idea about the movie, but they use this space to explain if the negative moments are isolated and barely noticeable, or if they permeate the entire movie.

Clarinda and I personally use Plugged-In Online for help in making our movie-watching decisions. We've all been there where a movie trailer has us excited to see a movie, then we go watch it and wonder why they had to add all the filth to it. Plugged-In Online will give you a warning beforehand on what filth you'll have to subject yourself to in order to see the movie. The key is to use this tool, and then use your own discernment on whether you want to subject you or your children to the good AND the bad in a movie.