Film group pushes pro-family movies

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Saturday, March 22, 2003 | By Ron Strom

[JohnHuang2]

"How many films have you seen in which conservatives, Republicans or religious Americans are ridiculed and portrayed as being hateful, weak or stupid?"

That's how the organizers of a new effort to combat a perceived left-wing dominance of the film industry begin their appeal on the website www.patriotmovies.com.

The American Patriot Film Festival Inc., a nonprofit organization birthed Feb. 28, was created to "draw together Americans from various walks of life interested in watching and producing conservative and libertarian films."

According to the group's website, its three-fold purpose is:

1. "To show pro-American, pro-military, pro-business and pro-family values films;

2. "To provide a venue where conservative filmmakers can show their films; and

3. "To create a forum to unite investors with filmmakers, producers, screenwriters and other Americans interested in producing and releasing conservative films."

Organizers claim several nationally known conservative personalities have been contacted to make appearances at the first annual film festival, which is scheduled for early next year. A host city for the event has yet to be determined.

The group decries the "left-wing elitists" it says dominate Hollywood and who "maintain a stranglehold over the entertainment industry."

As WorldNetDaily reported, Hollywood celebrities have come under increasing criticism of late for their outspoken statements against President Bush and military action against Iraq.

Thousands of people have signed an online petition entitled "Citizens Against Celebrity 'Pundits'" since it was posted by a North Carolina woman in January.

The American Patriot Film Festival also has an online petition drive. Addressed to major motion-picture studio executives, the petition criticizes the Hollywood left and asks the studios "to produce films with conservative themes." It will be delivered to the executives on Sept. 11.

Jim Hubbard is the director and founder of the group. He tells WND he got the idea after a talk-radio show began hosting a monthly classic-movie night in Little Rock, Ark., which consistently drew good crowds.

Hubbard says the powers that be in Hollywood are "openly hostile to millions of Americans," citing the fact that for decades, opinion polls consistently show that more people identify themselves as conservatives than liberals.

Commented Hubbard, "There's a huge cultural gap between middle America and the Hollywood left."

Hubbard says the first film festival likely will last two days but that he ultimately envisions a 10-festival running at the same time as the Cannes Film Festival.

According to Hubbard, the organization has raised "thousands of dollars" toward the effort and is working on getting well-known Hollywood conservatives to help spread the word.

Hoping to eventually provide services to conservative filmmakers, Hubbard plans to provide a forum for directors and producers, and host screenwriting seminars.

Hubbard predicts the American Patriot Film Festival will "fill a vacuum" in the liberal entertainment industry just like Fox News Channel provided a popular alternative in cable news and Rush Limbaugh did in talk radio.

Besides the moral benefits of producing more traditional fare, Hubbard says there is an economic upside as well. He is convinced that if filmmakers made more movies with conservative values, they would see a boost in profits.

Said Hubbard, "There is a huge market for people of faith."

Indeed, as WND reported, the top 10 grossing movies of 2002 were also some of the cleanest. Six of the top 10, and four of the top five, contained no sexual immorality, and seven of the 10 were void of sexual nudity, according to a study by the Christian Film & Television Commission.

[JohnHuang2]

Saturday, March 22, 2003

Quote of the Day by rintense

[RLK]

I'll have to confess, I'm addicted to old Robert Young Jane Wyatt Father Knows Best reruns. There was wisdom in that show.

[FourPeas]

I feel the same way about the old Andy Griffith Show and the Leave It To Beaver reruns. Unlike the stuff made today, there are good role models, parents aren't fools and the families aren't expected to be disfunctional.

[Taft in '52]

I like watching videotapes of I Led Three Lives, a TV series from 1953-1955 about an FBI agent who infiltrates the Communist Party.

One of my all-time favorite movies is Big Jim McClain (1952) in which John Wayne plays the role of an investigator for the House Committee on Un-American Activities. How's that for a politically incorrect film?

[jellybean]

FYI

[Hacksaw]

I feel the same way about the old Andy Griffith Show and the Leave It To Beaver reruns. Unlike the stuff made today, there are good role models, parents aren't fools and the families aren't expected to be disfunctional.

You might not agree, but I thought Tim Allen's family on Home Improvement was pretty good. Allen's character was a bit of a goof, but I think it showed Husband, Wife and Family in a very positive light.

[FourPeas]

You're correct, I don't agree. Tim Taylor is a bafoon. His wife, children, the people at work and the guy next door all know it. He's not respected, nor is he seen as a stong leader. He's a clown. Now, there's nothing wrong with clowns, but it's not what I want my young sons to see when they think of male role models.

The show does depict a loving family and for that it needs to be commended. But the smartest one in the family is the mother, followed by the children, with dad taking up the rear. Smart women are good; dumb men are bad.

Not only is the dad not a great role model, but his friend, AL, isn't either. He's what Hollyweird wants us to think of as The Sensative Man. He's insecure, too in touch with his feminine side and just too wishy-washy. Facial hair asside, he has a definite lack of testosterone.

We watched Tool Time a lot before we had children. After I started considering the messages it sent with regards to a father figure, we stopped.

[Hacksaw]

I know what you mean about the "idiot dad" but Tim always came through in the pinch. And yes - Tim was the stereotype of the male - interested in power tools and hot rods. However, I thought it showed true love and respect between him and his wife. Mind you, I am comparing this against other modern family sitcoms.

One show I used to like but can't stand today is Seventh Heaven. The wife seems to be nothing but "super bitch" while Pops always has to clean up the mess. She is what I would imagine Hillary to be in a family.

[Hacksaw]

One other thing - I think Tim was a good role model - he would always put family first (like the episode where his wife got her dream job in Indiana and he did not want her to find out he was given an offer to be the producer of Tool Time in Detroit because he thought she would change her mind). Sure he was a goof, but that was the character he played. All I am saying is that it was better than most of the modern sitcom families.

[Hila]

Now, we can be entertained and at the same time feel clean inside. No more subjecting Americans to defilement by Hollywood - we do have a say and our decision will not be temporary if we want a change in our culture.

[Hacksaw]

Now, we can be entertained and at the same time feel clean inside. No more subjecting Americans to defilement by Hollywood - we do have a say and our decision will not be temporary if we want a change in our culture.

Well, I wish you success. I had to get digital cable to get the "good" channels - like tvland, BBC America and the Sci Fi channel.