What Message Does Reading a Book on a Tablet Send Your Kids?
Every 21st-century parent has to deal with the issue of technology at some point. And even if your stance is a conservative one—strictly limiting, say, video games or smartphone usage, time spent surfing the Internet or time spent watching TV—it’s still a reality that has to be addressed. My children are now 7, 5 and […]
One Man’s Lessons from an Internet-Free Week
Every now and then I come across something online that hits me pretty much right where I live. That happened last week when I read a piece written in the UK’s Telegraph titled “Could You Survive a Week With No Internet?” The article’s provocative title reeled me in, and the story of what one man […]
Of F-Words and the Art of Movie Reviewing
Whenever I happen to mention to someone that I review movies for Plugged In, the response is almost invariably the same: “Wow. That sounds like an awesome job.” And, in many ways, it is. I love reviewing good movies with redemptive themes and having the chance to tell Plugged In’s readers about stories worth their […]
Do Movies Make Us More Liberal?
How much do movies influence what we believe? It’s a simple question, but one with several possible answers. On one side of that debate are many moviemakers (as well as those who craft TV shows, music and video games) who argue vociferously that their creative endeavors have zero influence whatsoever on an audience’s beliefs, attitudes […]
Music Magic 2013: Adam Holz’s Year-End Picks
When it comes to positive music picks, at least on the album side of things, 2013 proved to be a bit lean. OK. At least that made this year’s winners easier to spot! And more so than was the case last year, they tended to come from avowedly Christian rock bands or from artists who’ve […]
Tinkering or Tampering with Tolkien?
J.R.R. Tolkien fans are no doubt chomping at the bit—and I’m sure more than a few are already lined up—for tonight’s midnight premiere of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It’s the second film in director Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy. And given how expansively Jackson has reimagined Tolkien’s tale, it’s likely to beg the question […]
Consumerism Takes Flight … Literally
What if you could order something online and have it delivered not in two days, not the next day, but within 30 minutes … by air. Sound like science fiction? It’s not, according to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. In a segment on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday night, Bezos previewed the online retailer’s next rapid-delivery […]
How R-Rated Movies Impact Teens’ Faith
What happens when Christian teens watch R-rated movies? That’s a question that Phil Davignon, a doctoral candidate in sociology at Baylor University, sought to answer in a new analysis recently published in the Review of Religious Research. Davignon evaluated data collected from more than 2,000 adolescents throughout the last decade for the National Study of […]
Headbangers Bawl
I wouldn’t redo my junior high years again for all the money in the world. It was a hard, emotionally bruising season, one that inflicted some deep wounds upon my tender adolescent psyche. I wasn’t one of the popular kids. Nor was I particularly unpopular. Just somewhere in limbo between those two extremes, occasionally receiving […]
PG-13 Gun Violence Goes Through the Theatrical Roof
If it feels like gun violence in PG-13 movies has gotten more frequent lately, well, that’s because it has. Between 1985 and 2012, scenes featuring gun-related imagery more than tripled, according to a new study headed by Daniel Romer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. They found that back in 1985, PG-13 […]