MovieGuide Christian magazine, Stan Lee, and more!

[The Lizard]

OK, this involves movies, so it could go in the Misc Film forum, but it also involves Stan Lee, so it could go in the Celebrities forum, but it also involves Marvel Comics heroes, so it could go in one of the heroes forums.....

BUT, since it involves religion, and the religious presentation of the "MovieGuide" organization, it seemed like the best place was here, in the religious debate feeding-frenzy of Community.

MovieGuide is a publication of the Christian Film and Television Commission, owned by Ted Baehr. The point of the magazine is to review films from a "Christian" perspective and assign them ratings based on quality, morality, conservativism, religious presentation, etc. All kind of films are reviewed regardless of rating or content, but of course only a select few are recommended, based on how well they mesh with the Christian worldview (as defined by Baehr, that is).

So I took notice of an interview Ted Baehr did with Stan Lee in the most recent issue. Here's the link to the interview: http://movieguide.org/?s=articles&id=281

Nothing too out of the ordinary there. Stan telling his usual stories about coming up with the superheroes back in the old days while Ted praises the morality that he apparently feels is embodied in the Marvel hero flicks.

However, I have to wonder if the very, VERY conservative Baehr bothered to do any research into Stan's contributions to Stripperella, or the gay rights angle of the X-Men films, or even the older comic storylines Lee wrote that were sympathetic to the liberal protesters of the 1960s.

 

[The Lizard]

Also, just to set the tone of the MovieGuide magazine, here's a typical letter to the editor that appeared in the same issue as the Stan Lee interview:

DECEITFUL PERVERTS
Dear Ted-
Thank you for the article titled "Where are the Homosexuals?" You point out truth. Homosexuals are not as plentiful as people think. So where does the movement get its political support? I think it comes mostly from secular women.

One time I was working in a large office with a lot of women, a few normal men, and one obvious pervert. Who was the most popular guy in the office? Who was the life of the party? You got it if you said the pervert. You see, the pervert had the secular women all fooled. They thought he was no threat to them sexually[....]
Actually, there is really no such thing as a homosexual. There are only perverted people.
--L.B., Houston Texas

It's kind of weird to see a Stan Lee interview in a magazine like this, but I guess stan feels that any positive publicity is worth pursuing.

 

[hammy]

You have way too much time on your hands.

 

[C.F. Kane]

Movieguide has a pretty strong history of cherry-picking data and tunnel-visioned reviews of films on a "moral" level.

The fact that Baeher ignores Stripperella doesn't surprise me that much.