Ted Baehr

Baehr is the son of Theodore Baehr (also known as B-movie cowboy Robert "Tex" Allen) and Evelyn Pierce, both actors. He was raised in New York City, gaining experience acting in commercials, motion pictures, television and on stage.

He studied at several universities in Europe before graduating with a degree in comparative literature from Dartmouth College. He then received a Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law.

In 1975, at the encouragement of a friend, Baehr read the Bible, which changed the direction of his life and career. He applied to the Institute of Theology at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine and became the director of the television center at the City University of New York. While there, he launched his first ministry, the Good News Communications Ministry. During this time he was researching the impact of media in education. His work was presented as part of the Annenberg Conference on Communication. In 1979 he became the president of the Episcopal Radio and Television Foundation. He also served on the Communications Board of the National Council of Churches. It was during this time that he met the former director of the Protestant Film Office, George Heimrich and was inspired to ressurect the activities of that group, which, until is was closed in 1966, had been a major force in "approving" scripts of the major Hollywood studios for compliance with the Motion Picture Code.

In 1985 Baehr began publishing Movieguide as a biweekly magazine of movie reviews "from a biblical perspective" aimed at helping parents use informed judgment when deciding what entertainment products are suitable for their families' enjoyment. Movieguide's reviews address not only specific portrayals of sex, violence, and prafanity, but also address the "worldview" implicit in a movie's theme.

In 1986 Baehr founded the Christian Film and Television Commission (CFTC) which encourages the major media companies to produce "wholesome, family entertainment." By cross-indexing Movieguide's moral criteria with box office statistics, Baehr's commission produces an annual Report To The Entertainment Industry which purports to prove that the American public prefers "wholesome, worthwhile, moral movies." The Report also includes a listing of the ten best "family friendly films" and ten best "morally edifying mature audience films" of the year, all of which are awarded plaques.

Movieguide Ratings

Movieguide rates movies for quality and acceptability. Quality ratings (1 to 4 stars) cover production value, entertainment quality, and technical or narrative accomplishment. Acceptibility ratings (range from +4 to -4) include evaluation of moral and theological issues, based on a "traditional view of the Bible and Christianity." The content of a movie is evaluated for acceptability based on its "dominant worldview" (Biblical, Christian, Environmentalist, Humanist/Socialist, Homosexual, False Religion, New Age/Pagan, etc.) and on secondary elements, (hints of worldview, foul language, violence, sex, nudity, alcohol, smoking/drugs, miscellaneous immorality, or miscellaneous philosophical or theological problems.).

Highlights of the CFTC's 2005 Report

" “Movies with strong moral messages, whether they were rated G, PG, PG-13, or R, consistently earn four to seven times as much money on average as movies with immoral messages, according to our biblical standards” "

Movies of 2004 deemed to have had "strong moral messages" which were also box office successes included "The Passion of the Christ" "The Incredibles" "National Treasure" "America's Heart & Soul" "Spider-Man 2" "The Aviator" "Home on the Range" and "In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed". Conversely, the anti-moral movies of 2004 which promoted "socialism, communism, radical feminism, left-wing political correctness, atheism, and homosexuality," and which were also underperformers at the box office, were "The Day After Tomorrow" "Fahrenheit 9/11" "Kinsey" "The Corporation" "A Day Without a Mexican" "Tying the Knot" "The Motorcycle Diaries" "Super-Size Me" "Vera Drake" "Saved" "The Hunting of the President" and "She Hate Me"

Interestingly, when Fox News reported on the CFTC's report, it listed those films with "strong moral messages" as "patriotic films," which seems an unrealistic label for "The Passion of the Christ" which is set about 1,740 years before the establishment of the United States

It is evident that the CFTC's mission of advocating for Christian-friendly movies affects the objectivity of its analyses.

Controversy

Baehr's acceptance of payment for consulting and promotional activities on behalf of a few movies is considered by some to be unethical, given his publication of film reviews. Baehr conetends that the CFTC ministry is an advocacy group and not movie reviewers in the journalistic sense.

" We’ve lent our expertise to many movies – gratis, for the sake of helping God’s kingdom advance in this industry. In a few cases, after we approve of and review the movie according to our stringent criteria, we have been remunerated for our services through a sister organization set up for this purpose to help underwrite the extra time these promotional efforts required. "

Other critics have noted that while Baehr is almost always referred to in CFTC literature as "Dr. Ted Baehr" that the Juris Doctor degree he holds is not normally sufficient academic credentials for the title of Doctor.

References