Resources, Ratings, and Relationships

Welcome to a helpful guide for the following:

Resources | Ideas to dive deeper on movies, scripture, and faith in action.
Ratings | Tips on movie and media ratings and info, especially when it’s rated R.
Relationships | Ways we can connect like weddings, workshops, and here at Substack.

Movie Resources

  • Drew’s Script-O-Rama | The legendary and mysterious Drew has held down this little corner of the internet for nearly 30 years. Don’t let the web 1.0 design fool you. Find hundreds of scripts and transcripts for movies and TV here.

  • Internet Movie Database | IMDb is one of the most-extensive databases of the internet of movies, TV, and other media. There are paid account options, but I always find what I’m trying to find for free, and Wikipedia covers the rest.

  • Letterboxd | Keep track of movies you’ve seen, create and share custom lists, write and read previews, and make pretty lists of movie posters. Here’s my list of all of the R-rated movies I’ve seen, 700+ and counting.

  • YouTube | Like any platform, there’s a lot of terrible stuff out there, so be careful. Two channels have really impressed me lately: No Film School, Cinemastix.

Bible / Scripture Resources

Bible Gateway | Read the Bible in 150+ versions and 50+ languages. Find my favorite translations, the NRSVue and the CEB, and favorite paraphrase, The Message.
Scripture texts at RRMC always have a link to Bible Gateway for your convenience.

Enter the Bible | This free resource from my alma mater, Luther Seminary, bills itself as “Everything you wanted to know about the Bible… but were afraid to ask.” Browse contextual background, outline, theological themes, etc. for any book of the Bible.
”Sunday Matinees” always has a link to Enter the Bible for your convenience.

Revised Common Lectionary | The RCL is a tool for preachers and worship leaders to select the scripture that inspires sermons, liturgy, and music for worship services. This particular link is to resources curated by Vanderbilt Divinity School and Divinity Library.
I follow the RCL 3-year cycle for the Sunday Matinee:
Year A 2022-2023 (Gospel of Matthew)
Year B 2023-2024 (Gospel of Mark)
Year C 2024-2025 (Gospel of Luke)

Faith in Action Resources

“Faith without works is dead.” - James 2:17

Compassion for others comes from our character, and doing something about it comes from our drive. Our faith can be the spark to do good in the world around us.’’

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8

While compassion is critical, so is justice to make broken systems more beautiful. Our faith can be the catalyst to building a more just and equitable society today.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
- Gospel of Matthew 22:37-40

And we aren’t alone. There are millions of people with inclusive theology and faithful, progressive politics who challenge the system. Our faith can move mountains.

Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” - Romans 15:1-2 The Message

We are better together. My hope is there is a welcoming faith community with healthy leadership and inclusive theology in your area where people can be part of something bigger and make a difference. If there’s a way I can help connect you, please tell me.

Movie Ratings

I sincerely recommend anyone who views movies and other media knows as much as possible about them beforehand to decide if it’s right for them. You can start here:

1. Start with Yourself. You’re the best judge of what you can and cannot watch and that’s okay. No one gets to tell you otherwise. Take a risk, and look out for yourself.
2. Ask a Friend. If they’ve seen it, and if they know you, they can likely help you out.
3. IMDb.com - Each title has a “Parents Guide” where volunteer users, following a set of moderated guidelines, list content based on 5 categories: sex and nudity, violence and gore, profanity, alcohol/drugs/smoking, and frightening/intense scenes.
4. DoesTheDogDie.com - This is a crowdsourced hub tracking 100+ categories of what they call “emotional spoilers.” If you’re the sort of person who does best with “trigger warnings,” I think you’ll find the categories very helpful.
5. CommonSenseMedia.org - This company has a goal to help families take charge of their digital choices. Their staff and reviewers (including children and teenagers) write reviews based on age and stage of life. They do very thorough work.

No rating system is perfect. Not the crowdsourced or staffed ratings listed above. Not the oft-controversial MPA and its current system of G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. And definitely not our subjective selves. While the first moving pictures came in 1878, the MPA’s R rating didn’t exist until 1968, and their publicly-listed reasons for ratings have only appeared for the last few decades. Some ratings make sense, others leave you scratching your head. Ultimately, what you watch - and read about - is up to you.

Our understanding of the world, ourselves, and each other is ever-evolving, thankfully. Along the way, we make art and tell stories, and that includes through the movies. Snapshots of their time and place, the movies always have and always will reflect the cultural norms, societal trends of when they were created, especially the dominant and often oppressive ideas propagated by those in positions of power.

These reflections can include problematic representations of character tropes, stereotypes, and caricatures. They can include sensitive content involving many forms of violence, various depictions of sexuality, and graphic or intense situations. And they can include content that ranges from to disgusting to controversial to offensive.

Moviegoers today, including you and me, do well to remember the time and place in which a movie was created, take responsibility to get informed about potentially sensitive content, and self-determine what to watch and/or read about.

Plus, movies aren’t the only art with sensitive content.

There’s this book called the Bible…

Relationships

Thank you once again for being a reader here; I appreciate you so much.

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If you want a gift from me, I have something for you! Any subscriber can contact me to receive a free R-Rated Movie Club greeting card and vinyl sticker. These stickers and cards will always be free, so if you want one, just ask. (And yes, I have a very limited number of R-Rated Movie Club t-shirts, if you’re interested.)

If you want to hire me to lead a workshop on improv and leadership or teamwork, or to officiate your loved one’s funeral or memorial, or to officiate your wedding and/or lead you through premarital sessions, please reach out. I enjoy doing all of that.

Again, thank you, Dear Reader!