Wednesday 2 April 2014

Captivated DVD {Review}

I am so grateful to Media Talk 101 who have produced and  provided Captivated DVD for me to review.


What we received
  • I received the full length feature documentary Captivated in physical DVD format.  
  • 107 minutes.  
  • The extra's section of the DVD contains over two hours of extended interviews with each contributor in more detail. 
  • There is an excellent interview with Philip Telfer from Media Talk 101 in which he shares more insight into: consumption, content, captivity, battleground and freedom. 
  • I was impressed with the credentials of this documentary too. 
  • Produced by Media Talk 101.


How we used it
Paul and I viewed the DVD together at home and I was a little surprised at how quickly 107 minutes went by.

I was so impressed with what I had seen I invited four other couples over for an evening of coffee, cake and Captivated.  At first the group were a little hesitant with the DVD being nearly two hours long.  We watched an hour, took a coffee break and then watched the second half.  Everyone was very impressed with the quality of information presented and surprised that it was not difficult to watch. The group as a whole were excited and all wanted to borrow Captivated to watch and discuss with their children.

These words of one of the attendees sums up the general feel of the group "I thought it was very well done, interesting, thought provoking and quiet balanced.  There was no bagging of technology as such, but plenty of encouragement to thoughtfully assess your own involvement and seek to ensure that technology remains a tool rather than allowing it to control your life. We both were encouraged by watching it as well as by the following discussion within the group." - B

I have loaned it to my Pastor who has watched the first half with his young adult home group and the encouraged the group to go home and watch the on demand download of Captivated.

He is looking forward to showing it to our Men's bible study group in the near future. 

Some points that impacted me
  • The average person in the US watches 4.7 hours of TV a day.  That is 1704 hours a year which equals 71 days.
  • There are more TV's now per household than people.
  • The cyber age began with the invention of the telegraph.  
  • Our problems with the techno age are over 100 years old.
  • "The moral importance of entertainment is something which has been universally recognized... a man may be judged by his standard of entertainment as easily as by the standard of his work." - Hollywood's Motion Picture production code in 1930 (Hollywood's Astonishing Production Code )
  • By giving high school students televisions, mobile phones, gaming consoles and computers in their rooms makes for a 24/7 social connectivity.  They are now growing up with one another as well as taking their cues from each another. This in turn empowers them to screen out adults thoroughly.  Watch what Mark Baurelein has to say about teens screening out adults.
I was particularly interested in what Dr Jeff Myers shared on Why are so Many Young Men Passive ? It's an interesting look into the impact of gaming on the brains of young people.  Brilliant.

There are  17 Vimeo clips from Captivated available online for you to watch.

Would we change anything ?
I have really enjoyed the feature length documentary Captivated and would not change the content or presentation in any way. 

I would love to have a half hour simplified version of Captivated to use with my primary school aged son in order for him to understand the impact of media and digital games in his own life.  It would be a great way to introduce media self management and lay a firm foundation for him about the why and would pave the way for us to talk about it without frustration and argument.

Captivated is full of amazing information that ironically has me wanting to read more online about the information presented.  I would love to have a PDF with reference notes and links to the information presented by each of the speakers.

I would also love a printable fill in the blank worksheet to use with high school aged students along with some topical questions for discussion after.

Cost of Captivated The Movie**
Physical DVD
  • 1 DVD = $16.95
  • 2 DVD (Currently on Sale buy one copy and get a second copy for $5)
  • 3 to 7 DVD's @ $13 ea
  • 8 DVD's @ $12 ea
  • 10 DVD's @11 ea
  • Larger quantity discounts are available online.

On Demand
  • Captivated: Feature Length edition Rent $3.99
  • Captivated Feature Length Edition Purchase Download $12.99
  • Captivated Broadcast Edition Rent $3.99
  • Captivated Broadcast Edition Purchase Download $12.99
** All prices are in US $ and correct at time of review.  Please carefully check the price of any item you would like to purchase and verify costs before purchasing.


Connect with Captivated

What we thought
I really regret not having Captivated ten years ago.  I would have loved to be better equipped to make choices that in the long run would have been healthier for our family.  The no beating around the bush supply of information is excellent and well presented.

At first I thought that we would be hammered with an anti media agenda but was very pleasantly surprised with the smorgasbord of quality information that was not anti-media. It was presented by a multitude of speakers from many walks of life.

For me personally I don't need another anti-media indoctrination, I've had more of those than I can count.  I live in a media saturated society and feel I am in need of better information that will equip me with ways of managing it appropriately as well as equip my children with the skill sets they need in order to manage their own lives in a media saturated world and Captivated has done that for me.

Captivated has equipped me with the information I need in order to make appropriate choices for myself and my younger son.  It has given my husband and I a level playing field in order to discuss and implement for ourselves and our family a way to move forward in our home.

I am impressed with how this DVD tackles the issue of our unimpeded zeal in relation to our techno world.  I appreciate the quality of the evidence presented in relation to the possible effects of the current choices we are making and the effect these choices are having on our selves physically, mentally, emotionally and most importantly spiritually by not using discretion in our daily choices.

I am very grateful for the gift of Captivated and will be sharing this DVD to anyone wanting to borrow it. It's message is timely and encouraging and most importantly it is equipping.

I highly recommend this DVD to every family out there who are looking for more information on how to manage the techno world out there.

Through Captivated I was exhorted to "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ" Colossians 2:8

Blessings
Chareen


Click to read Crew Reviews

1 comment:

  1. This is a really great review Chareen. I really liked Dr Jeff Myers as well. But so challenging! Sometimes it's very hard to see how captivated we have become when the thinking and habits have woven their way into our cultural thinking. For me, this was one of those times when I had to take an honest and humble look at my own heart. A great tool for every family. from Victoria

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you so please leave your comments below ♥