sohrmn Throughout the 1980s - 1990s, numerous "After School Specials" and Television Movies attempted to "connect" with young people in order to warn them to stay clear of dangerous and unhealthy activities.Production values generally ranged from low-budget to average, and many of these programs were (if nothing else) a well-meaning attempt to deal with a serious social problem affecting young people (i.e. bullying, peer pressure, drug addiction or AIDS) However, a fair number of these Television Specials -- often released directly on VHS -- featured some absurd attacks on whatever was considered "hip" popular culture, i.e. rock music, Dungeons & Dragons, Hollywood movies, Saturday Morning Cartoons, Action Figures, and video games.Rock: It's Your Decision falls into this category, meaning that it will probably be watched mainly for comedic satire or riffing. However, as this is a review of the film, I can no longer delay diving right into it.The film is set in the early 1980s -- in a "typical" (read: mostly white and middle class) American suburban community. It is in this glorious (insert sarcastic joke here) Reagan Era that we meet a trouble youth named, "Jeff".Jeff -- clearly played by an actor in his 20s or 30s -- listens to popular music, which greatly worries his parents who seem to believe that all rock n' roll is promoting free love, premarital sex, drugs and disrespect to authority figures.The parents have their son meet up with the local youth pastor, who persuades the teen to give up popular music for awhile, which means that Jeff cannot attend a concert with his girlfriend or go to a party where other kids from his church are playing amazingly generic (and bland) instrumental music.Throughout the (thankfully) short film Jeff tries to convinced his friends (and strangers he meets at a Record Store) that all rock music is evil, the rock musicians are are evil, and youth that listen to this modern music will become devil-worshiping, sex-crazed, gay maniacs who are also involved in the occult.The film ends with Jeff -- having not had much luck selling his ideas to his friends or strangers -- giving a speech to the church youth group about the evils of rock n' roll.Yes, it can be argued that certain rock n' roll songs are entirely inappropriate for children (Christian or otherwise), and yes, teenagers should respect their elders.However, Jeff only yells at his mother when she tells him to turn the music down, or when he sees her watching Soap Operas.This last point is one of the (many) odd things in the film.The film seems to acknowledge that the argument it is making could easily be applied to T.V. Soap Operas (quite popular with conservative Christian housewives in the 1980s). This is actually a valid point.If you take the position that all rock n' roll is immoral, and should be avoided, it does seem a bit hypocritical to give soap operas a free pass. But, I am not going to lose any sleep over this little bit of moral hypocrisy.This film is probably most famous for final speech that Jeff gives, because it perfectly captures not only the absurdity of the argument being made in the film, but (on top of everything else) the film manages to digs up a bit of homophobia in order to advance its absurd argument.Jeff reminds his peers that not only are rock n' roll stars heavily involved in devil worship and the occult (don't bother waiting for any facts or evidence on that point), but that many of them are also "avowed homosexuals".Granted, socially conservative, evangelical Christians are the target audience for this film, and, in 1982, homophobia (even hate crimes) was being actively promoted by powerful groups such as the "Moral Majority".However, by the end of the film you do not see much of a future for Jeff outside of suicide or an extended stay at an mental institution.Any potentially valid argument that the film could have made is tossed aside in favor of outrageous accusations, moral hypocrisy and some homophobia tossed in for good measure.

Ddey65 ***UNAPOLOGETIC SPOILERS*** I probably shouldn't use the Cinema Snob's YouTube videos as a form of reference. Not because I disagree with that video, in fact I agree completely. Nevertheless I saw that video, and there were comments about it from people who claimed to be Born-Again Christians and disregard the movie's message about rock and roll being evil. Christian Rock actually came out more than a decade before this movie did, but I always thought it was a product of the 1970's, primarily with the advent of rock operas like "Godspell," and "Jesus Christ, Superstar." I was wrong; it actually came out before the "Summer of Love."Produced by a bunch of churches in Alabama, the alleged hero of the movie is a teenager named "Jeff" who was around the same age I was at the time. Jeff is in a born-again Christian family, and he likes rock and roll. His parents can't stand him blasting it on his stereo, and his mother decides to call the youth pastor at his local parish about it. Jeff has a few friends, including a cute girlfriend, named Melissa, a ten-to-eleven year old Ford Maverick, and an after-school job. Aside from the hassling from his parents and the repression of his church, he seems to have a relatively decent life... that is until Brother Jim Owen, that youth pastor his mom called up approaches him and tries to get him not to listen to any rock music for two weeks. At the same time, he gives the kid a book designed to con kids into thinking all rock music is evil, which obviously has to be loaded with misinterpretations. Unfortunately, he starts to believe this crap. And to make matters worse, within the first of those weeks, he was supposed to take his girlfriend to a concert by an unknown band for her birthday. No real bands are shown anywhere in this movie, although plenty are randomly mentioned. Among his idiotically new-found "information," Jeff seems to find it utterly horrifying that 12-year-olds would buy KISS albums, which is strange because among metal-heads, it's commonly accepted that somebody over the age of 14 who buys one is a metal newbie, or a wimp, or a retard.Meanwhile Jeff is completely brainwashed and starts losing his friends including his blonde babe Melissa, yet even as he's telling them all that all rock music is evil, he still can't stop playing it and still can't get along with his mom. After barging from one last party he gets into another fight with her. Finally he drives off in yet another huff and parks out into some snow-covered vacant lot (Yes, kids. The Winter of 1981-82 had snow down south), and begs God for forgiveness and pleads with him on how to deal with his dilemma. He returns to the party for one last time and tells them all that he's not going to be their friends anymore because they're all so "sinful." The next thing we know we see him at the same church delivering his own sermon on behalf of Brother Owen, apparently trying warn the kids on how they're being suckered into a life of sin by listening to KISS, The Eagles, AC-DC, Jefferson Airplane/Starship, The Rolling Stones, and other bands that kids of the 1980's were holding onto as they were trying to hold down disco and rap, and overlook new wave. The Cinema Snob covers the movie's claim that the Captain & Tenille's music was somehow evil, but he didn't mention the claim about Barry Manilow. It's hard to imagine Daryl Dragon, Toni Tenille, and Barry Manilow being put in the same league as Angus Young, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Don Henley or Glenn Frey, and yet it does just that. I wonder what he would think of bands like Stryper, Jars of Clay, Velour 100, Creed, or Switchfoot.I gave this movie two stars, but I'm being generous here. The reasons in no particular order are because one, the kids in this movie were roughly the same age as me, as I mentioned earlier, two because the actress playing Jeff's girlfriend Melissa was gorgeous, and three because of one background song I'm curious about when Jeff is in the record store and narrates about how "the beat just grabbed me." Other than that, the only thing I could recommend this for is a somewhat morbid laugh.

halo44327 First off. I'm a Christian. I'm a good-two-shoes. I don't do drugs. But this is a one-sided debate. The movie can be displayed as a really rude method of displaying music is bad? Rock is that bad? Pffft. Wait till you get to some rap artist such as Snoop Dogg. I'm "ok" on rock as a taste. I listen to pop songs and techno. And even those have "suggestive themes" but its just music overall. The only that a music could do evil is if it shapes you as a person. But that is mainly your own fault, not the song. Just listening to it is nothing wrong and even God would have agreed. Its about if you take the music as a message for something. The movie is depressing. Our "protagonist", which I bet is more of an antagonist, is slowly being brainwashed by his parents. And it happens. We all get coached by our parents. And sometimes we go rogue. This movie is pretty much how I lived through. And I was given "coach" lessons about how video games are bad and ho I shouldn't be watching any movies containing a sex scene. As long as I don't go and jerk off to a nude scene in a movie I should be fine. Its not like the movie will melt my brain. -Back to the movie!- Apparently he starts to lose social connection and basically isolates himself who is now a "henchman" to his parent's opinions. Its really sad. He loses all his friends and close connections aside from family members. And his mother still watches Soap Operas which could have a nice set of arguments against too. But that is where I wonder if this is not supposed to be an "anti-rock" movie but a "anti-anti rock movie". The kid has a scene with his mom where he actually confronts his mom that she watches soap operas and talks about sexual advertisements. Which he has a fair point and I'd rather go towards that area instead. But his mother slaps him. That's my ideal point here. It clearly shows a nasty twist and basically puts his mom just or worse than his case in a perspective view.Most of the rock music does contain suggestive themes but I have heard a lot of non-Christian-related music that actually display a very a god moral like a plot in a book. Music shows emotions. And we react to music through our emotions. Just like horror movies can "scare" or "frighten" us or comedy can make us "laugh" and "smile" same with romance. We need emotions to be a social person and maintain our humanity. We cannot fully understand right and wrong without it nor share our careful decisions through it.Overall this is a terrible movie. Not because of acting, plot, etc. Its just terrible because it is indeed some sort of propaganda on the topic of something absolutely foolish at the times around the 80s. If this was the 60s or 70s that would make more sense but this is the 80s. Rock has already been acceptable to society an parents have allowed it. And let alone, Christian rock is now around the place. The kid in the end has a sermon preach about how its bad. It randomly accuses specific songs and artists such as The Eagles as being evil. Yet the song already has a meaning that is factual and his arguments go in some sort of panic mode because in the end he adds in homosexuality. That is the dumbest thing I ever heard.Overall, lets burn this movie to the pits of Hell. I even think God would damn this rubbish of a movie.By the way, I'm a Christian. I love rock, pop, country and classical and even Christian (also Christian dubstep). Nothing is wrong with the music. Its about you. Your choices, your methods on handling it as a mature person. You like rap, great. But never let music shape your personality. Be yourself. Cheesy end!

Mister-6 I notice that I'm the first one to review this movie on the IMDb, so I'll give it to you straight, okay? For years, Christian fundamentalists have told us that rock music is the ruination of the youth of America, that it's the gateway to sin and degradation an it will destroy your morals if you listen to The Eagles, Jefferson Starship and The Rolling Stones.Well, duh.Nice religious kid Jeff loves God. He also loves rock music. And he loves some pretty decent groups, too. None that the viewer can listen to, though - God doesn't like modern rock but He does respects copyright laws, looks like. His parents are at their wits end listening to that "junk". His church pastor tries telling him that he must make a decision between rock and The Rock of Ages. His friends don't see the problem with listening to music he likes.So the question is posed: can you follow the teachings of Jesus AND rock and roll all night? "Rock: It's Your Decision" is told a lot more straightforwardly than you might expect for this kind of movie; anyone looking for a "Reefer Madness"-style expose' or religious nuts hysterically spouting that you WILL go to Hell if you listen to anything by Captain and Tennille or Rod Stewart will be sadly disappointed.Well...maybe not completely; there are a few over-the-top moments of overacting and a virtual bonanza of late 70s/early 80s fashions and lots of religious quotes. And the end sermon simply must be heard to be appreciated.So is this a case of over-zealous religious nuts telling you that you're being brainwashed by mainstream rock and roll or just a presentation of the facts as they have been made known? I won't say any more about it. Save that YOU MUST watch this movie. It will either give you something to think about or a laugh riot to share with friends. Either way, "Rock: It's Your Decision" is a viewing experience for unwashed heathens of every brace.Play it at your next church function - they'll either think it's a worthy Sunday School subject or a laugh riot.Or don't - it's your decision.