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"Unplanned" is, simply stated, a pro-life movie based on the true story of Abby Johnson's conversion from Planned Parenthood clinic director to pro-life advocate. It wasn't even on my radar until I clicked on a YouTube video that was talking about Twitter's exposed attempt to censor Unplanned by removing the ability to follow it from over a hundred thousand people who had already followed it. Several times. Among the thousands affected were actress Patricia Heaton, activist Lila Rose, and the Daily Wire.
Curious of such behavior, I looked up the trailer: Unplanned. Now that I knew what it was about, I went to Rotten Tomatoes and Showtimes.com to see what was being said. What I found at Showtimes.com was sadly familiar. I witnessed the same effect that Larry Taunton had endured, regarding the book about his friendship with the late Christopher Hitchens. See that here: A revealing dichotomy. As of April 12, 2019, the 264 Showtimes.com reviews for Unplanned (added to this page one day after the original essay was uploaded) were divided up as follows: 5 stars: 87.20% 4 stars: 00.27% 3 stars: 00.00% 2 stars: 00.53% 1 star: 12.00% See for yourself. I took a screenshot just in case the page gets lost at some point: Showtimes.com Unplanned reviews. Notice something interesting? As one would expect, there are no 3 star reviews on a subject this polarizing. The 4 and 2 star reviews are so minimal, they're insignificant. And so, of course, all that's left are the 5 and 1 star reviews, which effectively reflects the divisive nature of the subject. I encourage you to look at the reviews yourself, but to save you time, I'll sum up the difference. The five star reviews are various levels of praise regarding the acting, the handling of the subject, the importance of the movie, the ugly truth it displays regarding genuine experience, gratitude that the movie was made, gratitude that the theater had decided to show it, the message of forgiveness and redemption... the list goes on. The one star reviews, however, are chalk full of inadequate criticisms that smell strongly of political bias, and the word "propaganda" was used liberally. Some were long, but most of them were short and glib, negative comments with no thoughtful commentary to support them, which suggests they hadn't even watched the movie. The movie itself? I, a grown man who celebrates his masculinity, was brought to tears several times. All the negative accusations you may have heard or assumed are incorrect. The Planned Parenthood characters were not demonized, nor were they simplified. The Christian protesters were not all gracious and kind. One of the first protesters you encounter is a man in sunglasses, holding a Bible, saying mean things to a patient, such as suggesting she should learn to keep her legs shut. In this way, the movie already pushes aside viewer inclination to cling to whatever stereotypes he or she wishes to believe. Abby Johnson's journey is not one-dimensional, fanatical, nor judgmental. She is, as are most of the people who work at the clinic, just trying to do her best to do the right thing by the women who come through the doors. One of them, in one scene, even says she believes she's doing God's work by facilitating abortion. Where the whole thing goes awry is the moment that the clinic director (after eight years working at the clinic in non-medical capacities) is asked to help with a 13-week abortion, and via ultrasound witnesses the baby desperately contorting to escape the suction tube before it gets sucked into the medical waste bin. There are those who, on principal alone, will say the movie is garbage and propaganda. They will say it falsely represents what actually happens in the Planned Parenthood clinics. They will say it is unrealistic. They might even use the handy chestnut that no movies from Pure Flix are worth watching. Harbor no illusion. This movie stands as a testimony to the painful truths surrounding the deliberate ending of life that grows inside. It doesn't use cheap shots at pro-choice people, it doesn't attempt to shame those who have had abortions, it doesn't even fling Bible or Jesus references at the viewer. All it does is reproduce the events that led to a clinic director of Planned Parenthood deciding that she not only couldn't be a part of it anymore, but that furthermore her life would be better served attempting to save others from making the decisions she made that haunt her, despite God's forgiveness. It's a tragic and devastating moral dilemma to look back and admit to yourself that you were instrumental to the taking of 22,000 innocent lives. Will the movie change anyone's mind? I think if someone is on the fence, it will certainly sway her away from aborting her own babies. But sadly, the whole reason why there is a debate in the first place isn't because there are two ways to look at the subject. The debate exists because often, but not always, convenience is more attractive than conscience. |