CULTURE WARRIOR: DON WILDMON AND THE BATTLE FOR DECENCY
One man's stand for decency — a call to action worth answering.
Should You Watch It?
Here is the decision. This is a four-star documentary with a strong Christian, biblical worldview — a fascinating, well-made portrait of the late Don Wildmon, the pastor who founded the American Family Association and spent his life fighting media indecency. If you want to understand the culture your family lives in, this film is a genuine gift.
The one real caution is in how it depicts what Wildmon fought. To show the immorality he opposed, the documentary includes sexual references and images. Much of it is blurred or censored, and all of it is rebuked — but our reviewer felt the filmmakers could have blurred more or settled for tasteful verbal descriptions. That's why this isn't a film for younger children.
So: watch it, and watch it gladly. If you have older teenagers, watch it with them — it's a good movie for parents and teens to see together, and a natural doorway into a hard, necessary conversation about pornography.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESOn Christmas Day, 1976, a Methodist pastor named Don Wildmon sat down to watch television with his wife and children. Flipping through the three major networks, he found violence, foul language, or nudity on every one.
That night changed his life. Wildmon left the pastorate, rallied his neighbors, and founded what would become the American Family Association — organizing rallies, boycotts, and campaigns against corporations peddling obscene content. The opposition came fast: threats, lawsuits, and a war he never went looking for. This documentary tells how one man decided to stand.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars, and they're earned. The film deftly mixes interviews with footage from decency rallies, snippets of Wildmon's own speeches, and visual representations of media. It moves with confidence, and everyone interviewed articulates their points with clarity and humor.
The one craft complaint doubles as a content concern: to depict the immorality Wildmon opposed, the documentary shows sexual content that our reviewer felt could have been blurred more thoroughly, or replaced with tasteful verbal description. It's a fair critique of an otherwise excellent film — one that knows its subject, respects its audience, and makes its case.
The Worldview
This documentary breathes a very strong Christian, biblical worldview. It is full of references to God, prayer, the Bible, and the Christian view of man, with several depictions of biblical passages woven throughout. Its whole subject is a Christian's fight against anti-Christian belief and immorality in the culture.
Wildmon's own convictions anchor the film. He identifies secular humanism as the movement that declared war on Christianity, biblical values, and decency — and he refuses to measure faithfulness by results. At one point he tells his listeners that God doesn't want His followers to be successful, but to be faithful to Him. That single line may be the film's truest sentence, and it lands.
The documentary doesn't flinch from what Wildmon opposed: a pornography industry reaching into television and magazines, government-funded blasphemy like the notorious "Piss Christ," and the campaigns — peaceful protests outside 7-Eleven and a theater showing THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST — that answered them. The film frames all of it as a call to action for believers who care about what their culture consumes.
Wildmon's whole life turned on refusing to be quiet about decency. Scripture calls that same discernment: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Christian, biblical worldview about Don Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association, with references to God, prayer, the Bible, the Christian view of man, and fighting against Anti-Christian beliefs and immorality, with several depictions of biblical passages, Wildmon tells people God doesn’t want us to be successful but to be faithful to Him, Wildmon and other Christians encourage peaceful protests in front of 7-Eleven and a movie theater playing THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, a man says the term “Christian worldview,” and Wildmon identifies “humanism” as the movement he fought against
Foul Language
No foul language
Violence
Brief scenes of a police bending a man’s wrist and picking him up, a shootout, a fistfight, and two images of aborted babies
Sex
Many references to sexual immorality but rebuked such as a lesbian kiss on the lips, a heterosexual kiss on the lips in bed, suggestive dialogue occurs in an NBC show, there’s depiction of a sign saying “Pussycat Theatre,” a reference to a sex act on an infant, references to pornography, man looking at girl’s butt while she’s crouched on an NBC show, one man kisses another man on the eye, two clothed women are making suggestive movements in the street, a page on a screenplay states “Jesus resumes lovemaking,” and miscellaneous references to sexual immorality, including homosexuality, but rebuked
Nudity
Four instances of blurred nude images of women on magazine covers, sensual image of a man kissing woman on the neck on a magazine cover, image of woman with an unbuttoned blouse showing part of her breast, upper nudity of a boy, several censored nude images of a girl and men, an image of Christ crucified, dialogue about sex-related art, two instances of women posing in photo shoots (one wears only a robe and the others wear bunny suits seen from behind), two women wear bikinis, a woman dances in tight blouse, shot of someone’s butt as the person is walking away in an NBC show, a clothed woman dances suggestively, partial upper male nude image, woman pours water on a man’s crotch area, three instances of upper male nudity, a woman from behind wears a bra, female cleavage of a man dressed as a woman
Alcohol Use
No alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
A man wears a dress but it’s rebuked.
Talk About It
Four questions for the couch, the commute, or the couple bingeing it together.
Wildmon tells people that God doesn't call His followers to be successful, but to be faithful. Where in your own life are you tempted to measure faithfulness by results?
1 Corinthians 4:2 · Luke 16:10One Christmas night changed the course of Wildmon's life because he refused to accept what was on his screen. How carefully does your family decide what it watches — and who decides?
Psalm 101:3 · Philippians 4:8Wildmon faced threats, lawsuits, and discouragement, but never backed down. What does it cost to stand for what's right when the culture pushes back?
Galatians 6:9 · 1 Peter 3:14The film calls believers not to be shaped by the culture around them. What does it look like to be transformed rather than conformed in how you consume media?
Romans 12:2The Final Word
Don Wildmon saw something wrong and spent his life refusing to look away. This documentary honors that stand with skill and heart — a genuine call to action for Christian families. It's a mature film, so preview it before the kids, and use it as the opening to a real conversation with your teens. Our verdict stands: worth watching — ages 13 and up.
