the operating room without once invoking the name of God,or whispering one little prayer,or asking for clergy?I wrote a non-fiction book about hospital life once,and I guarantee that just as there are no atheists in foxholes,there are no atheists in operating rooms-only in Hollywood. 14 Religion isn't Hollywood's only target;the traditional family has also received surprisingly harsh treatment from today's movie moguls.Look again at Cape Fear. The remake didn't only change the killer,it also changed the hero,and this brings me to the second message that Hollywood regularly broadcasts.As I mentioned,the original character Gregory Peck plays is a decent and honorable man.In the remake, Nick Nolte's character is,not to put too fine a point on it,a sleazeball.He is repeatedly unfaithful to his wife;when his wife dares to question that practice,he hits her.He tries to beat up his daughter on one occasion because she is smoking marijuana.He is not a likeable person.That a happily married,family-defending hero-the kind of person that people can identify with-is transformed into a sadistic,cheating,bitter man,says volumes about the direction of American movies. 15 Did you ever notice how few movies there are about happily married people? There are very few movies about married people at all,but those that are made tend to portray marriage as a disaster,as a dangerous situation,as a battleground-with a long series of murderous marriage movies. 16 There was Sleeping with the Enemy,in which Patrick Bergin beats up Julia Roberts so mercilessly that she has to run away.When he comes after her,she eventually kills him.There was also Mortal Thoughts in which Bruce Willis beats up his wife and he is killed by his wife's best friend.In Thelma and Louise,there is another horrible,brutal and insensitive husband to run away from.In A Kiss Before Dying,Matt Dillon persuades twin sisters to marry him.He kills the first one and then tries to kill the second,but she gets to him first. 17 In She-Devil,Rosanne Barr torments her cheating husband Ed Begley,Jr.,and in Total Recall,Sharon Stone pretends to be married to Arnold Schwarzenegger and tries to kill him.When he gets the upper hand,she objects,"But you can't hurt me!I'm your wife."Arnold shoots her through the forehead and says,"Consider that a divorce."And then there was a more recent film,Deceived,starring Goldie Hawn.The advertisement for the movie says,"She thought her life was perfect,"and,of course, her model husband turns out to be a murderous monster.Deceived is an appropriate title,because we all have been deceived by Hollywood's portrayal of marriage.It even applies to television.The New York Times reports that in the past TV season there were seven different pregnancies.What did six of the seven pregnancies have in common? They were out of wedlock.The message is that marriage is outmoded,it is dangerous, oppressive,unhealthy. 18 But is it true?Recently,I made an interesting discovery.The conventional wisdom is that the divorce rate in America stands at 50 percent.This figure is used repeatedly in the media.But the 1990 U.S.Census Bureau has a category listing the number of people who have ever been married and who have ever been divorced.Less than twenty percent have been divorced!The evidence is overwhelming that the idea ofthe operating room without once invoking the name of God, or whispering one little prayer, or asking for clergy? I wrote a non-fiction book about hospital life once, and I guarantee that just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no atheists in operating rooms—only in Hollywood. 14 Religion isn’t Hollywood’s only target; the traditional family has also received surprisingly harsh treatment from today’s movie moguls. Look again at Cape Fear. The remake didn’t only change the killer; it also changed the hero, and this brings me to the second message that Hollywood regularly broadcasts. As I mentioned, the original character Gregory Peck plays is a decent and honorable man. In the remake, Nick Nolte’s character is, not to put too fine a point on it, a sleazeball. He is repeatedly unfaithful to his wife; when his wife dares to question that practice, he hits her. He tries to beat up his daughter on one occasion because she is smoking marijuana. He is not a likeable person. That a happily married, family-defending hero—the kind of person that people can identify with—is transformed into a sadistic, cheating, bitter man, says volumes about the direction of American movies. 15 Did you ever notice how few movies there are about happily married people? There are very few movies about married people at all, but those that are made tend to portray marriage as a disaster, as a dangerous situation, as a battleground—with a long series of murderous marriage movies. 16 There was Sleeping with the Enemy, in which Patrick Bergin beats up Julia Roberts so mercilessly that she has to run away. When he comes after her, she eventually kills him. There was also Mortal Thoughts in which Bruce Willis beats up his wife and he is killed by his wife’s best friend. In Thelma and Louise, there is another horrible, brutal and insensitive husband to run away from. In A Kiss Before Dying, Matt Dillon persuades twin sisters to marry him. He kills the first one and then tries to kill the second, but she gets to him first. 17 In She-Devil, Rosanne Barr torments her cheating husband Ed Begley, Jr., and in Total Recall, Sharon Stone pretends to be married to Arnold Schwarzenegger and tries to kill him. When he gets the upper hand, she objects, “But you can’t hurt me! I’m your wife.” Arnold shoots her through the forehead and says, “Consider that a divorce.” And then there was a more recent film, Deceived, starring Goldie Hawn. The advertisement for the movie says, “She thought her life was perfect,” and, of course, her model husband turns out to be a murderous monster. Deceived is an appropriate title, because we all have been deceived by Hollywood’s portrayal of marriage. It even applies to television. The New York Times reports that in the past TV season there were seven different pregnancies. What did six of the seven pregnancies have in common? They were out of wedlock. The message is that marriage is outmoded, it is dangerous, oppressive, unhealthy. 18 But is it true? Recently, I made an interesting discovery. The conventional wisdom is that the divorce rate in America stands at 50 percent. This figure is used repeatedly in the media. But the 1990 U.S. Census Bureau has a category listing the number of people who have ever been married and who have ever been divorced. Less than twenty percent have been divorced! The evidence is overwhelming that the idea of