From the Desk of Dick Rolfe, CEO

Dear friends,

Bob Dylan was right when in 1964 he penned, “The Times, They Are A-Changin’.” His lyrics warned that if we don’t change with the times, they will overtake us.  Those words still ring true today, but in a more positive context. Times are indeed changing – in the types of movies coming out of Hollywood – and they are changing for the better!

There are more family friendly choices available at your local cinemas than ever before. The movie studios are beginning to believe what we have been saying for years; that the faith and family audience will respond to good quality stories so long as they are told without offensive content that often spoils the message. 

I know that it sometimes seems difficult to find good, wholesome movies in the midst of all the deplorable junk that fills the theater marquees. But there is a positive change taking place at the box office and Dove is playing a major role in that change.

A friend recently pressed me on that claim. “How can you say that movies are getting more family friendly?” he asked. “We still seem to be inundated with films that spew violence, hatred, and vengeance; some loaded with never-ending strings of profanities; and then there are those so-called “romantic comedies” that glorify every type of premarital and extramarital sexual experience.”

I asked him if I showed up one day and my body was covered with boils from head to toe, what would he see. My friend answered, “I’d see the boils all over your body.”  I said, “If I returned later after 30% of those boils had been healed, what would you see then?”  He admitted that he would still be focused on the boils.

So it is with the movies. While there is still much cleaning up to do, Dove is applying a “salve” in the way of first-hand analysis and private counsel to studios and filmmakers that want to reach the faith and family audience – people like you and me.  As a result, we are helping to remove some of the “boils” in today’s movies. Recently, for example, profanity was removed from four major motion pictures in order to gain Dove’s endorsement and the Family-Approved Seal.

My assistant received a phone call the other day from a film producer who was in the editing suite working on a movie that we rejected because of some unacceptable language. He said, “We are spending thousands of dollars to edit this film and we want to make sure that it meets Dove’s standards so we can receive your seal of approval.”  And he went on to describe the changes he was about to make.  Eighteen years ago when we launched Dove, I never would have expected to hear comments like that from a filmmaker.  And yet, the value of the “Dove Seal” brand has grown to such a degree that now conversations like this are occurring with increasing regularity.

The Los Angeles Times wrote, “Of all the faith and family groups, The Dove Foundation appears to be making the deepest connections with Hollywood. Its ties to Hollywood are growing so deep these days that its opinion can send a movie back to the editing room before its release.”

Movie executives are finally realizing that the faith and family audience is a sizeable and profitable niche in the marketplace, and that Dove is the most effective way of reaching that niche.

We love doing what we do, but we cannot do it alone.  We have a critical need for your prayers and financial support so that we can continue making a difference in the entertainment industry.

Your tax-deductible gift enables us to continue helping you and the millions of families that count on us to represent them to the entertainment industry.  Please, click on the “SUPPORT DOVE” link to find out how you can make your contribution today.

Kind regards,

Dick Rolfe, CEO
The Dove Foundation