Imagine taking your kids to the local video store to pick out a movie. As you scan the titles, you see that Dakota Fanning is in one of the new releases. It's rated "R," but your kids loved her in Charlotte's Web, so you figure it couldn't hurt, right? Wrong. Once you watch the movie, you realize that it not only sexualizes young children, but it also depicts a nine-year-old being raped by a teenager.

That's pretty much the storyline of Hounddog, set to be released by Empire Film Group on DVD February 3, 2009, in retail and rental stores in communities across our nation. The distribution group states in a press release that the "video pre-orders from major retail accounts have already doubled the company's initial shipment forecasts, and indicate a strong commercial appeal for the film." Stores that you know and trust will be stocking their shelves with this dubious film, but you can stop them by making a call to their local office.

Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA), says, "Customers expect that DVDs sold at respectable stores are, well, respectable. When a store sells a product, they are in essence putting their stamp of approval on the product. Store managers, buyers, and executives may not be aware of how objectionable Hounddog is, or that they could be complicit in the abuse of children by distributing the film. Theater chains recognized the serious problems with Hounddog and declined to show it. The next step in the distribution chain is online and retail stores. By asking them not to carry Hounddog, people can help ensure that child porn is not mainstreamed into their neighborhoods."

CWA learned of this movie while it was still in production. Appalled by the content, Donna Miller, CWA Prayer/Action Chapter Leader in Fayetteville, North Carolina, moved into action. Subsequently, the "No More Child Porn" campaign was born, with Donna serving as the director.

Donna's hard work and collaboration with Dr. Ted Baehr's Movieguide resulted in over 200 movie theaters pulling the film from their screens. The pressure is now on to keep this film from being sold in stores that tout themselves as "family-friendly," and it is our job to hold them accountable and respectfully ask them not to sell or rent Hounddog in their establishments.

Hounddog features Dakota Fanning as a nine-year-old character that is placed in several sexual situations in the film, including a rape scene. She begins the film by asking a boy to expose himself in exchange for a kiss.

Donna states, "Hounddog is a benchmark movie. We have to ask ourselves if our society is ready to accept sexualizing fourth graders."

CWA asks citizens to:

• Contact Amazon.com and Netflix to ask them to cancel their pre-order contract with Empire Film Group. Their contact information is:
  
  Jeffrey P. Bezos, President
  Amazon.com
  1200 12th Ave. South, Ste. 1200
  Seattle, WA 98144-2734
  Phone: 206-266-1000
  
  Reed Hastings, President
  NETFLIX
  100 Winchester Cir.
  Los Gatos, CA 95032
  (408) 540-3700

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