In response to the rash of LGBT teen suicides over the past two years director Lee Hirsch decided to draw attention to the problem of bullying by releasing the movie "Bully". This movie tells the story of teens who are the victim of bullying and acts as a plea for parents, students, and teachers to do more to stop it. Harvey Weinstein, the head of the studio who produced the film, was planning on taking the films to schools as a means to directly confront bullies with the consequences of their actions. Sadly, the MPAA - the group which assigns movie ratings - has decided that the film is too obscene to be given a PG-13 rating. The MPAA cites a few vulgarities as the reason for the rating. However, many are concerned that the traditionally conservative MPAA is using the R rating as a means of enforcing "traditional values". An R rating is problematic as it means that most kids won't be able to see the film, negating the effectiveness of the message. Celebrities and students from across the country have petitioned the MPAA to lower the rating to a PG-13, but the MPAA has yet to budge.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
MPAA Gives "Bully" an R Rating
by guest blogger Mike
In response to the rash of LGBT teen suicides over the past two years director Lee Hirsch decided to draw attention to the problem of bullying by releasing the movie "Bully". This movie tells the story of teens who are the victim of bullying and acts as a plea for parents, students, and teachers to do more to stop it. Harvey Weinstein, the head of the studio who produced the film, was planning on taking the films to schools as a means to directly confront bullies with the consequences of their actions. Sadly, the MPAA - the group which assigns movie ratings - has decided that the film is too obscene to be given a PG-13 rating. The MPAA cites a few vulgarities as the reason for the rating. However, many are concerned that the traditionally conservative MPAA is using the R rating as a means of enforcing "traditional values". An R rating is problematic as it means that most kids won't be able to see the film, negating the effectiveness of the message. Celebrities and students from across the country have petitioned the MPAA to lower the rating to a PG-13, but the MPAA has yet to budge.
In response to the rash of LGBT teen suicides over the past two years director Lee Hirsch decided to draw attention to the problem of bullying by releasing the movie "Bully". This movie tells the story of teens who are the victim of bullying and acts as a plea for parents, students, and teachers to do more to stop it. Harvey Weinstein, the head of the studio who produced the film, was planning on taking the films to schools as a means to directly confront bullies with the consequences of their actions. Sadly, the MPAA - the group which assigns movie ratings - has decided that the film is too obscene to be given a PG-13 rating. The MPAA cites a few vulgarities as the reason for the rating. However, many are concerned that the traditionally conservative MPAA is using the R rating as a means of enforcing "traditional values". An R rating is problematic as it means that most kids won't be able to see the film, negating the effectiveness of the message. Celebrities and students from across the country have petitioned the MPAA to lower the rating to a PG-13, but the MPAA has yet to budge.
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Hi, Mike --
ReplyDeleteAs usual, well put. I came across this on emich.edu and thought it would couple nicely with your post...
Courtney
The Safe Schools Project is a theatrical professional development experience aimed toward middle and high school teachers, support staff, administrators, and pre-service teachers. The performance is based on real-life accounts of local LGBT youth and is written and performed by EMU graduate and undergraduate students. The performance should spark questions, dialogue and motivation among its audience and will therefore be coupled with a 30-minute facilitated dialogue to engage the participants in meaningful discussion. Ultimately, the goal of the project is to inspire teachers and other educational personnel to look out for LGBT bullying and know what to do in order to create safe spaces for LGBT students to learn. Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, this year s performance/workshop is FREE!
The workshop will take place on Wednesday, April 4th, 2012, 4:30-5:30pm in the Student Center auditorium.
Although it is aimed toward school staff and pre-service teachers, all interested EMU personnel and students are encouraged to attend, and it the event is LBC credit-approved! Please e-mail msage@emich.edu or mbrammer@emich.edu or call 487.3032 with questions and concerns.
I definitely see the PG-13 rating as being problematic, because the targeted group of kids would, for the majority, be missed. After skimming through the article your referenced, it seems as though one of their justifications for raising the rating was for the heavy use of profanity. While I understand this, I also wonder if the reason was because the move exposes the bullying of LGBT youth (among other youth). I wonder if that played a part in their rating of the film. I definitely think the film needs to be accessible to youth ages 13 and up, because that's a great target group to use the film to reach out to to combat bullying, although bullying occurs before the age of 13. I think there are many factors as to why youth bully, but this film is a step in the right direction and may encourage youth to think about their actions and try and change them for the better.
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