By Kelley Yao
Staff Writer
The Motion Picture Association of America’s decision to give an R rating to the educational documentary “Bully” has raised controversy across the nation. The movie, which targets school children, intends to raise awareness about the dangers of the different forms of bullying that occur among students. Producer Harvey Weinstein has attempted to appeal the rating but failed to do so despite enlisting the support of stars including Meryl Streep and Ellen DeGeneres.
“Bully” contains six swear words, which is the reason why it received its R rating. The MPAA policy on swearing dictates that one F word results in a PG-13, and any more than that causes the film to receive an R rating. This results in films like the “King’s Speech” being given an R rating, while films like “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” receive a PG-13 rating.
Which, really, makes the matter completely ridiculous. Was I more traumatized at seeing Colin Firth sputter out the F word in his achievement to speak without a stutter, or was watching Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have “almost-yet-not-really” sex more detrimental to my pure 13 year old mind?
It isn’t to say I can’t understand the MPAA’s stance on its ratings. No one really wants to see a movie with a scene in which a boy on the bus is threatening to shove a broomstick into a particularly undesirable area of his victim’s body. Quite frankly, that’s just not mass entertainment.
Why does it matter how many F words are used? I highly doubt there is one student above the age of 13 in America who has not heard vulgar language. It’s even become somewhat of a trend to use it in everyday speech, either to denote strong feelings towards a subject or just as an interjection. The fact that it has become so ingrained into our culture is one of the reasons why the MPAA’s ratings should be changed.
The connotations that the word has pales in comparison to what the children actually see onscreen. The implications of sex, partying and drugs are more serious than just someone offhandedly using a word to be more emphatic or to stress what they are saying. The MPAA should revise the way it rates things to reflect how the times have changed. An educational documentary would certainly have more value than a vapid, feel-good movie like “The Hangover.”
It may be easy to pick and choose what you see and hear, but at least we should all be offered the opportunity to learn some- thing new about adolescent cruelty. It’s a much more serious matter than just mindless entertainment and should be treated accordingly. Take someone to watch this documentary. The most important thing is that the film reaches the students that need the strength it offers—so that they may find the courage they need to endure and become the people they will be.
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