A couple of years ago my oldest daughter’s accelerated fifth-grade class viewed a film version of the well-regarded novel, “The Devil’s Arithmetic,” which involves a contemporary girl being thrust back in time into the horror of the Holocaust. I was thrilled she had a teacher motivated enough to teach her and others about the Holocaust. Unfortunately, some ignorant parents of other students in the class protested and initiated a crusade against the teacher, who was more or less suspended for several days. The intolerant parents were enabled by milquetoast district administrators who mostly took their embarrassing side. What’s most interesting is that a key argument against the teacher was that she had shown an “R” rated movie. She hadn’t, of course. “The Devil’s Arithmetic” is a TV movie. When I informed a district administrator that the film was not R-rated, he seemed very surprised. It was clear the non-existent “R” rating was a big deal.
OK, had an R-rated film been shown to fifth-graders, that would have been a big deal. The irony, though, is among much of the Mormon culture, an R-rated film about the Holocaust would not be tolerated for any ages — are we thinking “Schindler’s List” here? What about the crucifixion? “The Passion of the Christ” is a powerful, well-acted, deeply moving film. Trust me, it’s a much better, more spiritual, more faith-promoting film than the good-hearted “The Testaments.” But I know of an LDS ecclesiastical leader who told his congregation to not see the movie because it was R-rated. I have tried to convince friends who are, like myself, faithful members of the LDS church to see “The Passion of the Christ.” Some have looked at me like I’m the devil trying to tempt Christ to break his fast.
There are many R-rating spurners who are sincere, and avoid all films that cross a moral and personal line that they have set for themselves. I respect that. However, just about every week there are released into theaters PG or PG-13 rated comedy or light drama films with characters and events that are specifically sexual in nature and cast fornication or adultery in a positive light. Many of these films — “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Broadcast News,” “Mamma Mia” — are well-acted, well-produced films. I certainly won’t condemn anyone who enjoys spending two hours escaping real-life watching the films. Those three films, in fact, are among my favorites. My point is that 99 percent of my LDS friends who object to “The Passion of the Christ” don’t object to the PG-13 film at the cineplex; in fact, most have probably watched it.
Look, life is R-rated, and while I admit there’s little of R-rated life I’d want to see on the screen there are subjects, historical, religious or personal, that need an R rating to be effectively told. I know they covered deep subjects well in tame films generations ago, but we were a tamer society then. We laud old films such as “The Good Earth” and “Elmer Gantry” as classics but don’t realize until we read the novels that all the R-rated parts were taken out. A high priest in a former ward once scoffed at my respect for “The Godfather” films. “Edward G. Robinson did it better than Al Pacino, and you can take the family to see the film,” was what he more or less said. Well, I’m a big admirer of Robinson’s sneer, but “The Godfather” is a superb parable of capitalism run amok. It may be the greatest epic tale told on the screen. I’m glad I was able to introduce the trilogy to my wife, who loved the films.
In the past 20-plus years, a myth has grown within the LDS church that members are not supposed to watch any R-rated movies. It’s nonsense. It stems from a speech given by the late prophet Ezra Taft Benson, who advised LDS teenagers to avoid R-rated films. Writer Orson Scott Card, while defending “The Passion of the Christ” in a column, recounted what President Benson actually said: “We counsel you, young men, not to pollute your minds with such degrading matter, for the mind through which this filth passes is never the same afterwards. Don’t see R-rated movies or vulgar videos or participate in any entertainment that is immoral, suggestive, or pornographic. Don’t listen to music that is degrading.” (Ensign, May 1986, p 43)
That makes perfect sense for the youth of the LDS church. They should avoid films such as “Porky’s.” And most R-rated films are not meant for children. But, as Card points out, there is nothing about “The Passion of the Christ” that fits what Benson was warning youth about. Clearly, “immoral, suggestive, or pornographic” entertainment is what we are warned against, not R-rated films.
I don’t expect the myth of R-rated films to ever really go away. I know a family member who promised Heavenly Father a long time ago that she would stop watching R-rated movies. I’m sure He appreciates the gesture, although He’s probably a fan of “Braveheart.”
This column, along with an accompanying cartoon from the Standard’s Cal Grondahl, was published in Currents, The Standard-Examiner’s digital-only section on politics and culture. To access Currents, call (801) 625-4400.
Jake
on Nov 12th, 2009
@ 11:47 pm:
I was actually told by a church leader it was okay to watch the Passion of the Christ, didn’t like it much though (And I know tons of Mormons who have seen it, we always talk about the creepy Devil). I don’t see how you thought it was more spiritual than The Testaments.
I agree with the you on the “R” rating being taboo with some Mormons. And maybe ratings were somewhat different when President Benson said his thing, but they are messed up today. I have seen many R-rated movies that were “better” then PG-13 Movies, it is ridiculous. But I think most parents now days are smart enough to realize that, most of my friends who are not allowed to watch R-rated movies also have to have their parents permission to see PG-13 movies.
By the way I think you are stereotyping too much!
Preston
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 12:05 am:
Doug, I’m with you here, except for you speaking for God about him being a fan of Braveheart. Good movie, but of course with a needless short T&A scene. Let God speak for himself.
I read Card’s column a long time ago and I realized that there truly is no statement by any apostle or prophet condemning R-rated movies for all people, and Pres. Benson’s quote clearly had a purpose to steer kids away from pornography.
Today’s rating system has no relationship to the LDS value system. “Open Range” is my all-time favorite western, and far tamer and more moral than any unrated spaghetti western with Clint Eastwood. Yet it’s rated R because of a big gunfight at the end, and for no other reason. Violence of ANY kind is treated as a negative mark on a ratings checklist, which is simply stupid; it’s part of a modern political outlook that is responsible for our increasing moral paralysis in the face of evil.
Anyway, Doug, good column. Risky, too, since there are so many people who will probably disagree angrily with you.
flatlander100
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 12:40 am:
Preston:
Good point about “R” representing, sometimes, not smut in a film, but violence. Consider “The Last of the Mohicans,” — the Danial Day Lewis one, not the Fred McMurray one. A very interesting film, both good entertainment I thought and [in parts anyway] good history. I’ve shown the siege scene to classes since it’s a good way to convey some sense of what siege warfare in the late colonial period was like. [Other parts are considerably less historically accurate.] I’ve shown the whole film in Colonial classes. It has an “R” rating, or did, purely because of the massacre scene near the end. In terms of sex, it’s damn near squeeky clean. An unthinking ban on all “R” films, without any consideration of why the “R” was given would keep particularly adolescents from some very interesting history-focused film making.
Besides, the ratings no longer work as they were intended in any case. They were devised at a time when movie theaters were stand-alone operations with one screen each. The megaplex model, which now dominates nearly everywhere, has reduced the rating system’s original intent [to keep kids out of movies they shouldn't see] to a shambles. The kids figured out long long ago, that they can buy a ticket for Walt Disney’s latest huggy bunny movie [rated G], and once past the ticket taker, enter instead the “R” rated “Naked Texas Chainsaw Massacre IX” three screens down to the left and no one the wiser.
Tom Caswell
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 2:44 am:
I think declaring those who choose not to view movies with an R-rating as being right or wrong really misses a more important issue, which is the question of how to decide what is appropriate. From what I have seen, LDS leaders have focused largely on the importance of being selective and applying the principle of seeking after good things when making entertainment choices. I think they realize the dangers of deferring to MPAA ratings to set a moral standard for movies. While it is fair to say that some movies are clearly not appropriate for young children, I take issue with the idea that being an adult somehow makes a person immune to the corrosive (and sometimes addictive) effects so-called “adult” or “mature” content. While I agree that portions of life would certainly receive an R-rating, do you really want to “seek after these things” at the movies? The answer is an unsatisfying, “it depends.”
Of course not all R-rated movies are bad or inappropriate. “Glory” is an example of a great film, and there are others. But if some don’t have a good way to discern among R-rated movies, or perhaps feel they are “playing it safe” by not watching any at all — what’s wrong with that? Is it that you just don’t like being judged these folks? You have only succeeded in setting up a one-sided, “straw man” argument. The examples you have chosen are really easy to knock down and amount to little more than a rant or a pet peeve about LDS or Mormon culture. (You could do the same with the question of whether or not caffeine is taboo for Mormons.)
So why not talk about how people (LDS or otherwise) can be more discerning in the viewing decisions they make for each movie? Like you, I find it odd that so many who follow the LDS faith lean so heavily on MPAA ratings to make their media viewing choices when that organization has proven time and again that it does not share their value system. I have a suggestion, so pay attention here. There are a number of great “parent preview” sites out there. As it turns out, these sites are just as useful for adults making media viewing decisions as they are for kids. Parents who use the MPAA rating system to set a minimum standard likely do it out of convenience, but this really doesn’t teach kids how to make appropriate decisions about media. Googling a parent preview site and discussing the content of a particular movie would be much more useful.
But people like to simplify and categorize things, so I suppose that the “R-rating commandment” will likely persist in Mormon culture — at least in the US and Canada, where R-ratings exist. (So far we have managed to ignore the fact that this rating system doesn’t exist in most of the world.) I have to wonder if LDS people in other parts of the world are making better decisions without the MPAA. They might actually have to think about what they are going to watch.
Moriah Jovan
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 7:58 am:
Doug, love the way you take the pseudo-liturgical language and throw it back at the people who attempt to wield it like spiritual swords.
As was stated somewhere in the long thread of replies to this Segullah post, it’s “counsel,” not “commandment” and when did we start mistaking one for the other?
But ultimately, I have to agree with Tom, who says:
I can only conclude that, apparently, a good portion of our active population doesn’t want to have to make hard decisions for themselves, so they cling to the pronouncements, suggestions, and counsel of the leadership and cling to them like commandments. Because why? Because it’s easy.
[It's not like we have a doctrine that says, "You're going to hell!" after every infraction, but that's the way we (as a body) treat it. In fact, it's not like we really HAVE a hell.]
And then pronouncements, suggestions, and counsel become conflated into commandments in popular culture and lore, slowly threading its way into our lives as yet another measure of our success or failure at earning our salvation.
Steve Stones
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 9:51 am:
As the old cliche states: Art imitates life (or is it: Life imitates art?), so we certainly cannot assume that art has any obligations to be free of questionable content. Pushing the envelope of community standards of moral conduct is what makes great art. What did people think of Shakesheare in his time? It is my view that anyone who refuses to see a great film simply because it has a subjective rating attached to it of an R-rating is a completely ignorant and narrow minded person. Looking at the American Film Institute’s 100 Best Films of All Time list, it is apparent that many of the films on that list are R-rated and they are great films (i.e. Midnight Cowboy, Clockwork Orange, Pulp Fiction, etc). If the real question is that we need to be mindful of what children view, then I think it is a good idea that parents steer their children away from R-rated films. I would not want to see a child sit through one of the Saw films. That is not appropriate for any child, any time, period.
JDD
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 10:15 am:
Search for “R-Rated Movie” on lds.org. It doesn’t seem to support your theory. We should bend our will to God’s instead of expecting Him to bend His will to ours.
Nicole
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 11:48 am:
Awesome column Doug. You really made me think. I have been schizophrenic on this issue my entire adult life, swinging wildly between the church’s seeming absolute “ban” on R-rated films, and being perhaps less discriminatory in my film selection habits. (Such is my relationship with the church: desperately trying over the course of 20 years to find a happy MIDDLE ground.)
To that end, let’s turn to the Catholics for guidance. My husband introduced me to this invabluable resource: The U.S. Catholic Bishop’s film review website. They review all movies and rate them as appropriate or inappropriate for certain age groups according to Catholic values. I have seen them rate PG-13 movies as inappropriate and R-rated movies as appropriate based on the actual content and themes of the movies.
So, let me recommend it as another tool in our arsenal of trying to be good LDS people. I’m sure there are LDS film rating sitesout there, but if you’re interested in a clerical viewpoint:
http://www.usccb.org/movies/
Wes
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 3:56 pm:
this is yet another example of the lack of critical thinking encouraged in the church. just blind obedience. it reminds me of the pre-existence story. one side was for free agency. the other for being force to follow a very specific plan – one that required no thinking, no choices, no straying from the one and only way back to God. remind me, which plan was chosen by God?
Now i’m sure my comment makes me a heretic to many – but i maintain that we have free agency and that we are to use critical thinking to assist us in deciding which choices will bring us the most hapiness.
Alex
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 5:28 pm:
Interesting. I think a remember that at a previous LDS conference a general authority stated that the movie rating system is more about the angle of the camera than anything else.
Michelle
on Nov 13th, 2009
@ 8:31 pm:
This is an interesting window into an annoying side of our LDS culture. While we would never dream of disrespecting the beliefs of a Jewish neighbor by serving them a non-kosher meal, we’re perfectly comfortable in condemning our own church members as being too liberal or too pious.
If really you really respected fellow members who choose not to watch “R” rated movies, they would not be described as “intolerant” and “embarrassing”. And if they really respected your right to watch them–you wouldn’t have been motivated to write the article.
I’m with Tom in that whatever we choose, we can’t be serious if we think we are unaffected by what we watch. I mean, all it takes is a picture of a soft-drink and pop-corn to flash across the screen and we’re off to the concession stand. Theaters know this and have been using this “priming” method for years. Billions of dollars are spent each year on commercials that can be as short as 30 seconds. So as adults, whatever the rating; let’s be wise.
flatlander100
on Nov 14th, 2009
@ 10:06 am:
Not being LDS, I don’t have a dog in this particular fight, though the discussion is eerily familiar to me. Not an iota removed from the discussion among Catholics when I was growing up RC in the 1950s and we were all expected to stand up in church once a year and take a pledge not to see movies condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency. [I might add that most of the kids I knew, myself included, looked on the Legion of Decency's proscribed list as a fast way to identify movies with "the good stuff" in 'em.]
The most disturbing part of Doug’s interesting post to me, not being LDS, was his tale of the parents who got a teacher suspended for a few days by complaining that she’d shown an R rated movie to her class, and his report of the gutless administrators [including the principal, I wonder?] who didn’t bother to check first if the complaint was even factually correct [it wasn't], and didn’t bother to determine if the film was appropriate for the class and topic they were studying [it was]. And so the children of non-LDS parents in a public school had their educations interrupted because in part of the “R” rated prohibition. [Note: Doug's post doesn't say specifically that the objecting parents were LDS, but his overall article implies it.]
If a faith wants to operate its own schools, it is [and should be] free to apply whatever screening standard it likes to materials used in its classrooms. But religion-based prohibitions should never, but never, be applied as a screening standard for materials used in public schools. Never.
Sadly, from news accounts from across the land, there are I think an appalling number of gutless wonders drawing pay these days as public school administrators, including principals, all too willing to cave to any parental complaint, justified or not. What these limp-spined administrators ought to have done was (a) taken the complaint seriously and so looked into it (b) done the simplest of research to discover the film was not R rated (c) screened the film themselves to satisfy themselves that it was not in-appropriate for classroom use (d) told the teacher not to worry, they had her back (e) told the parents to go piss up a rope — but diplomatically.
What a sad example of administrative cowardice students in that class got taught when their teacher was in effect suspended even for a few days. And what lesson do you suppose they drew from it? Something like “don’t make waves!” maybe? There’s a proud tradition to pass on to American children living in a nation born in a revolution! “Don’t make waves.” Maybe Congress should include that line in the Pledge of Allegiance too and be done with it.
Sad. Very sad.
laytonian
on Nov 14th, 2009
@ 11:36 am:
This reminds me of Larry H Miller and his refusal to show “Brokeback Mountain”. Yet, he showed the violently-sadomasochistic “Hostel”.
Brokeback Mountain, rated R, synopsis:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/plotsummary
Hostell, rated R, synopsis:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450278/synopsis
My family hasn’t spent a dime at any Larry H Miller business since this display of hypocrisy in 2005. Yes, it was Miller’s busines and he could choose to show (or not show) any film. But….refusing to show something you’ve not even seen while still showing one of the most repulsive films in history, was mind-boggling.
Stan
on Nov 15th, 2009
@ 4:21 pm:
Sorry Doug, your own article quotes what was said by President Benson: “Don’t see R-rated movies”. How specific do you want the quote? It’s like when they say “Do not commit adultery” and people say that going on dates with ‘friends’ while married doesn’t break that rule, because they aren’t having sexual relations. Rail-splitting and dodging what a quote says doesn’t change what was said. There’s a reason the leaders of the church tell EVERYONE, not just the youth, to avoid R-rated movies, because it violates the doctrines of the gospel, and it does sear the mind with images that are difficult to get rid of. Why do you think we have a market of pornography thriving on the internet? It starts with simple things like R-rated movies and goes from there.
Michael Trujillo
on Nov 15th, 2009
@ 8:21 pm:
Stan, are you not paying attention? There are movies that receive their R rating for violence and don’t have a bit of nudity in them. There are movies that receive a PG-13 rating that are as lewd as any stag film. No intelligent person would judge the viewability of a movie based on the MPAA rating no matter what fallible church leaders say.
But, hey, it’s your perogative to enjoy watching “Rat Race” with your teen-aged kids. You’re “allowed” to see it because it’s rated PG-13 despite the partial nudity and crude humor.
flatlander100
on Nov 16th, 2009
@ 9:45 am:
One of the things I find curious about the R-movie prohibition for LDS — looking at it again as an outsider — is that the Church does not draw its own conclusions about the moral worth or danger of a particular movie, and then pass that judgment on to its members. [The old Catholic Legion of Decency had Catholic clergy and lay people reviewing the films and drawing conclusions about what iwas acceptable for good Catholics to see, and what was not.] But the R-Ratings are awarded by an industry panel that is not by any means filled with LDS members or religious leaders. Why the church is willing to accept the moral judgments of a non-LDS review panel and then make those judgments binding on LDS members puzzles me.
Wouldn’t an LDS Church review panel make more sense rather than having the Church out-source moral judgments about films to a non-LDS panel? And a Church review panel could then presumably do what Doug recommended in his post: draw conclusions about the moral worth of each individual film [measured against LDS moral principles], and so could conclude, for example, that a double-entendre PG13 or PG-17 film was unacceptable, while the R-rated “Glory” would be acceptable.
Very odd, seems to me, that any church would outsource moral judgments to a non-church body.