Last week a very nice girl in my film class at the college where I'm teaching, politely asked me how many films on the syllabus were rated "R." Not having it in front of me, I replied "a few." She then informed me that her religion did not allow her to watch rated R movies and she would be checking out of the class. Did she see my CTR ring? It was a little arrogant. I wish she hadn't been arrogant. No problem for me... there is a wait list as long as the existing roll.
But, "her religion?" Though I didn't ask her, I'm pretty sure, we share the same religion. And a stabbing pain twitched in my eye. I hope she didn't notice that. I had been warned that this might happen. I just didn't know how I would feel - until it happened to me.
The leadership of the LDS Church has asked it's membership not to view rated R movies. Still, here I am, teaching "Understanding Film" and I was assigned to teach this class from someone I know is also a member our our religion and so is his boss, and his boss above him. These people are "old St. George" families that go back to Jacob Hamblin himself.
I turned to some research from "The BYU" itself to get perspective. There are classes in which R rated movies are required viewing. Film Appreciation classes for example and Amistad appears in several History syllabuses. They have an International Film Studies Club with a "disclaimer" noting that they will be watching and critiquing several movies that may be considered Rated R (Foreign ratings are very different and usually have an age appropriate suggestion)
We could read about what is going on in our world, or look at pictures, but it can also be recreated through the power of film in a way that puts us inside that piece of the world. It makes us sit up and watch, listen, assign meaning...pay attention . . . that's key. Most of us are visual learners, so anything that a student can watch and decode while they learn increases retention of the lesson.
My syllabus contains 16 units that help us develop critical thinking while we are watching a film. It is a Humanities or Fine Arts credit and consequently, the movies that are shown are rich in historical context including artistic and technological advances through time. We study narrative structure, editing, sound, cinematography, ideology in film, etc... all things that open our understanding to how movies illicit emotional and ideological response. Ultimately, we should have a broader view of our world, and appreciation for the kinds of humanity that we are not exposed to every day. After all, film is the world's number two form of entertainment (after television) and we identify the cinema as a major player in the humanities because it shapes our ideology so clearly. It has so much power! And that is what I think the Mormons (we) are afraid of.
This is a quote from my syllabus : "Film, historically and currently, deals with complex and controversial issues; it often makes us uncomfortable by challenging our identity, our relationships and our beliefs. It is impossible to have a meaningful Introduction to Film class that does not engage, at times, difficult issues..."
We (Mormons) don't criticize the movie for it's content we are advised to steer clear of it. The thought pattern goes like this: as marijuana is a gateway drug, so are rated R movies to porn or violence. I really believe this. But I also believe that it ... depends on the rated R movie. My students would probably rather watch Austin Powers than Pans Labyrinth, but even with that PG rating, Austin Powers offends me to the core and Pans Labyrinth brought me to my knees. What to do?!?!?
Solution: Brigham Young!
After he trekked out to Utah on his own two feet, Brigham Young was criticized for finishing a playhouse before he finished the Mormon temple (After two thousand miles on foot, I would have finished a bar myself), and this was his reply :
"Upon the stages of a theatre can be represented in character, evil and its consequences, good and its happy result and rewards; the weakness and the follies of man, the magnanimity of virtue and the greatness of truth. The stage can be made to aid the pulpit in impressing upon minds of a community an enlightened send of a virtuous life, and also a proper horror of the enormity of sin and a just dread of its consequences. The path of sin with its thorns and pitfalls, its gins and snares can be revealed, and how to shun it." (Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 243)
So yesterday, after a particularly violent vampire movie (not the sparkling kind I assure you) I was asking myself this question again...how can I teach this stuff and still feel good about following the advice given to me from the mouthpiece of God? I can point out the consequences of sin, but I just can't call it that. I must be the actor I was trained to be. My new lecture notes will have to include a politically correct study guide, clearly stating how society crumbles when vampires are around. Vampires aren't real...right? I'm really confused.
I guess I could edit the movies I'm required to show. The writer George Eliot once noted, “If art does not enlarge men’s sympathies, it does nothing morally.” When we choose to edit film, we are only seeing what we want to see and what we already know. So why study things we already know?
I taught English in a refugee camp in Thailand for about 7 months while I was serving an LDS mission. I had them write about their life stories. I was appalled and shocked at the atrocities these children of God had been through. Their English was bad. Their vocabulary simple. Still, it made me get up earlier in the morning. It made me keenly aware of their sacrifice. BUT... I was not in Cambodia or Vietnam in the 70's. It was not until I had seen the movie "The Killing Fields" that I fully understood what my refugees had gone through. I was racked with pain and empowered to serve after I saw that movie. (I saw it on my mission) My thought is, in a controlled environment (like a film class, or sitting with a group of mature adults, etc...), a movie like Amistad, or Saving Private Ryan, or Pans Labyrinth ("Come sit on the right hand of your Father...) could lift your soul, make you fight back, raise your consciousness! As long as you take advantage of the information the film gives you to put it into perspective and use the film to enlarge your sympathies toward mankind.
But I am nothing if not obedient and I want to do what my leaders have asked me to do. My questions continue to burn...
Last one...when I saw the movie "The Passion of the Christ" (rated R for...the truth, basically) I nearly had a stroke from crying so hard in that film. People were sobbing all around us. Nobody cared. I watched the nails go into his hands (because it is literally depicted in the film) and I quietly thanked the director for including that for me. (Mel Gibson...weird). I needed to know, as closely as they could reenact it, how great that sacrifice was...for me. I'll NEVER forget the sound editing that so clearly created the sound of a whip biting into a human back. He took that for me.
I watched the actors stand around the bottom of the cross, knowing He was the Son of God and I imagined it was me. I was wearing the costume and all. And ever since then...every single Sunday, when I am participating in the rituals of sacrament meeting, I visualize that scene, from that rated R movie, and I am there! And I am racked with pain for what I have done to cause this moment in history. And I beg for His forgiveness.
So do I end up with some inspirational answer to my conundrum? Hehehehe... no. No way. Sorry. You might have been waiting for it...but remember who the blogger is....
This is my only peace: we can use film to enlarge our imagination, create empathy and awareness and learn about the paths of sin... and how to avoid them. (Thank you Brother Brigham) As long as . . . we do it in an environment of understanding and learning and we always, always, always, remember that the rating it's been given, the information it provides, is someone else's perspective. Take it or leave it.
Just like my class.
Thank you for this Jan. I wish all leaders/teachers of young LDS men and women could understand this principle. I sat and watched Schindler's List with Olivia when it came out and was completely overcome with emotion at seeing the horrific way in which people were being treated, worse than animals. She and I have never forgotten that experience and when asked our thoughts on the holocaust we simply can't give a flippant answer because we feel the pain of those people almost as if we had been there. You really are Amazing Jan and I'm so blessed to call you my friend. Thank You ~ Patti
ReplyDeleteYes. This.
ReplyDeleteI understand the rating system and why it is in place and the criteria and all that jazz, but the world is not a PG place. Terrible, amazing things happen that when depicted will earn a stricter rating. I won't avoid Schindler's List or Glory, or Saving Private Ryan because of the rating. I also loved Passion of the Christ and in spite of the R rating it was one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had.
xox
"Maybe what we need is for all of us Latter-day Saints to take the words of our leaders in their proper context, and with a full sense of our personal responsibility for making moral judgments instead of blindly following rules even in situations that clearly were not intended. " - Orson Scott Card
ReplyDeleteThere is a big uproar on my fb page right now on the link to this post. It is a hot topic. I couldn't agree with you more. I love you girl!
http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-r-rated-movie.html
Though I understand your points and logic, there are some areas I must respectfully disagree. This point stuck out to me particularly, "And that is what I think the Mormons (we) are afraid of." The irony I find in this is your suggesting that this student had an arrogance in her religious declaration and I wouldn't be hard put to disagree with you; however, I think the assumption that the leadership of the church, very well-rounded, incredibly smart and apt men who have resumes and experiences that will a-test to their capability, is asking members not to see R rated movies because they are afraid it will broaden our views and expose us to, as you claim, a necessary medium through which history can be portrayed, is arrogance in my mind. I find it arrogant you would assume that this principle was conveyed to members by a leadership body simply because they were afraid of the world's influence. That they did not have the very same points and discussion you are presenting here. Do correct me if I am wrong on that point!
ReplyDeleteNext, I also question the absolute power you give to film. Again, I agree that it is one of the most powerful mediums of our time in that it is one of the most influential. And perhaps that was where you were going with "that's what the church is afraid of" is the "influentialness" of the medium. For me, I don't think it's a fear but a warning. Most, not all, but most R rated films are not within an historical context nor is the content contained therein meant to convey a meaningful point or give viewers a more intimate experience with such difficult issues as slavery, war, and genocide. Therefore, it's difficult for the church to exclaim "You can see R rated movies as long as "we do it in an environment of understanding and learning and we always, always, always, remember that the rating it's been given, the information it provides, is someone else's perspective"" Now I ask you, is it easier to make a decision based on the criteria you've outlined above or, does it make better sense to say, "We as a church do not watch R rated movies." Yes, I agree with you that it's not the "rating" but the content perhaps we should be judging our viewing of movies on and Austen Powers is a film that probably speaks more to what the general authorities of the church would caution us against FAR MORE than Schindlers List.
Perhaps it's not about the justification of a seemingly strict and even at times, hard to understand principle taught by Church leaders, perhaps it just boils down to strait up obedience. You could justify a lot of things, and logically and even rightfully so, based on "this exception" or "that exception." Drinking, for example. Science has proven that a glass of red wine a day is actually good for your heart. That alcohol in moderation does not harm the body and hey, may help you loosen up socially. But again, not everyone can drink in moderation nor be responsible, reasonable, adults with sound judgement and character. And because of that reason, it is my belief, we declare "as Mormons, we don't drink."Perhaps it's simply about obedience and I don't think all obedience without "reason" at least, reasons we don't understand or foresee right now, is blind. What is faith if we always know the "why" behind everything? If we demand our leaders "explain themselves." We are urged, however, to seek out the truth for ourselves - which is what I feel Orson Scott Card meant. To plant a seed of testimony and just attempt and see what comes of it. Obedience is like that; it may start out as a step in the dark, but soon the path is illuminated. I've had to take that step before on principles of the Church I've struggled with, and the light of understanding has always come.
New to your blog, and I must say...'Bravo!'
ReplyDeleteWelcome!
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