Post: Is 'R' Enough? 'Hostel' Has Some Parents Perturbed
Is 'R' Enough? 'Hostel' Has Some Parents Perturbed
Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve received several inquiries about “Hostel”, the Quentin Tarantino-backed movie about two American backpackers who fall into the clutches of a disturbing torture ring (you can see the Common Sense Review here). While this movie is most definitely NOT for kids, the extremely graphic and violent content of the film has the parents of some older teens wondering why it didn’t garner an NC-17 rating. One of those parents, Lisa Westerburg of Michigan, sent us the note below:
“I wonder if your organization would join me in an attempt to get the word out about a movie currently in theaters called 'Hostel.' After hearing about the movie from teenagers, I forced myself to go watch it. The graphic brutality cannot be described adequately. An R-rating simply does not cover the violence contained in this film. It should have been rated NC-17. As you are undoubtedly aware, movie theaters are under no legal obligation to request identification from their patrons for an R-rated movie. Our local theater makes no apology for the absence of a strict carding policy.
I have contacted the MPAA about Hostel’s R-rating, and I urge you to do the same. The woman I spoke with there indicated she has had several complaints about 'Hostel' and was looking into it. Unfortunately, to have any credibility, you have to have seen the movie – which will be an unpleasant task for most parents. Please act soon as there will be a significant delay in time between the release in theaters and the release on video, and in all probability the video release will probably be an 'uncensored' version. Once it's released, it will be too late. I feel helpless as one individual and I'm asking you to step forward and be counted. Watch the movie, contact your local theater manager and then call the Motion Picture Association of America.”
There are 2 replies to this post
Date: January 17, 2006
Cruisades against movies like this guarentee the movie's success. If anyone has noticed the pattern, every time parents rally a lynchmob against a videogame, tv show or movie...it rises quickly into popularity and gathers a cult following.
In fact, sometimes these sorts of things are part of a game/show/movie's marketing. It's very successful.
Date: January 21, 2006
Don't blame the MPAA. Blame yourselves for being supporters of the Common Sense Media. Blame your "heroes" like California Assemblyman Leland Yee, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, and Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who were responsible for violent video game bills and told all of you that video games should be singled out because they are interactive, while movies are passive and shouldn't be regulated at all. All of you, including Jim Steyer, supported that viewpoint. Now you are crying foul because a movie was rated R that probably should've been rated NC-17? What difference does it make anyway, because you people here at Common Sense Media support lawmakers that don't want to regulate the movie industry because they claim the movie industry is doing such a spectacular job preventing kids from watching R rated movies, which was proven to be a lie (thank the Federal Trade Commission's report).
I suggest you get in touch with lawmakers like Leland Yee (here's his e-mail address: Assemblymember.Yee@assembly.ca.gov)
and let him know you want him to include the regulation of movies in his bill. Oh wait, he has received campaign contribution from the MPAA (source: http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/), which would help explain why he doesn't want to regulate movies.
Maybe you can contact Illinois Governor Blagojevich and ask him to include the regulation of movies to the Safe Games Illinois bill. Oh wait, you can't do that because in a press release (http://www.illinois.gov/PressReleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=1&RecNum=4020) he praises Hollywood for shooting movies in Illinois, bringing millions of dollars to the state (and helping his approval rating for sure).
But maybe the parent from Michigan can ask Michigan Governor Granholm to include the regulation of movies in the bill. Oh wait, the original bill did include the regulation of movies, but when the bill was amended in the state legislature, the part of the bill that would've regulated movies magically disappeared. The irony here is a sting operation that the Governor asked to be conducted found that children where able to get their hands on R rated movies (like Pulp Fiction) as well as NC-17 rated movies (like Showgirls). Knowing this, the lawmakers still chose to ignore the regulation of movies.
So I guess parents are out of luck. Thank your beloved lawmakers for that.