Intro to Film gets its R's kicked

02-28-05 - GCHS administration reaches a new level of ridiculous

One early morning, during first hour film class, an administrator lurked in the background. He was assigned to "observe" the class and make sure it was running smoothly. Most students, including myself, did not notice him there, and only now, upon witnessing the aftermath, recognize his presence that day. An anonymous student source (one seated near the back of the class) confirms his presence. This is often a positive tactic employed by the administrators -- this observing without being noticed -- because then the class runs more like normal. Well that day the class did run normally. Mr. Zubert, the film teacher, ran the class as usual, teaching his students about film techniques, and then helping the students process the information by showing relevant film clips. But something was wrong with these film clips; something was very wrong indeed. Some of them were from DUN DUN DUNNNNN rated-R movies!

Though only speculation, since no one will say a word about it, these clips apparently offended this administrator, and he complained about it. We can only guess that this is the reason, but the chronology fits. The point is, R films can no longer be shown in film class. Zubert was forced to remake most of the curriculum, and films such as Raging Bull and Good Fellas will never again be seen or analyzed in film class. It doesn't matter that Zubert has been teaching this class for five years now, or that the class has been observed each semester of its existence (nine times by non-ignorant people). All that matters is that one wuss of an administrator found a clip offensive. The students cannot even review a film if the clip they want to show is "rated R," meaning if it has more than one swear word in it, it is out of the question. Nor does it matter that every single student in the class, at the beginning of the semester, got a permission slip signed by their parents that stated they were allowed to watch rated-R movies for the remainder of the semester. Not to mention that many students in the class are 17 years of age or older already.

Students often complain about being treated like children: the "no cell phone" posters hung everywhere and the dress code being two popular reasons for complaints. But this new restriction sinks lower. Honestly, if the youngest person in a class is 15, and the school can't trust it to watch movies rated R by the conservative MPAA, what's left? How can this even happen? Next we'll ban 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 from the curriculum, and then Shakespeare (he blatantly deals with sexual content, does he not?) will be ousted as well. Christopher Columbus' true story will no longer be told, and Government class discussions about current politics will be shut up. It's not like the R films are trash. They are well-made movies that didn't concern themselves with what the MPAA would think.

Five of the last ten Academy Award winners for Best Picture were rated R [Gladiator, American Beauty, Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, and Braveheart].

When asked what they thought about the ban, a few students voiced their opinions:

Steve Dent says that he "[thinks] it's absurd." "I don't know the legal implications of it, and it is in [the administration's] power, but it's severely restricting the curriculum of classic films that I consider required viewing."

"I think it's horrible," Don Kopstain lamented, "parents have signed permission slips and given their consent, and some students are even old enough to give their own consent. R rated movies in film class are studied, [and they're] not for entertainment (well, maybe a little bit). We might as well take out the parts of history where people die and not read books that contain 'explicit' material. The film class was an easy target because it isn't required and film, as a media form, isn't taken seriously."

Sarah Jin had an amusing anecdote: "Today, my mom said that she noticed how most of my movies are rated R, and thinks that they are a bad influence on me, i.e. drugs, alcohol, PROMISCUOUS SEX. So obviously, rated R movies 'put bad ideas' in students' minds." Damn right, sister. If we had watched Goodfellas in class, I would have joined the mob the next day.

Rampager Kelsey Cole also gave some insight: "There are only so many movies that represent great film making that stick to MPAA standards. How are we as students supposed to be able to understand quality films if we are forced to stick to movies deemed proper by our elders?"

"I really do not understand the ban of R-rated movies," said G-Lake writer Carl Hauck, "I was in the film class last semester, and besides the fact that liability issues were handled by parental consent forms, I believe that high school students are responsible enough and mature enough to view films of an explicit nature, especially since they were already not allowed to contain nudity or excessive violence [Ed. note: or excessive drug-use]." He continued, "censorship and regulation truly waters down the film selection and only stunts individual creativity."

Pat Dunn, a former GCHS student, had the most explosive response: "They banned R rated movies!? THOSE [expletives]." He then continued his eloquent speech by saying, "no, but seriously, what kind of [expletive] is that? Some of THE BEST cinema around is film that isn't always wholesome family watching. And it's THROUGH such films that students can gain a perceptive and intelligent view of the film industry."

Please, if anyone else is offended by the former film selection of GCHS' Intro to Film class, speak up. Or perhaps the education of all of these film students was ruined by one ridiculous administrator too weak to handle an R-rated film. And so the BS in the administrative offices of D127 continues to pile up, with no one willing to clean it, or even give it a spray of Lysol. God bless Grayslake, land of the censored and home of the [greatest school administration ever].

Article written by Justin Brown
-The students mentioned gave permission to the G-Lake Newz to use their names.
-Mr. Zubert was named because he is the only film teacher at GCHS, and he was not put in a negative light. He did not give permission to the G-Lake Newz to use his name, nor does he know this article was written.
-Profanity was removed from this article in the hopes that someone from the administration will read it. Although this probably won't happen because students don't have anything valuable to say anyway.

Afterword:

Mr. Zubert, bless his heart, did not try to fight this new restriction. He simply mentioned it to the class as an explanation for why we would be starting The Graduate today instead of Raging Bull, the movie we had planned to watch just last week. Mr. Zubert is in no way affiliated with the G-Lake Newz, and if he ever finds out about this article, will most likely be upset. We apologize in advance, and while we try to respect the rights of others (yeah, sometimes), this article will not be taken down. And to the D127 administration: we understand that this wasn't a decision made by all of you, but you still let things like this happen, and because of that are just as low as the people who start it. Maybe you'll only realize how awful you are once all of the best teachers have left you, but by then NCLB will probably have finished you off, anyway. Way to hang on to good public education, O wise mentors of us.