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Topic: Lawsuit over "Brokeback Mountain" screening at school

Paul Mayer
Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under!

Posts: 3836
From: Albuquerque, NM
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 05-15-2007 12:21 AM

This popped up on MSN Movie News this evening. As a former college instructor I advocate the campus or classroom screening of films deemed provocative or controversial in order to spark discussion and debate within the school community. But that's at the college level, and within an academic setting where courses of study are offered in areas like literature or film analysis. But in junior high school? I dunno...

quote:
Lawsuit Over Brokeback Mountain in Class
May 13, 7:20 PM EST

The Associated Press

A girl and her grandparents have sued the Chicago Board of Education, alleging that a substitute teacher showed the R-rated film "Brokeback Mountain" in class.

The lawsuit claims that Jessica Turner, 12, suffered psychological distress after viewing the movie in her 8th grade class at Ashburn Community Elementary School last year.

The film, which won three Oscars, depicts two cowboys who conceal their homosexual affair.

Turner and her grandparents, Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking around $500,000 in damages.

"It is very important to me that my children not be exposed to this," said Kenneth Richardson, Turner's guardian. "The teacher knew she was not supposed to do this."

According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, the video was shown without permission from the students' parents and guardians.

The lawsuit also names Ashburn Principal Jewel Diaz and a substitute teacher, referred to as "Ms. Buford."

The substitute asked a student to shut the classroom door at the West Side school, saying: "What happens in Ms. Buford's class stays in Ms. Buford's class," according to the lawsuit.

Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

In 2005, Richardson complained to school administrators about reading material that he said included curse words.

"This was the last straw," he said. "I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."

Messages left over the weekend with CPS officials were not immediately returned.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-15-2007 01:02 AM

I agree. It's fine to show controversial films in a college setting. In one history class I had in art school the instructor showed part of the X-rated movie Caligula. Controversial films shown to students not old enough to attend an R-rated movie? I don't know about that.

I'd probably have to use the broadcast TV rule. If it's been shown uncut on a major broadcast network, then it might fly. Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan are among the few R-rated movies I can think of that have been shown uncut on broadcast network TV. I could certainly see the relevance in showing either movie in a history class.

The substitute teacher would have to be retarded to think he could get away with showing Brokeback Mountain to a bunch of 12 year old kids without getting any flak for it.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-15-2007 01:34 AM

Agreed here too. Usually I don't support parents suing schools because in most cases the parent is just a whiner, but the teacher really stepped over the bounds on this one.

BUT, I wonder what the lawsuit amount will be. I don't think the kids was "traumatized" to the tune of millions of dollars. A few thousand, maybe. That's the worst thing about this kind of lawsuit...the damages are always too huge, which just encourages more lawsuits.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 05-15-2007 02:39 AM

quote:
Richardson said his granddaughter was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling.

Bullshit! That girl was not traumatized. That's just stupid. This is nothing more than a greedy old geezer getting his granddaughter to play along so he can get rich.

My thoughts on that being made clear, I do agree it was wholly wrong to run ANY "R" rated movie to underage kids, regardless of what movie it was. Half a million dollars and "traumatized" though? Horseshit.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 05-15-2007 02:53 AM

Most school require release forms if an R rated movie is going to be shown. Either the sub didn't know or didn't care.

I'll have to agree with Brad 100%.

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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 05-15-2007 03:09 AM

I think the teacher can be disciplined. But come on, the girl was not traumatized. If she were, she has some mental problems that need to be taken care of. As far as monetary damages??? Please. The school can't be expected to predict every single thing.

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Stephen Furley
Film God

Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002

posted 05-15-2007 03:54 AM

What age are 'R' rated films intended to be shown to? Whether this was an appropriate film to show to that particular class I can't say, but in terms of age I can't see why it shouldn't be shown to 12 year olds. I can't remember whether it got a '12a' or '15' BBFC certificate in this country; I think I would probably have given it a '12a'.

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Christopher Seo
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 530
From: Los Angeles, CA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-15-2007 04:19 AM

I agree the film should not have been shown in this setting.

And I also say it's possible, even plausible, that the girl was traumatized, given her apparently ultra-conservative upbringing. But then, I would argue that the ultra-conservative upbringing was the primary trauma.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 05-15-2007 04:56 AM

quote: Stephen Furley
What age are 'R' rated films intended to be shown to?

To see an R-rated movie by yourself you must be at least 17. Otherwise, a parent or guardian must accompany you to the movie.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 05-15-2007 05:22 AM

quote: Brad Miller
My thoughts on that being made clear, I do agree it was wholly wrong to run ANY "R" rated movie to underage kids, regardless of what movie it was. Half a million dollars and "traumatized" though? Horseshit.

Agreed completely: showing a film that explicitly depicts sexual activity (of any sort) to a 12-year old is not a good idea. But what needs to happen in this case is for the teacher in question to be pulled into her boss's office and told why it's not a good idea. Half a million dollars in compensation is just plain silly.

There was a similar ruckus here when the Education Minister decided to send a DVD of An Inconvenient Truth to all high schools in the UK for showing to the kids (story here), the only difference being that the point of contention was politics rather than sex. A parent in Kent has threatned to take the government to court over it, though I don't know whether he's followed through on that threat.

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Stephen Furley
Film God

Posts: 3059
From: Coulsdon, Croydon, England
Registered: May 2002

posted 05-15-2007 05:56 AM

quote: Leo Enticknap
Agreed completely: showing a film that explicitly depicts sexual activity (of any sort) to a 12-year old is not a good idea.

I saw most, but not all, of the film. I don't think I would consider anything I saw to be unsuitable for a 12 year old, but it's possible that I missed one or more scenes which were unsuitable.

quote: Chris Slycord
To see an R-rated movie by yourself you must be at least 17. Otherwise, a parent or guardian must accompany you to the movie.

What's the next available classification below an 'R'?

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 05-15-2007 07:50 AM

I don't know. If I would've been expecting to see a good western with Hoppy or Roy or ol' Gene, and instead got a sex picture about two guys... I would've been traumatized! [Razz]

Stephen, PG-13. Not suggested for those under 13.

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Rick Raskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1100
From: Manassas Virginia
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 05-15-2007 07:53 AM

quote:
"I feel the lawsuit was necessary because of the warning I had already given them on the literature they were giving out to children to read. I told them it was against our faith."

And therein lies the root cause.

I remember a parent getting upset because Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five" was on the high school reading list in my community. The claim was that is was "nothing but filth" because it included depictions of sex and was "full of curse words".

These are scarry people!!!

Also, you always hear what $$$ they are suing for, but you rarely hear what they actually got (if anything).

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-15-2007 08:03 AM

To clarify something posted above--film ratings in the US are voluntary. Many theatre owners enforce them, but no one requires them to do so. The possible exceptions would be X and/or NC-17, where films considered to be "pornographic" may not be able to be shown to minors (under 18), depending upon local laws. Theatre owners are free to let anyone into R-rated films, however. Also, films are not required to be rated, and many are not. Again, the entire system is voluntary.

In any case, it's pretty clearly inappropriate to show something like Brokeback Mountain to 12-year-olds, especially in a school setting where the screening is (presumably) mandatory and where the students are not with their parents. I doubt that the student in question was scarred for life (agreed with the post above that the parents may have caused psychological harm to the child, not the film), but any teacher who uses such bad judgment ought to be disciplined and/or fired. (What possible educational value could a film like this have? It's a good film, but I fail to see how it would fit into a school curriculum.)

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Jim Bedford
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 597
From: Telluride, CO, USA (733 mi. WNW of Rockwall, TX but it seems much, much longer)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-15-2007 08:18 AM

How many people were gratuitously murdered in BROKEBACK? How many animals were hurt in its filming?

It might not be absolutely appropriate for 12 year olds (I wasn't in the class and don't know details of what the teacher was trying to accomplish) but it certainly isn't much worse than the Teletubbies and Barney those kids were probably brought up on.

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