Movie Review Criteria for US Bishops

The full explanation is available at http://www.usccb.org/movies/criteria.shtml, but below is the general ratings and what characteristics make up each rating. In general they are graded on how the particular movie reflects Christian values. The following is pasted from their site:

DEFINITIONS OF CLASSIFICATIONS:

A-I – GENERAL PATRONAGE. Strictly speaking, this does not simply connote films that are “for” children, or films in which they would necessarily be interested. Rather, any film free from significant objectionable content might receive this classification. In the old Hollywood days, when it was assumed that virtually all mainstream films were acceptable for all audiences, many films with “adult” subject matter, like “Giant,” received this classification. Nowadays, with even the cleanest adult films containing at least one four-letter word, such examples are rare.

A-II – ADULTS AND ADOLESCENTS. Though a 13-year-old is technically an adolescent, the original intent of this classification was an endorsement for older teens. However, some ambiguity remains in this category, and the Office generally indicates whether the film is most appropriate for “older teens” or anyone over the age of 13. Films with nudity, overt sexual activity (even if implied), violence with bloodshed, and use of four letter words are almost never allowed in the A-I or A-II categories. “Akeelah and the Bee” – an uplifting film about girl who wins a spelling bee – is one exception. In the film, one schoolmate utters an expletive. Yet, “Akeelah” was deemed so appropriate and inspirational for young viewers, that the movie was classified A-I.

A-III – ADULTS. This can be a tricky category. Adult sensibilities run the gamut from a cosmopolitan readership with a wider tolerance for edgy subject matter to more sensitive moviegoers who find certain elements less palatable. We try to strike a balance between the two. Oftentimes, a worthy film is clearly “adult” in subject matter, but older teens might derive benefit from it, so a sentence may be added about it being “acceptable” or “possibly acceptable” for “older teens.” Dramatically justified violence, moderate sexual content of a “non-deviant” nature, restrained nudity, and valid use of coarse language are permissible here.

L – LIMITED ADULT AUDIENCE, FILMS WHOSE PROBLEMATIC CONTENT MANY ADULTS WOULD FIND TROUBLING. This is an extremely restrictive classification, suggesting a far narrower allowance than may sometimes be realized, and therefore excluding even most adult viewers. It had originally been the A-IV category. That had been defined as “certain movies that require some analysis and explanation in order to avoid mistaken interpretations and false conclusions.” The L, like the A-IV before it, is generally for those quality films that have more challenging material than an A-III in terms of nudity, sex, violence, or language, but are still worthy, if viewed in the appropriate Catholic context. In the 1960s, for instance, those increasingly permissive European films (from Bergman, DeSica, Fellini, and so on) which – at that time – far eclipsed what was allowed by the Hollywood production code, but were nonetheless works of great aesthetic value, were given the A-IV. To these, we would add some films that, if not necessarily worthy artistically, nonetheless are too strong for an A-III but not offensive enough to merit an O.

O – MORALLY OFFENSIVE. This is the present-day counterpart to the old C or “condemned” rating. This classification is for films that are excessively violent, graphically sexual, or laden with non-stop vulgarity, or that have little or no redeeming social value or dramatic justification. “Torture porn” films like the “Saw” or “Hostel” franchise, gross-out comedies like “Superbad” and “Good Luck Chuck” are naturals for this category. But even classier fare such as “Feast of Love” or the Judd Apatow brand of R-rated humor – “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old-Virgin” – with their surprisingly moral endings, which in themselves would be praiseworthy – nonetheless get O’s for their over-the-top raunchy humor and pervasive expletives. Films that directly seem to contradict church teaching on matters such as euthanasia (“Million Dollar Baby,” “The Sea Inside”), suicide (“Thelma & Louise”), vigilante killing and revenge (“The Brave One”) also get O’s no matter how lauded they are by the secular press.

New Fledgling Website Up

At the top of the links there is a new site - "Griffin Morality and Social Teaching." The site has one real page so far with a couple of things about Rerum Novarum that I did for class last semester. Feel free to take a look. http://sites.google.com/site/griffinmst/

Opening Prayer

Father in heaven, Creator of all,
look down upon your people in their moments of need,
for you alone are the source of peace.
Bring us to the dignity which distinguishes
the poor in spirit and show us how great is the call to serve,
that we may share in the peace of Christ
who offered his life in service to all.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.