Film Analysis: The Lion King

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Recommended: Media censorship in terms of movies

John Small, a fourteen year old boy in Uptown St. Paul, proceeds into the Suburban World Cinema, anxious to see Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant. He is equipped with a parental note, replete with the phone number where his parents can be reached to verify that they did indeed author the note should its authenticity be questioned. John pushes seven crumpled-up dollar bills and the folded note into the metal dugout under the box office window, only to be met with a tinny, disinterested voice booming through the round silver speaker mounted on the window: "No children under seventeen allowed! Sorry. This note isn't gonna cut it." The incident exemplifies a pressing issue in the ever-topical discussion of the oft-vilified film rating classification …show more content…

Rather than acting as parents or ignoring parental choices -- depending on the rating of the film being shown currently -- the owners should seek community involvement in deciding how parental choice will be verified. Perhaps some parents wish to record a "standing" permission for their children to view all films. Some communities may choose to have parental notes checked for all children on all films. After all, even the G-rated The Lion King was offensive to some, who perceived it to be racist or homophobic. This dialogue, carried out at the local level, can promote understanding and support between parents and theatre owners. Dialogue based on complete information promotes good decision-making. Rather than arbitrary, impressionistic censorship or pseudo-censorship, a collaboration among the film industry, the ratings board, the theatre owners, the parents, and the community will benefit both the art's creators and its …show more content…

"Annals of Communication: What Won't They Do?" The New Yorker 17 May 1993: 45-53. Beck, Henry Cabot. "A Little Less Romance." Premiere Oct. 1993: 39. Corliss, Richard. "Hollywood's Summer: Just Kidding." Time 28 Jun. 1993: 62-65. ---. "Whatever Became of the NC-17?" Time 27 Jan. 1992: 64. Ebert, Roger. "Not Your Basic 45 Seconds." Roger Ebert's Video Companion. 1994 ed. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel. 816. ---. "On Movie Ratings for Kids." Roger Ebert's Video Companion. 1995 ed. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel. 886-87. Goldberg, Danny. "Less Noblesse Oblige, Please: A Response to Philip Berroll." Tikkun Sep.- Oct. 1993: 45-48. "Murder Gets an 'R': Bad Language Gets an NC-17. Time 29 Aug. 1994: 68. Matthews, Tom Dewe. "Why Censorship Isn't Child's Play." New Statesmen & Society 8 Apr. 1994: 33-34. Schiffres, Roni. "Can Your Child Handle PG-13?" Parents Jul. 1994: 79-82. Svetkey, Benjamin. "Why Movie Ratings Don't Work." Entertainment Weekly 25 Nov. 1994: 26-33. Valenti, Jack. "Hollywood, the Rating System and the Movie-going Public." USA Today Magazine Sep. 1993: 87-89. Wall, James M. "Unrestricted: The Ratings Game." The

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