An update to the sto…

An update to the story about the movie given a PG rating due to religious elements.

In the last week alone, the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which oversees the rating board, has been swamped with more than 15,000 e-mails arguing that “Facing the Giants” deserves a more family-friendly G rating. The complaints — the number of which may be 10 times the previous record for reaction to a ratings decision — say the movie is being unfairly targeted for its religious themes.

The filmmakers say they were told that those themes had prompted the PG rating. MPAA officials deny that was the reason.

Across the Internet and on talk radio, religious groups and conservative commentators have seized on the rating flap as evidence that Hollywood is anti-Christian. And the third-ranking House Republican has written to MPAA Chief Executive Dan Glickman demanding answers.

“This incident raises the disquieting possibility that MPAA considers exposure to Christian themes more dangerous for children than exposure to gratuitous sex and mindless violence,” said Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.).

The MPAA is denying they based the rating on the religious content.

Joan Graves, chairwoman of the MPAA’s rating board, said Tuesday that the decision had nothing to do with Christianity but was based on football violence as well as the inclusion of mature topics such as depression and infertility.

In a rare interview granted in an attempt to defuse what she calls a controversy born of miscommunication, Graves said that although infertility and depression are involved in the coach’s “crisis of faith,” the religious story line itself did not raise a red flag.

“If we see somebody on the screen practicing their faith and indicating they have a faith, that’s not something we PG,” Graves said, adding that the board’s goal is simply to alert parents to content in movies that they should research.

But the filmmakers stand by their original story.

A spokeswoman for the filmmakers, however, said they had expected a PG rating because of the infertility subject matter, but that’s not the reason they were given.

“When we asked what the reason for the PG was, we were told it was the religious content,” said Julie Fairchild, the spokeswoman. She added that the rating board representatives they spoke with “didn’t even mention the infertility.”

On the upside, some think the rating will be a draw for some demographics.

Ironically, some Christian groups believe the PG rating — not to mention the publicity — will attract more teenagers, who typically shun G-rated films.

“I think that a G for a lot of teenagers is the kiss of death,” said Bob Waliszewski, a media specialist with Focus on the Family, a Christian group.

Waliszewski screened “Facing the Giants” and contends the PG rating isn’t warranted. But, he said, “it’s a case where unfairness will probably be a blessing in disguise.”

Filed under: Uncategorized

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!