The R Rating
So what do you guys think was the rationale for the R rating of this film? There was almost no strong language that I can think of and almost no violence. Perhaps the only instance I can think of was the mother going a little crazy on Ludo towards the end but that’s it, and even that would have been acceptable in a PG movie. This film was not graphic in any way.
The only thing I can think of is that someone at the MPAA felt the themes of this movie, such as the social construction of our binary gender system, were too difficult for a younger audience to understand. Perhaps someone up there felt threatened that if a young person were to see this movie it might influence them into thinking it was ok to step outside their gender role? People in this country get really uncomfortable when anyone violates gender norms, as this movie showed, and particularly when it’s males. Notice the character of Christine didn’t seem nearly as out of place as Ludo does. Seems more like whoever was rating this movie did so using their own personal belief system and not legitimate criteria. I can’t think of anything else that someone would want to protect their child from.
Additionally I can only see good things coming from a young person seeing this movie who might be in a similar position, if for no other reason then that they will know that they are not alone and they are not the only person who experiences this.
What do you guys think the rationale for the rating was?