A Battle Over R-Rated Movies in the Classroom

An ongoing battle over R-rated movies being shown to Council Rock high school students has been amplified over "The Basketball Diaries.”

Members of a parent activist group that opposes the screening of R-rated movies in the schools flooded the Council Rock School Board meeting last week to express their disgust with the 1995 film starting Leonardo DiCaprio.  

Members of Parents Active in Responsible Education, or PARE, say the film is disrespectful to Christianity and could incite violent behavior.

PARE member Diana Nolan, who recently watched the film with the district’s curriculum coordinator, said the movie served as inspiration for the students who carried out the mass killings at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Nolan said the film is “offensive” and challenged that school protocol was followed when selecting the film, which she believes violates the district’s policy to respect all religions.

“The Basketball Diaries” is being shown to students of the “Studies in Sexuality” class, which is an elective open only to seniors.

Superintendent Mark Klein said while he understood some of the concerns raised by PARE, he supported the use of the film in the classroom. The district's policy is that all students must bring a signed permission slip to view R-rated movies. Students who are not permitted to view the film will be given an alternate lesson.

Klein said he disagreed that the focus of "The Basketball Diaries" was to foster disrespect for Christianity. Klein, who noted that he grew up Catholic and was a loyal attendee of CCD, said he did not find the film blasphemous. He added the premise of the movie is an exploration into drug abuse and one’s ability to overcome adversity.

However, Klein’s response elicited boos from the crowd, to which he responded. “This is a respectful process until someone disagrees with you.”

Many residents shared Nolan’s distaste for the film and questioned its value in the classroom.

Rosemarie Jones, a licensed therapist and PARE member, said certain R-rated films have no place in the classroom. During a conversation with Newtown Patch prior to last week’s meeting, Jones said students are not always emotionally prepared to handle scenes of such a graphic and personal nature.

Jones said she believes teachers are using the films to shock the students and keep their attention. The problem is, Jones said, “It isn’t shock anymore. There’s nothing that shocks them anymore.”

However, school board member Patty Sexton took issue with the generalizations being made by PARE members and was quick to clarify that no student is required to take the Studies in Sexuality elective. Furthermore, Sexton said, no student is ever required to watch an R-rated film.

“I’m afraid there is a misunderstanding that if you go to Council Rock High School then you have to watch R-rated movies. No child must watch an R-rated movie. No child is required to take the human sexuality course as a senior. This is completely optional,” Sexton said.

“There are many electives. We have lots of courses. No child is required to see an R-rated movie. Parents get the ultimate choice,” Sexton said.

But Nolan and other PARE members said they are displeased with the procedures in place that allow students to opt out of the R-rated films. Group members also said the district's permission slip policy is flawed.  

Permission slips are vague and do not fully explain the questionable content in the movie, Nolan said, adding that students often forge their parent’s signatures because they don’t want to feel embarrassed or left out.

“That’s segregation and discrimination as far as I’m concerned,” Nolan said of the current policy. Furthermore, Nolan added, some parents are afraid if they don’t let their child watch the R-rated film, teachers will take it out on the student’s grades.

The issue has divided the district, with many parents in full support of the curriculum and the R-rated movies associated with the lessons. Parent Marilyn Scarpa said banning films is a slippery slope.

“I read in the newspaper about a movement to rewrite Huckleberry Fin. I was appalled. Not only does a small segment of conservatives want to rewrite history, now they want to rewrite classics. That’s a very alarming movement and we have to stop this,” Scarpa said.

“There’s a lot of misconception here,” Scarpa said. “Parents are required to sign permission slips, students do not watch two-hour movies, they watch snippets,” she said, adding that she believes the R-rated films are all related to the curriculum.

Scarpa said her daughter, who graduated from the district, took the Studies in Sexuality elective and said it was the most eye-opening and valuable class of her high school experience.

Nolan and members of PARE said the district’s protocol states that R-rated movies will only be shown if absolutely necessary. Nolan questioned the rationale for having 54 approved R-rated films in the high school curriculum. “The public school system is paying for instruction not films. The teachers should be teaching, not playing movies,” Nolan said.

Other R-rated films that PARE objects to due to violence, drug use, sex scenes, or other inappropriate content include, among others, “Crash,” “V is for Vendetta,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and Roman Polanski’s “Macbeth.”

“There’s sex, copulation, drugs. You name it we got it. There’s something to offend everyone,” Nolan said. ”Things are getting out of control. You go to one level and then you go slowly to the next level. Pretty soon our middle school kids are going to be watching R-rated movies.”

PARE is advocating for the use of the television versions of R-rated films and has also suggested the district use Clear Play, an advanced parental control system that allows users to filter content from movies. Nolan said while some parents may cry censorship, she believes it’s just being responsible. “It’s not a democracy, they’re kids.”

Some simply don’t see it that way, though, and believe R-rated movies can be a valuable life lesson for mature students.

“These are adults that are going out to the world. Life is not always pleasant,” Scarpa said. “If you don’t want your student to see it, then you don’t sign the permission slip. I want the community to pay attention because now it’s movies; next will be books. Be careful.”

Click here for a full list of approved R-rated movies at Council Rock School District.