Finally, Some Good News On F-9/11

I just got in from my work, and man, I'm shot. I had to do a quick fill-in for an announcer friend of mine who was out on vacation. It's fun, but on-air work can really drain me if I haven't had time to prepare. Well, on to the blogging.

First, I discovered this encouraging bit of news on Yahoo. It turns out that Motion Picture Association of America decided to reject Moore's appeals to have his film lowered to PG-13 status. His distributors, Lions Gate and IFC, are frustrated with the decision:

It is a shame that `Fahrenheit 9/11' will become inaccessible to a segment of the American population to whom this film has a great deal of relevance.

Phht. As a broadcasting major, I can tell you he doesn't give a rat's hindquarters about attracting a younger audience to the truth - it's all about the MONAY! You see, a PG-13 rating ensures quite a larger audience than an R - and not just because children can see it without ID. People tend to feel less guilty about seeing a PG-13 because its easier to rationalize. "Yeah, it's bad," they say, "but at least its not THAT bad." That's why movies like Titanic and The Fifth Element, which almost certainly deserved an R because of the breast nudity, snuck by with a PG-13. Directors and distributors seldom care about the real purpose of ratings: namely, preventing children from seeing things that ought not to be dealt with before they leave elementary school (it happens - two years ago, I was appalled to see a 6-year-old attending Black Hawk Down).

All this to say that I heartily applaud the decision to maintain the "R" rating, especially with some of the brutal scenes that are portrayed in Moore's film. A public beheading, napalm burns, and images of a dead baby being flung onto a truck bed are more than any teen should be allowed to see without parental supervision (or an older friend to sneak in with them). Furthermore, the rating ensures that less money will be pouring in for the leftist propaganda machine. It's win-win all around.

As for the "documentary" itself, Curtis and I have started a joint project called Fahrenheit: Fact designed to combat Moore's factual errors and blatant misrepresentations. It's already been linked by Moorelies, and hopefully will attract a wider readership as the debate over F-9/11 kicks into full gear this week.

-TRC