Brokeback Lawsuit

[Chris_Doane]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRO...-05-13-20-20-33

A 12 year old girl was "was traumatized by the movie and had to undergo psychological treatment and counseling" after a substitute teacher showed Brokeback Mountain in class.

LOL, if this girl needed counseling after seeing a movie about gay cowboys, she has MUCH BIGGER problems to deal with than this.

Edited May 14, 2007 by Chris_Doane

[tmp]

I don't think a 12 year old really needs to see that movie- and not because of the gay content.

The Grandparents however are obviously seeing this as a big old cash register and they just hit "no sale"

[Oracle of Delphi]

What were they doing in that tent? :rotflmao:

[FAPTurbo]

Well, it sounds like a bit of an inappropriate video to show in a class of twelve year olds. It IS rated 'R' , after all.

It sounds like a cash-grab though, and 500,000 scrilla is unrealisitcally steep. But I have a feeling that they'll win a reduced amount.

[Chris_Doane]

What were they doing in that tent? :rotflmao:

Playing leapfrog and grunting.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Playing leapfrog and grunting.

[ocnblu]

If the kids were seniors, that's one thing, but these kids are 12 years old, and this is an R rated movie. You must be 17?

It's also one of my favorite movies ever. I saw it 4 times in the theater (3 times more than any other movie)... but I saw it as an adult.

The little girl is most likely less scarred by seeing the movie than her grandfather is... grandpa has dollar signs in his eyes... he is making it worse for his granddaughter.

I am wondering what context the teacher was thinking in when she decided to show this movie to such young people. She is in the wrong. Grandpa is in the wrong, for making an explosion of this. Based on the information presented, I think the teacher should be disciplined, at least, and grandpa should just shut up.

[usonia]

OK, there is just too much that is odd about this story. I find it hard to believe that a substitute teacher would try to secretly show this movie to the students for no apparent reason other than to show it. I also find it hard to believe that, even at 12 years old, anyone could be psychologically damaged by it. I can easily see how the girl wouldn't be able to understand the emotional depth of the story, but there's really nothing explicitly shown that she couldn't have already seen on television. If the girl claims to have been damaged by seeing the movie, then it is only because her greedy, opportunistic grandfather told her she was damaged by it.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is also the best movie I have ever seen. I still get emotional just hearing the first two notes of the soundtrack.

[trinacriabob]

In the interest of full disclosure, this is also the best movie I have ever seen. I still get emotional just hearing the first two notes of the soundtrack.

I found it to be depressing despite being a well-crafted film...not a SINGLE character in it was minimally upbeat....all of the settings accentuated the bleakness, especially deserted streets with the wind howling and tumbleweeds moving across them.

I think it was highly imprudent for a teacher to show a film carrying the R label (minimum age of 17) to 12 year olds. I think that the amount of the suit is ridiculous, as they all are. We live in such an 'effed up society where there is so much leniency in criminal matters and so much harshness in civil litigation. It's just plain 'effin wrong. (To think that the CFO from Enron is doing less than 10 years time for orchestrating the corporate crime of the century).

Maybe she developed a crush on one of the two characters and felt "betrayed," as did their wives -- hence her trauma.

[Chris_Doane]

True...showing an "R" movie to a class of 12 year olds probably isn't a good idea. Not that an "R" movie doesn't have any language a 12 year old doesn't hear on playground/in the lunchroom.

The rest is just political/religious bull$h! from the grandfather. I would guess he'll get laughed out of court...but that substitute teacher probably won't ever sub again.

Edited May 14, 2007 by Chris_Doane

[Cory Wolfe]

Stupidity, at its finest.

As for the movie.. I finally watched it a few months ago. I honestly didn't think it was that great. I mean.. the story line really grabbed me.. but I dont know if it was how the movie was directed and laid out or whatnot, but I just came away dissatisfied.

[regfootball]

another example of our impending downfall as a nation.

wait till this girl gets a pass made at her by her freshman dorm roomate, looking for a little roomate muff diving. how will she react then? will she FREAK OUT?

Edited May 14, 2007 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

She'll have her snorkel on in like 2 seconds.

Kidding, that's horrible.

So reg, you think "roo mate love" happens to all college freshmen just because it happened to you, or what? :AH-HA_wink:

Edited May 14, 2007 by ocnblu

[usonia]

I found it to be depressing despite being a well-crafted film...not a SINGLE character in it was minimally upbeat....all of the settings accentuated the bleakness, especially deserted streets with the wind howling and tumbleweeds moving across them.

You're absolutely right and for me that is a big part of why it had such an impact. The entire movie was crafted with such realism and there wasn't a false note in any of the performances. It is a tragic story and for the people who didn't quite 'get' the movie, I suspect it may be because they don't look at the story through the eyes of the two main characters, the time period and the location. If the filmmakers had not followed the story on which the movie was based, if they had tried to give it a happy ending, it would have ruined the whole thing. I continue to be amazed at the performance of Heath Ledger in this role. He should have been given an oscar for the single scene where he is at Jack's parent's house. The range of emotion displayed through the most subtle of facial expressions was incredible.

[trinacriabob]

wait till this girl gets a pass made at her by her freshman dorm roomate, looking for a little roomate muff diving.

She might "CAVE IN."

[AxelTheRed]

What a sue-happy nation we are. The rest of the world must be envious of our legal system.

[CSpec]

If the kids were seniors, that's one thing, but these kids are 12 years old, and this is an R rated movie. You must be 17?

The MPAA ratings are just suggestions; movie theaters follow them voluntarily.

[frogger]

another example of our impending downfall as a nation.

wait till this girl gets a pass made at her by her freshman dorm roomate, looking for a little roomate muff diving. how will she react then? will she FREAK OUT?

"I heard" that happen in lots of movies and they always enjoy it in the end.

[CARBIZ]

Stupid, just f%$@ing stupid! I have seen worse things on All My Children (not that I watch that, mind you!) I watched Brokeback Mountain, breathlessly waiting for the two cowboys get it on and - what? An ass shot by the stream? A couple of kisses??? THAT'S IT?

[deftonesfan867]

The MPAA ratings are just suggestions; movie theaters follow them voluntarily.

Not really, Clinton made it a law while he was in office. A theater can be fined now for allowing persons under 17 into an "R" rated movie w/o a guardian.

[Paolino]

This is such bull$h!... the lawsuit should be against the school, now the movie.

I'm not even allowed to show PG-13 movies to my students (who are 13 and 14 years old) without parental consent. If I showed an "R" rated film such as Brokeback Mountain, I'd be fired.

[Chris_Doane]

This is such bull$h!... the lawsuit should be against the school, now the movie.

The lawsuit is against the school...or the Chicago Board of Ed. anyway.

[Paolino]

Oh, when I read the title I thought it was against the movie. I didn't read the article til after I posted. Something that happens when you're trying to do 5 things at once :AH-HA_wink: