Brokebank Mountain

I can sort of sympathize with the grandparents of the girl in this story about a substitute teacher who showed "Brokeback Mountain" to a class of 8th graders without seeking parental permission, but five hundred grand is an insane amount of money to be seeking.  This law suit smacks of opportunism.

My sympathy stems from my belief in a rating system for films (perhaps not as it is currently applied, but I do think that there should be one) and not from personal objections to the content of "Brokeback Mountain."  I haven't seen it, but I don't think that I would find it offensive.  Even so, it does contain "sexuality" and nudity.  Regardless of who is having sex with who, teachers should know better than to show films with scenes like this to kids.  The girl in question is twelve years old, which is well below the age required to see R-rated films in the States and even below the levels that most other national film rating boards chose to grade "Brokeback Mountain."  It shouldn't have happened.  I remember when Mr. Laderach showed us "Saving Private Ryan" in my sophomore year of high school, and he insisted that we all bring in signed permission slips in order for us to view the film (which I had already seen).  And anyone who didn't want to watch (or whose parents didn't want them to watch) had the choice of going to study hall instead.  Very sensible.

But back to the money.  I really don't understand the calculus behind the sums involved in law suits.  Half a million dollars is an awful lot of cash for damage that hasn't physically impaired someone or robbed them of a loved one (even then I'm skeptical, it seems more like blood money to me).  How traumatized could someone be from watching "Brokeback Mountain?"  The grandparents also stated that the film went against their faith.  So there's the obvious political angle.  I wonder if they would be causing such a ruckus if the film had featured heterosexual sex between unwed teenagers.  Or a man cheating on his wife with a younger woman.  Both of these things are just as offensive to the brand of religion to which I assume these people ascribe.  Would they have sued the Chicago Board of Education if their granddaughter had been shown "Say Anything?"  Or "American Beauty?"  They might have complained, and that would have been well within their rights.  But the controversy behind "Brokeback Mountain" allows this to become high-profile, and the sky's the limit as far as the price tag is concerned.

Besides, why do these people think that it's a good idea to take FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS from a SCHOOL BOARD for something like this?  All they're doing is stiffing the other kids in the school district.  This isn't an insurance company or a drunk driver.  The board is certainly liable for the actions of their employees, but this should be handled in-house.  And what are they going to do with the cash anyway?  If they do end up winning, it had better go to fund their granddaughter's college education or to some sort of Christian charity or something.  What are they going to do with half a million dollars?  Did the girl come home demanding that sum as one that would relieve her distress?  Gimme a break.