This Movie is Rated "Hard R"

The MPAA is looking to lose the stigma surrounding its NC-17 rating as it attempts to differentiate between films considered a “hard” or “soft” R. The term “hard R” is the MPAA’s own in-house description of films such as “Saw” or “The Hills Have Eyes” that push the limits of graphic content and border on an NC-17 rating. With such horror pics stretching the R-rating, the MPAA is looking to tell viewers that this material may not be suitable for anyone under 17, as opposed to the “soft R” films like Chris Rock’s latest adult comedy, “I Think I Love My Wife.”

The problem with trying to sell NC-17 as a legitimate rating like its G, PG, PG-13, and R brethren is that it has a small track-record of films like “Showgirls” and “Henry & June.” Additionally, commercial exhibitors are unwilling to show such films. Media publications sometimes will not run advertisements for NC-17 films and Blockbuster will not carry them, which is a reason why customers must stay loyal to the uncensored Netflix internet rental site.

It seems the NC-17 rating gives people this idea that it is the next closest thing to pornography. This rating was eventually added after Miramax Films, not wanting to be categorized with adult entertainment, brought an unsuccessful lawsuit against the MPAA protesting the X rating given to Pedro Almodovar’s film “Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down.” If the MPAA wants acceptance of its adult oriented rating, it may take the commercial success and acceptance of one film to lead the way.

The MPAA might be fighting a winless battle in trying to rebuild the reputation of the NC-17 rating. Like Hollywood stars Mel Gibson and Michael Richards who have had success with humanly troubles, their creative work cannot be denied and should be celebrated but their personal mishaps will not be forgotten. The MPAA might need to invest in another rating and change its description of R. There may need to be an age restriction no longer at 17 but at both 16 and 18. For both of these ratings, anyone under the age must be accompanied by an adult. The 18 and older rating, though not as restrictive like NC-17, should have similar implications and warn parents that children and teens should be wary of viewing such content, but the parents should still have the deciding factor.

Part of the problem of the NC-17 rating is that films will lose the cash cow of the strong teenage market. If such films are not outright restricted from teens but given access as long as with a parent or guardian, this still leaves access to teens with their increasing appetite for sex and violence. Even with an alteration to the current ratings system, it is going to take cooperation and man power on the exhibitors’ part to enforce the rules. In high school, the only time I had trouble sneaking into an R-rated movie was during the opening week and sometimes the second. After that, no one was making sure that I was actually going to see “Finding Nemo” because after a couple weeks there was a new R-rated film to enforce.

The discrepancy between films that receive R ratings is misleading to the public. If films continue to push content boundaries, there will likely be a necessary revision to the current ratings system in the near future. Is cleaning the reputation of NC-17 the best route for the MPAA? If history repeats itself, another rating will likely be created and NC-17 will find itself next to its outcast brother X. As violent horror pics continue to create the next big shock factor—and it takes a lot to shock audiences today—the R rating is becoming too tame. As film content evolves, the rating system must inevitably evolve as well. Hopefully, we do not have to go through a series of “copycats” that occurred in the “Natural Born Killers” aftermath before the MPAA decides to make a commanding decision.

Information provided by “Indecent Proposal” by Pamela McClintock for the March 12-18, 2007 issue of Variety.

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President Shalala: She Keeps Going and Going…

It is a great time to attend and study at the University of Miami under the leadership of Donna Shalala. Asked to co-head a commission to investigate problems at the Walter Reed Medical Center with Senator Bob Dole, President Shalala returns to the political spotlight.

As former secretary of health and human services in the Clinton administration, President Shalala has always been an individual working for the people. She continues to demonstrate this quality as she leads UM through each semester. Last year when UNICCO workers were protesting for higher wages, she and her staff recognized the workers’ needs and created a positive, rational solution.

Along with her great leadership, she comes with her political connections and her vast friendships with people in influential places. Throughout my time at UM, President Shalala has consistently used her personal ties to benefit the students. With the first presidential debate of the 2004 election held at the Bank United Center, President Shalala put the university at the forefront of the political scene. Students did not hesitate to take advantage of watching “Hardball” live from “The Rock” as well as some even having the privileged opportunity to attend the debate.

Students, who today lack a general political fervor, could not help but take part in all of the events that took place on campus to promote election awareness. Now with the 2008 presidential election already taking shape, we are sure to have our share of respected political guests as election time nears, courtesy of our president. President Shalala’s commitment to keeping her students engaged in today’s politics is obvious by the recent appearances of Vice President Al Gore and President Bill Clinton.

President Shalala’s willingness to lead the Walter Reed investigation to help correct a national disgrace proves her everlasting commitment to public service and the American people. It is a huge honor for her to be selected among her other capable peers and this high honor reflects on this university. Having a president that is so respected and admired throughout the nation is an invaluable asset to this school.

Those students past, present, and future who have the good fortune of studying under the leadership of President Shalala have an opportunity to develop in an educational atmosphere that not all students are privileged to. We have the guidance, leadership, and example that President Shalala offers by her service. Over the next few years, it is going to be a great time to be a Miami Hurricane.

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Protesting in the "Can"

As it is reported in the media, presidential disapproval is increasing and concerns about the Iraq War grow. I have often wondered how much of this anti-Bush sentiment exists in my generation and college age adults, and what is being done to vocally demonstrate anti-war beliefs? I can only speak of first hand experience from the University of Miami campus and information I gather through the internet, television, or my Newsweek subscription.

Unlike in Washington, there has been no picketing or protesting here on campus in Coral Gables. There are no anti-war tables staking a claim in the breezeway. The topic of conversation is usually not the state of our country. I had a bumper sticker that said, “January 20, 2009-The End of An Error,” until it faded, and I removed it. I had some anti-war pins on my backpack last year until they either fell off or were pilfered.

When it comes to print media at UM, The Hurricane prints a variety of political commentaries which means students are using their keyboards to voice their opinions.

But recently I have found a cry for anti-war protest from UM male citizens in an unlikely place: the men’s bathrooms around the UM campus. Urinal and toilet stalls have long been the canvas for verbal epithets about mothers, sexual pleasures, good times, who to call for a good time, and male genitalia, but now I’ve noticed a sixth category: political protesting.

Phrases such as “Bush lied,” “War sucks,” “Peace is the answer,” can be seen in UM men’s bathrooms like the one in the UC and the one next to Starbucks. Why have people chosen the public toilet as the venue to voice opinions especially since only the male population will ever read it? (I have to hope the women are as politically active. Since I never visit the women’s facility, I hope someone writes in to enlighten us.) It appears we have little time in our increasingly busy lives to organize a protest or a display table in the UC breezeway. But during this rare moment in the day of five minutes of relaxation, it appears that some male students take the opportunity to do something we wish we had more time to do: protest our current political and military displeasures. Not everyone is able to write a newspaper article or orchestrate a demonstration, so this toilet graffiti might be one’s preferred method of expression.

The fact remains that there is an increasing public outcry throughout many age levels against the president and his leading our country into war on what appears to be more than increasing suspicions of false pretenses. We all express our feelings in different ways. As long as one can offer one’s opinion publicly, it does not matter the venue. Keep in mind that political graffiti was a staple of ancient Rome and was put up everywhere.

We are in a time of uncertainty with many of our questions either unanswered or answered with the current solution of deploying additional troops. Maybe the bathroom protestors have the best method of voicing this concern. A ball point pen or permanent marker can leave an imprint that lasts until it is painted over or the building is destroyed, but the potential exists for the writing to last for an exceedingly long time. A well placed phrase of “Bush is the devil” (an actual piece of toilet graffito) can be seen by hundreds of people in a given week. For the work of one to affect such a large group of people is a very powerful way and non-violent way to voice disagreement.

With each passing day and more Iraqi citizens and coalition forces killed and wounded, the concern grows about the escalating violence. So far presidential candidate Barack Obama is the only one to provide us with a solution to the Iraq War, a solution that will have all American troops redeployed by March of 2008. Obama was also against the war from its inception.

Will we see demonstrations like the US saw during the Vietnam era? I hope our current political and military situation does not reach a point to necessitate such outcry, but if our country must, we will take our fight from the bathroom stalls to the streets and hopefully into the halls of Congress and the Oval Office.

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The Iraqi Groundhog Emerges

The United States is stuck in “Groundhog Day” the movie, where the American people play Bill Murray's character, the frustrated weatherman Phil Connors. We are waking up only to realize that yesterday is today over and over again. American soldiers in Iraq are killed, Iraqis are killed in sectarian bombing that adds to a series of more bombings, and another bloodiest day in Iraq occurs. The American people are looking for an exit strategy out of Iraq, and President Bush wants to increase troops escalating the war declaring that this surge is now our only option for success. It is Groundhog Day, over and over again.

When Bill Murray's character, Phil Connors, first realizes he is awakening to the same day, he uses this “invincibility” to his advantage by engaging in risky behavior. As he continues to wake up on February 2^nd over and over again, he adapts to his situation and attempts to better himself and use his knowledge of the upcoming events to help himself and others around him. The US, on the other hand, is trapped in a “bizzaro” Groundhog's Day. After four years without success and a seemingly endless cycle of violence, lies, and political rhetoric, our government is not changing its course of action to get us out of this cycle; instead it maintains the same course. For Phil Connors, life and the lives around him kept getting better, but for the US, the occupation in Iraq continues to worsen with loss of life and suffering on all sides of the fighting.

As we have to adapt to the new pressures that this war places on both the US and Iraq, it may be necessary to alter the definition of success in favor of pulling out our troops. If the situations and the circumstances do not change around us, then we have to start changing around them. The joke must be on us, the American people, as we continue along the path paved since March 20, 2003, and yet we have had little success in the Iraq War and the river of blood keeps flowing. Congress may help block President Bush from sending an additional 21,000 troops into Iraq to help end this repeating cycle, however the president does not seem too willing to give in to Congress and the American people's wishes.

If we wake up in the morning and no longer hear, “It's another bloody day in Iraq,” blaring on the radio like Phil Connors no longer heard Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” then we will know an exit strategy out of Iraq has begun, and then we have seen the last of Iraq's Groundhog's Day. On the eve of the war we should have headed the advice of the nutty insurance agent in the film, Ned Ryerson, “Watch out for that first step. It's a doozy.”

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Message of wartime America not found in new music

What do Kelly Clarkson, Nickelback’s “Photograph,” and Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” have in common? Little except that they were all released during wartime America in the ‘60s with Vietnam and in the ‘00s with Iraq. Two wars fought under different yet similar conditions; however, pop culture and the youth culture have been slow to react toward the war. With over 2,300 military casualties, 17,000 reported wounded, and a thirty-seven percent approval rating for President George W. Bush, Americans are growing restless with our country’s occupation of Iraq. Despite public disapproval, the entertainment industries have yet to speak out against the war at the level as witnessed during Vietnam.

With the release of “The Constant Gardener,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and “Syriana,” filmmakers are putting their antiwar feelings on the big screen for the public’s viewing pleasure. In James Risen’s “State of War” and Noam Chomsky’s “Hegemony or Survival,” authors have published books for several years trying to expose where our country went wrong and how we can turn things around. Puff Daddy threatened people to vote in his “Vote or Die” campaign. Music artists, unlike filmmakers or authors, are not yet producing the volume of antiwar inspired songs like those artists of the ‘60s.

The fear of political backlash is lessened as the majority of the country sees no end in sight to the president’s “Messopotamia.” If the Dixie Chicks had confessed their shame for the president’s Texas residence today, radio stations would now likely give them more airplay instead of a blacklisting. Green Day grabbed Grammy Awards with their anti-Bush/ anti-War rock album, “American Idiot.” The Dave Matthews Band jammed out to “American Baby” in last year’s “Stand Up.” Kanye West began his crusade with “Jesus Walks.” These are successful artists, yet a stronger message is waiting to be heard as the nation’s youth and caretakers of the ‘60s flounder as they come to grips with the seriousness of the current war.

A sentiment similar to that demonstrated by The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, CSNY, Scott McKenzie, Joan Baez, The Beatles, and John Lennon is absent in today’s music scene. Is the nation waiting for a military draft or until American casualties reach 58,000? As civil war nears in Iraq and the US maintains its occupancy, D4L raps about “Laffy Taffy,” Nelly sings about his “Grillz,” and Fall Out Boy just wants to “Dance, Dance.” All catchy songs, but it seems trivial to think the gold in our mouths is the best subject for a song.

Perhaps the nation is so disturbed with the state of our country that we remove ourselves from reality by listening to the chorus lines and rhymes on our iPods. Music artists play to the public. If the public is not demanding that our current administration take responsibilities for their actions, then artists might hesitate to make a statement on their own.

If it is antiwar feelings that artists secretly have, it is not conveyed when they try to produce the next pop radio hit or nightclub remix. The public’s lack of awareness goes beyond the war and the administration. The clueless apathy could be a result of our culture of greed which causes deception.

One can only hope that the small stand in the entertainment industries will grow in favor of a more proactive stance. It has been three years since we entered war with Iraq; Vietnam took ten years to end. There is little reason to believe we will not occupy Iraq for any shorter a period of time than we spent in Vietnam. As the artists of the ‘60s proved, provocative, lasting music is written when there is an invested emotion. And war leaves enough emotions to last for several generations, but where is this emotion today?

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A post-spring break bonus, for all of us

It appears there could be an end to the UNICCO strike and a positive one at that. After several weeks of marches, protesting, and classes held outdoors, the University “adopted and implemented a new policy that sets minimum standards for service contractors doing business on the University’s campuses.” This minimum was raised around two dollars and in some cases nearly three dollars. Despite the protesting, this writer always had the feeling that President Shalala would do the right thing in terms of a living wage for the workers.

Knowing our president’s history in politics and leadership, I felt a decision to improve the UNICCO employees’ pay rate would be dealt with as she has governed in the past. After a period of deliberation, President Shalala and the group that she “appointed to study wages and insurance benefits of the employees of outside service contractors” created a plan appealing to the employees and the students. Additionally, the tuition rates published for next year will not change. Time was taken to assess the situation for all involved. Nothing was done in haste; likely to ensure that all sides were respected.

The voices and outcry from the school community were heard and continue to be heard. Coordinating the relocation of classes was done despite the difficulties placed on students and professors. Then, the school went on spring break. After a week-long hiatus, the thought of UNICCO workers pushing for higher wages was buried under memories of beaches and cruises. Though many students may have forgotten, some classes remained vacant but most of all, President Shalala and the school administration had not forgotten. School returned with a surprise email in everyone’s mailbox from the president herself.

In a country that sees the effects of war and the suffering it creates, that is subjected to globalization and global warming, that has higher numbers of unemployed, it is the goal to make life better not harder for those who are struggling at the bottom of the pay scale. Everyone on this campus is part of the UM community and as President Shalala proves, everyone will reap the benefits that this decision has to offer. The current strike caused a disruption to the school, but it was an honorable one. Without the wise leadership of our president, the school could have witnessed a larger disturbance placing great hardships on students, parents, faculty members, and employees.

Because we have a leader with the experience, integrity, and compassion of President Shalala, there was little worry that the University would leave any parties unsatisfied and not treated fairly. Now that the school made a decision, it remains up to UNICCO, its employees, and their union. As has been stated, the school remains neutral. With this first positive step underway, we look forward that an agreement will be made to give the UNICCO employees a living wage allowing the University to get back to normal.

Quotations taken from President Shalala’s letter to the school.

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Wild tales from spring break? UM does it year-round

As colleges get back to the daily grind of classes and push toward finals, some students may still be recovering from a week of various forms of debauchery, a few mistakes, and hopefully many good times remembered between black outs. For some students at the University of Miami, spring break is a little more unconventional. There are of course the groups of students who fly off or set sail to the Caribbean, Mexico, or home, and for others, it is a week of nothing.

Students at UM have the distinct pleasure of maintaining the spirit of spring break throughout the year. The warm weather, the sunny beaches, the clubs of South Beach, and the bars of Coconut Grove are available to us throughout the school year. A typical Thursday night spent in Coconut Grove then sleeping away Friday at the beach is routine for a Cane but likely a warm dream for many snowed in New Englanders.

As spring breakers invade our local spots, we retreat. The familiar faces are replaced with pale Northerners stretching the waiting lines and temporarily raising prices. While walking through Coconut Grove during one of the few nights I ventured out with a group of friends, a car full of college girls told us to “Go home spring breakers.” After my friend whipped out his cane card to prove his local identity, the girls drove off in what I like to think was an embarrassing mistake.

After almost run out of town like a fox from his hole, we ventured to Fort Lauderdale to check out its scene. The city was surrounded by beer, bars, and babes; debauchery on the beach. I had to act like a real spring breaker for at least one night.

The rest of the week was spent hiding from the crowds. It was welcomed relaxation after the droves of tourists forced you to your home. This past week was a time to unwind and recharge the batteries from the demanding and hectic first two months of the spring semester. For those college students who have not felt warm weather since August, spring break is the week to go all out and capture the spirit of spring to hold them over until summer.

I stopped experiencing seasons eight years ago when my family moved to Florida. This spring break, however, had a new feel. Walking through Coral Gables as one of the sore-thumb tan locals had never felt more gratifying. I was the local. The city of Miami is where I call home. What excites some for a week is another day in paradise for South Florida residents.

Why would anyone want to leave Miami during spring break when everyone comes here? If it is the endless amount of spring breakers, then I can understand why one would want to flee. Spending every spring break in Miami during your years at UM, whether you did anything, is the cheapest way to be in one of the ultimate spring break hot spots.

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