So, over in the UK, MGM's musical film The Wizard of Oz is getting reissued to theaters.
As a part of the process of reissuing the film, it is sent to the BBFC—the British Board of Film Classification—for reclassification. "Classifying" a film for the UK works like the MPA—the Motion Picture Association—in the US. The film is given an abbreviation with a recommendation about the audiences the film would be best suited for.
"U" in the UK is "Universal," meaning it's fine for anyone to watch, similar to the US' General audiences or "G" rating. Next is "Parental Guidance" or "PG," which is the same in the US, that there are some elements that might require adults to help their kids process. The UK's "12A/12" is a similar to the US' "PG-13," in that the film is not recommended for audiences under the age of 12 or 13. (12A is for cinema releases, while 12 is for video releases.) The analog to the US' "R" or "Restricted," indicating intense subject matter is a little more varied with 15 and 18 ratings, recommending them for those ages and up.
In any case, what's been making news is that The Wizard of Oz was previously released under a "U" classification and is now being classified as "PG." The reason is for "offensive language."
This took Oz fans by surprise as it's a film from 1939, what offensive language could there be?
The answer is during the song "If I Were King of the Forest," the Cowardly Lion states the line, "What makes the hottentot so hot?"
I was aware of this line as the word "hottentot" is similar to "Tottenhot," a controversial group in the book The Patchwork Girl of Oz. Baum clearly flipped some letters around and put a parody of an African tribe into an Oz book.
And you should already guess what a "hottentot" is, a derogatory term for a stereotype of an African native, depicted as an animal skin-wearing person who is hostile, not intelligent, being compared more to an animal than a human being. It seems it originated from Dutch people about the Khoikhoi tribe of southern Africa, who used a lot of clicking sounds in their language, sounding to the outsiders like stuttering, or "hotteren-totteren" in German.
You should already get why this word is considered offensive. While it's largely fallen out of general use, it was a common term thrown around that got alluded to in the Oz books and actually popped up in the most famous version of Oz.
As we've begun to respect the humanity of more groups given our increasing communication between societies thanks to widespread media and the internet, derogatory terms for people have begun to be seen as unacceptable in civil conversation. It says less about the people who these terms are meant to describe and more about the people who continue to use them. We recognize people as people, acknowledging their different cultures and backgrounds. If you use terms that have been historically used to deride groups, you're basically trying to keep that tradition alive. People aren't offended that you hurt their feelings, they're offended that you're being a jerk.
So yeah, essentially, the rating changed because of a word that's been there all along. Most of us didn't give a single thought to the word when we first saw the movie and likely most young audiences wouldn't either. But a lot of us are likely people who this word wasn't meant to describe. The people who it does are people too and they deserve their dignity.
May I add that the new classification isn't banning the film, it isn't suggesting that people not watch it, it simply tells people that there's a topic in here parents might want to handle with their kids.
And remember, the MPA actually gave The Wizard of Oz a new rating when the 3D version debuted in 2013, the scare factor of the Wicked Witch and the Winged Monkeys increasing the rating from G to PG.
And ultimately, the classification recommends parents watch the movie with their kids, and isn't a family enjoying the movie together one of the best ways to watch it?
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