Acclaimed Movie Bully wins rating battle: now PG-13, instead of the previous R-rating

An epic battle which raged between Director, kids featured in the movie Bully and the Motion Picture Association of America has ended with the 'Bully camp' claiming victory.

Harvey Weinstein's long-awaited movie on bullying had originally received an R-rating which puzzled and outraged many. The title says it all for the documentary is about kids who were bullied mercilessly. The abused children featured in the movie wanted their story told hoping it would shed light on the epidemic and help effect change.

The R-rating would exclude children under 17 from seeing the movie without an adult present, which the director, studio execs and others said would defeat the purpose.

Moreover, the popular movie Hunger Games, which featured children fighting to the death, literally hunting each other like game to slaughter, has a PG-13 rating. Critics drew this comparison as they fought to get Bully's rating reversed.

According to BBC News their perseverance paid off after Director Lee Hirsh agreed to remove some bad language from the film and the edited version of the movie erased the adult R-rating.

Bully is already in some theaters in New York and Los Angeles, opening last week without a rating.

Maybe it is time for the MPAA changed how they assessed ratings? Kids hear curse words everyday and there is no evidence that show a few bad words would harm children psychologically, socially or emotionally. But violence in large doses can do damage which the Hunger Games is choke full of. How do they rationalize that children killing children is less harmful than a few curse words?

Our society needs to do more to stop bullying for the results can be suicide, long-term low self-esteem, depression, poor academic performance and other emotional problems. A documentary on this deeply troubling social pariah is long overdue.

To read my article on bullying, click on link below:

Bullying in schools & Beyond