A documentary about the affects of bullying sounds like something that kids across the country should see. Unfortunately, The Motion Picture Association of America disagrees and suggests that an ‘R’ rating is the best fit for Bully, an upcoming movie that could possibly help children understand bullying and perhaps save thousands of lives. The reason it received the rating was not because of nudity or violence. It was strictly based on the language used in the film. According to the MPAA, the only way for the rating to be lowered is to have the film re-edited and the language taken out — something that the film’s director Lee Hirsch is unwilling to do.

The rating has drawn the ire of young people across the country and an online petition to lower the age restricted viewer rating has garnered over 200,000 signatures. It will be hand delivered in several boxes to the Los Angeles office of the MPAA. It’s a strong statement that this many people oppose the rating.  Celebrities including Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp have contacted the movie’s producer, Harvey Weinstein, about joining the campaign.

Check out the trailer and the synopsis and let us know your thoughts.

This year, over 13 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. BULLY is the first feature documentary film to show how we’ve all been affected by bullying, whether we’ve been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground. BULLY opens on the first day of school. For the more than 13 million kids who’ll be bullied this year in the United States, it’s a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown.

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