Parents Suggest Shaving 'Private Ryan's' Indecent Content
by Jenni Parker and Allie Martin
November 11, 2004
(AgapePress) - Tonight's airing of the movie Saving Private Ryan, uncut, on network television could lead to thousands of complaints against ABC, due to the film's graphic violence and profane language. More than 20 network affiliates around the U.S. have chosen not to carry the World War II drama, rather than risk Federal Communications Commission penalties.The acclaimed 1998 Steven Spielberg film tells the story of an American platoon's mission to find one young soldier, Private Ryan, who is deployed somewhere in France behind enemy lines during WWII. The Army wants to send Ryan home because he is the only survivor of four brothers fighting in the war; but first he must be found and brought out alive. Even during the film's theatrical run, Ryan's horrific battle scenes were controversial. And now that the movie is scheduled to air on network television this Veterans Day evening, many are questioning its appropriateness for prime-time broadcast.
Under the terms of a deal struck between ABC and Saving Private Ryan director Steven Spielberg, the film cannot be edited. According to Internet sources, ABC stated that Spielberg "was committed to showing the true horrors of war alongside its moments of victory and heroism," and that ABC is, with this telecast, committed to that same goal.
Besides choosing to show the film in its original format, unedited for content, ABC also rejected several affiliate stations' requests to air it after 10 p.m. A network spokesman said that the movie will be preceded by a statement from an ABC-TV executive, warning of the violent scenes and advising parents to give "a great deal of thought and debate" to the question of whether they should allow their children to watch the film.
According to Associated Press, several ABC affiliates have opted not to air Saving Private Ryan. These ABC stations' managers are apparently concerned they will get into trouble with the FCC, considering the way that agency has been cracking down on broadcast indecency lately.
Ray Cole, president of Citadel Communications, which has three Midwestern ABC affiliates, told AP he wanted to show the film, which he calls a "patriotic, artistic tribute to our fighting forces." However, since the FCC has not promised it will not punish stations that show Ryan, Cole is choosing, like many other broadcasters, to "air" on the side of caution -- that is, to show something else during that time slot.
News of the planned broadcast of Saving Private Ryan has many members of the pro-family public concerned. Some parents' advocacy groups have pointed out that the film accurately portrays what happens during fierce military conflict, including realistic depictions of atrocious injuries, mental stress, profane language, and brutality -- in other words, common occurrences in war. Although some viewers may feel the graphic realism of Ryan is not gratuitous in its appropriate context, many parents are voicing serious alarm at the prospect of having this kind of material air at a time when young children and other sensitive viewers are likely to be channel surfing.
Pro-Family Group Prepared to Protest
Randy Sharp is special projects director for the American Family Association and editor of the OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com action group websites. He says Spielberg's film certainly bears an important message, but members of the OMM/OMD organizations feel an unedited version of the movie is simply not appropriate for broadcast on the public airwaves between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., the hours designated by the Supreme Court as a "safe haven" for family audiences.
Randy Sharp | |
"It's important that families, especially our children, recognize the sacrifices made by our loved ones during wartime," Sharp says. "However, airing excessively profane language during prime-time television hours is not necessary to convey that sacrifice."The AFA spokesman says if the network would only air the film after 10 p.m., outside those safe haven hours, "that would be a different story." But as ABC's plan stands, he says, "We're going to have hundreds of thousands of children going through television stations, scanning the buttons to see what they want to watch, and they're going to come across indecent broadcast language. That's our concern -- that ABC should be responsible."
And if the network chooses not to be responsible about upholding broadcast indecency standards, Sharp says OMM/OMD will insist that the FCC hold them accountable as violators. He notes that thousands of OneMillionMoms.com and OneMillionDads.com members, over 90 percent of those polled, are ready and willing to file a formal FCC indecency complaint against their local ABC stations if they decide to broadcast the movie in the unedited form, with its dozens of "f" words and "s" uncut from the planned Thursday night airing of Ryan.
"Evidently ABC feels that because it's used in a context of war where this kind of language might be expected, that it would be okay," Sharp says. "Well, it may be okay on the battlefield, but it's not okay on the public airwaves during primetime broadcast hours. We believe ABC can air their salute to heroes without violating broadcast decency laws."
The editor of the OMM/OMD websites points out that technology exists that easily allows ABC to edit the language of Saving Private Ryan without affecting its impact on the audience. He says the realities of war do not give the entertainment network automatic FCC approval to air indecent content during prime time when children are likely to be watching.
