"Brokeback Mountain: review revisited

Somebody at the USCCB seems to be in a snit. The movie "Brokeback Mountain" has been reclassified from "L" to "O."

Duh.

The review itself remains basically unchanged. But the change in classification reads, to me anyway, like a cross between an apology to the movie's producers and a slap on the wrist for all those "confused" folks who found the review and rating objectionable.

The new, opening paragraph:

"Brokeback Mountain," originally rated L (limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling) has been reclassified as an O (morally offensive). This has been done because the serious weight of the L rating — which restricts films in that category to those who can assess from a Catholic perspective the moral issues raised by a moveie — is, unfortunately, misunderstood by many. Because, in this instance, there are some who are using the "L" rating to make it appear th Church — or the USCCB — position on homosexuality is ambiguous, the classification has been revised specifically to address its moral content."

Okay. So the USCCB now rates — albeit reluctantly and no doubt due to the folks who took the trouble to call or write — the movie "morally offensive." Fine. But the review itself still reads like a breathlessly excited ad for it.

As in: "Sure we're forced to give it a `tut-tut'. (wink, wink) But heck, the films is sooooo...b e a u t i f u l !"

Do we really need a USCBB Film and Broadcasting Office?

Go figure.

Thanks, by the way, for making your viewpoint known.