# Are these movies school-appropriate?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** movies
**Created:** [March 20, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381 "2022-03-20T11:54:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/1 "2022-03-20T11:54:17Z")
State “end of course” tests are coming up next week (with a full quarter yet to go in the course, of course), and while we’re doing intensive test prep until them, I figure that on the test days, my students will have their full quota of stress already, so I’m planning on spending those class periods showing them a movie. But it is still algebra class, so it’d need to be a math-related movie. And I’ll give them a choice from a few options.
So far, I’m thinking that Apollo 13, Hidden Figures, and The Martian would all be good choices. I also thought of Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind… but it’s been ages since I saw the former, and I’ve never seen the latter, so I’m not sure if there’s anything in either inappropriate to be showing in high school.
Alternately, does anyone have any other suggestions?
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/2 "2022-03-20T12:43:38Z")
My guess is Good Will Hunting is probably not ideal. It is R-rated and the language may be a little much for High School. A lot of profanity.
The IMDB Parents Guide might be helpful for this:
> **[Good Will Hunting (1997) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119217/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)**
>
> Good Will Hunting (1997) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world.
> **[A Beautiful Mind (2001) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)**
>
> A Beautiful Mind (2001) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world.
Moneyball is a possible movie: Very math oriented, especially good at showing math applied to the real world.
> **[Moneyball (2011) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)**
>
> Moneyball (2011) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world.
* * *
One other, but maybe too dated …
> **[Stand and Deliver (1988) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094027/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)**
>
> Stand and Deliver (1988) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world.
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### Author:  [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/3 "2022-03-20T13:07:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> So far, I’m thinking that Apollo 13, Hidden Figures, and The Martian would all be good choices. I also thought of Good Will Hunting and A Beautiful Mind… but it’s been ages since I saw the former, and I’ve never seen the latter, so I’m not sure if there’s anything in either inappropriate to be showing in high school.
Personally I am not too censorious about language, but you should know most of those films have language that at least one parent will probably object to. Also some very mild sexual suggestion in places.
Of those, _Hidden Figures_ is 100% safe and also a very good movie. _Apollo 13_ and _The Martian_ I think can be rationalized. The others are good films but I don’t think the cost/benefit is worth trying to show them in school. Neither is really about math or problem-solving… _Good Will Hunting_ is about a math genius learning to use his talents, and _A Beautiful Mind_ is about a math genius overcoming some very difficult personal challenges.
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### Author:  [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/4 "2022-03-20T13:21:58Z")
There are actual math movies, animated movies about changing scale from very small to huge, about turning a sphere inside out, that sort of thing. If that appeals to you, i can look up the details. I’ve seen them shown at summer math camps.
That might feel more like work to your kids, though,
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/5 "2022-03-20T13:35:16Z")
A school librarian once told me that many teachers don’t realze that they’re violating copyright law when they show movies. If you’ll notice, at the beginning of a DVD, it will say something like “Licensed for home use only.” So it’s ok to watch it at home but showing it to groups…? You can probably get them licensed for viewing with a group but I’m not sure whom you’d contact.
For many years, I couldn’t think of what to get my parents for Christmas. I often ended up getting them a DVD of a movie…every single frickin’ time, there would be something in the way of bad language or scenes that were problematic. I remember sitting with them to watch _Fried Green Tomatoes_ and realizing, ‘Oh wait, this has the scene with the women using mirrors to look at their vaginas…’
I remember in Apollo 13 that scene where Kevin Bacon is “docking” the beer bottle in the glass, highly suggestive of sex. Hidden Figures highlights the racial discrimination and we’ve got BLM issues and controversy…would students grab on to those issues and ignore the math? I’m trying to remember the other movies you ask about.
In a related copyright story…for awhile, Mrs. L met at a coffee shop that had a group with people who (like her) wanted to learn to play guitar. Anybody could suggest a popular song, call out the chords for others etc. Then one night about ten years ago, a fellow from ASCAP showed up. He informed them that all these songs had copyrights and that they had to stop playing them or start paying him. He wanted $1000. The coffee shop owner said they couldn’t play there any more because he didn’t want to be sued. Mrs. L said the PTB at ASCAP were looking at [meetup.com](http://meetup.com) groups, craigslist, etc. to find people playing without paying.
By the way, one copyright claim was overturned—[Happy Birthday to You.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You)
> The song is in the [public domain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain) in the United States and the European Union. [Warner Chappell Music](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Chappell_Music) had previously claimed copyright on the song in the US and collected licensing fees for its use; in 2015 the copyright claim was declared invalid and Warner Chappell agreed to pay back $14 million in licensing fees.
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### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/6 "2022-03-20T14:14:08Z")
At least one of these movies has a CAPAlert.
> **[A BEAUTIFUL MIND (PG-13): ChildCare Action Project (CAP) Media Analysis...](http://www.capalert.com/capreports/beautifulmind.htm)**
>
> Dedicated to investigating and reporting on the impact of the American culture on the integrity, self respect, and coping skills of youth, and inherently on family unity and values. The CAP Model uses the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ as the...
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### Author:  [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/7 "2022-03-20T14:54:12Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#):
>
> A school librarian once told me that many teachers don’t realze that they’re violating copyright law when they show movies. If you’ll notice, at the beginning of a DVD, it will say something like “Licensed for home use only.” So it’s ok to watch it at home but showing it to groups…? You can probably get them licensed for viewing with a group but I’m not sure whom you’d contact.
Although this is probably technically true, in actual practice, school use of copyrighted materials has historically been treated quite liberally. Teachers often copy whole chapters from books, and do other things that strain the definition of “fair use.”
However, after doing a little Googling, I find that there is something called the [TEACH Act](https://guides.library.duq.edu/copyright/showing-films#:~:text=The%20Copyright%20Act%20at%20%C2%A7,curricular%20goals%20of%20the%20course.), an amendment to the Copyright Act, regarding use of copyright materials in the classroom.
> The TEACH Act amendment to the Copyright Act, codified at § 110(2), permits the performance of a reasonable and limited portion of films in an online classroom. Under the TEACH Act, there is the express limitation on quantity, and **an entire film will rarely constitute a reasonable and limited portion**. Using the [TEACH Act Checklist](https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/copyright/teachactchecklist) will help instructors to comply with the requirements when showing films in online classes.
Looking at the checklist, one finds that it is acceptable to show “ **Entire performances of nondramatic** literary and musical works,” but only “ **Reasonable and limited parts of a dramatic** literary, musical, or audiovisual work.”
Which corroborates your librarian’s statement WRT most Hollywood movies.
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### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/8 "2022-03-20T14:59:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> does anyone have any other suggestions?
_Tron_.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/9 "2022-03-20T15:06:09Z")
_[October Sky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Sky)_, perhaps? True story of boys from a small coal mining town who get into rocketry, with the main character eventually ending up working for NASA.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/10 "2022-03-20T15:21:09Z")
Just show them _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ and ask them to identify the scene with the really bad math.
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### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/11 "2022-03-20T15:21:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> _[October Sky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Sky)_ , perhaps? True
I loved _October Sky_, though I haven’t seen it since it came out. IMDB indicates that there’s a small amount of sexual content, and a fair amount of (relatively mild) profanity.
> **[October Sky (1999) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132477/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg)**
>
> October Sky (1999) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/12 "2022-03-20T15:44:16Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> That might feel more like work to your kids, though,
I’m pretty sure that it would. Worse, it’d probably feel like work and they wouldn’t recognize it as math, either.
And @What_Exit and @Dewey_Finn , Moneyball and October Sky are both good suggestions.
I’m not too worried about profanity, as long as it’s not excessive. I mean, if you’re stranded alone on a waterless, lifeless planet with no way to get home, “I’m pretty much fucked” qualifies as appropriate language. Sexual content is iffy, though, if it’s anything more than just hints.
I’ll have to look into the copyright issue.
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### Author:  [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/13 "2022-03-20T15:47:22Z")
[**The Dish (2000)**](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dish)
A pleasant, funny and highly rated Australian movie about a radio telescope, located in remote small-town Australia, used to track and communicate with Apollo 11 for the first moon landing.
Their computer gets wiped during a power failure, and there’s a certain amount of technical info as they resort to manual calculations of the position of the spacecraft.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AmZgyGbdsk)
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### Author:  [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/14 "2022-03-20T17:17:42Z")
Donald Duck in Mathmagic land. [Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land (HD) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BqnN72OlqA)
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### Author:  [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/15 "2022-03-20T17:21:46Z")
That looks like a really good movie, with a bonus in that likely the students have not seen it yet, so it will hold their attention. I want to see it now.
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### Author:  [@eschrodinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschrodinger)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/16 "2022-03-20T17:34:42Z")
I just watched The Martian with my kids (8 years old). There is profanity and mild sexual references, I think. Also, a naked male shown from the rear.
I think Hidden Figures was only appalling in the real life bigotry it depicted.
I loved October Sky, but saw it too long ago to remember details.
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/17 "2022-03-20T17:44:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Sexual content is iffy, though, if it’s anything more than just hints.
At 1:00 mark, Swigert is shown to get out of the shower…followed by his date.
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hlMud1pYOg)
Have you considered ratings? Not sure about the age group you teach, but rated R means none under 17?
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> I’ll have to look into the copyright issue.
I know some schools pay to have streaming services. Does your school or district have anything on the webpage? Also, check this out:
> **[Movie Licensing USA | Swank Motion Pictures](https://www.swank.com/movie-licensing-usa)**
>
> Movie Licensing USA provides copyright protection to public libraries and K-12 schools while offering the world’s best movies. Let us help you show the movies you want the legal way.
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### Author:  [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/18 "2022-03-20T17:50:54Z")
I forgot about the section involving pentagrams in the Donald Duck movie! It may be wise to fast forward through that part so you don’t frighten any parents. It is very interesting, though.
Edit: I’m willing to bet you could find some mathematically inclined Mythbusters episodes that are school appropriate.
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### Author:  [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/19 "2022-03-20T18:05:06Z")
You can show entire movies in classes without fear of violating copyright laws, as long as the copy of the movie was legally obtained.
> US copyright law provides an exemption for the display or performance of copyrighted material in the classroom or its online analog ([section 110](http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#110), the “face to face teaching” exception and the TEACH Act).
>
> Section 110 (1) allows instructors and students can perform or display a copyrighted work during face-to-face teaching at a nonprofit educational institution in a classroom or other place normally devoted to instruction. **There are no restrictions on the type or length of work** and the copyright owner’s permission is not necessary.
(Bolding mine.)
In my district, R rated movies required parental permission, and they had to be closely aligned to the course content. Movies rated G, PG, or PG-13 were fine. You should check your own district’s policy beforehand.
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### Author:  [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-these-movies-school-appropriate/961381/20 "2022-03-20T18:20:40Z")
Definitely second “The Dish” and “Hidden Figures”. “Stand and Deliver” is a bit too on the nose?
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