Motion pictures are a powerful resource for the English classroom.  They can bring to life remote times and places; film adaptations can open up for students literary texts that are difficult to access; in addition, movies based on literary works give English teachers and their students a chance to make critical comparisons between media and their implicit values.  As an English department we exercise our best professional judgment in the selection of movies and movie sequences that serve a significant educational purpose, that do more, in other words, than simply entertain.  We also ensure a classroom environment where students can process a film according to norms of rational, sensitive and thoughtful discussion, so that students may learn the skills of how to discuss complex and meaningful issues.  At the same time we recognize and respect the existence of general community standards, difficult though these may be to define in a particular case.  To allow or disallow movies on the basis of their MPAA ratings isn’t really satisfactory; the ratings are inconsistently applied, and a rating may be determined by the content of a few minutes in a two-hour movie.  Therefore to do justice to both the goals of our teachers and the sensibilities of our students, the English department pledges to announce in advance to students and parents (through course expectation handouts and class web pages) the screening of any film whose content might be considered questionable.  Students are asked to remind their parents of the films shown in class.  We invite comments from parents, but we also expect that students who have, or whose parents have, reservations about the film to be shown will make their discomfort known to their teachers.  At that time, the English teacher will be happy to provide an alternative film or project commensurate with what the rest of the class is experiencing.  We also ask that parents preview films if a rating gives cause for concern before approaching a teacher or administrator.