OFLC Classification of The General's Daughter

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OFLC Classification of The General's Daughter

Contents:

Background
Classification Board Report on reasons for R classification
Classification Review Board on reasons for MA classification
- Summary Report
- Full Report
Adelaide Community Assessment Panel's Response to The General's Daughter

Background

In March 2001, the South Australian Attorney-General's office issued a document regarding proposed SA Internet censorship laws stating, inter alia, that:

"[Adult themes] don't necessarily result in the film being restricted to adults, or banned. Adult themes are permitted in M and MA rated films. At MA level, for example, content such as in ... 'The General's Daughter' (rape theme) can be accommodated."

The document failed to point out that this film (and another film referenced) were classified R by the national Classification Board and only became MA after costly appeal to the Classification Review Board, further demonstrating the point EFA has previously made that online publishers cannot be expected to know how any particular material would be classified, since even members of the two Classification Boards do not necessarily agree.

Information about the reasons for the two different classifications of this film is below.

Extract from OFLC Community Assessment Panels Report, 2 June 2000

OFLC Classification Board Report

TITLE: The General's Daughter

CLASSIFICATION: R

CONSUMER ADVICE: Medium Level Violence

SYNOPSIS:

Captain Elizabeth Campbell, the daughter of a prominent army general is found murdered on an army base. Her body is found naked and staked to the ground in spreadeagle fashion. The ensuing investigation uncovers a tangled web of deception, spawned from a terrible incident that occurred some years before.

REASONS FOR THE DECISION:

In the Board's view this film warrants an R classification for violence and adult themes which require an adult perspective.

The film follows a murder investigation of a particularly heinous crime. The nature of the crime is horrific enough; however the tone is strengthened by the constant emphasis on psychological warfare and the post traumatic effects of trauma. The murder victim, who worked as a military psychologist had earlier stated, "We fuck with peoples' minds". As the investigation draws to a head, the audience is left to ponder the question, "What's worse than rape?" Given the intensity of the theme and the visuals of sexual violence it is felt that some of the material may be offensive to some sections of the adult community.

VIOLENCE
Strong depictions of realistic violence are shown. Depictions with a high degree of impact are not gratuitous or exploitative. Sexual violence is implied and is not detailed.
20 mins. The murder victim, Captain Elizabeth Campbell, is discovered and the investigating team, headed by Paul Brenner - a hybrid cop/soldier, arrive at the crime scene. Elizabeth is initially shown in a medium distance, full length visual, naked and staked to the ground in spreadeagle fashion. A soldier explains, "We found her...she was tortured, raped and murdered". There are various camera angles showing, amongst other things, close ups of bruising of the victim's face, tight rope burns on the victims arms, close ups of the victim's hands tightly bound, close ups of her panties and cord around her neck. Breast and pubic areas are evident in long shot.

77 mins. Told in flashback the audience is narrated through Elizabeth's rape. Her psychiatrist speaks aloud and the narrative is buttressed by graphic visuals. Elizabeth is shown being set upon by a group of her fellow soldiers. They appear sub-human, dressed in camouflage gear and having painted faces. She is knocked down and there are close ups of stakes being driven into the ground and her limbs being tied to them. The narrator explains, "They did it all night long...took turns...she was treated for venereal diseases and pregnancy". The scene has a chaotic strobe like effect and there are alternative camera angles capturing the horror. Visuals include scenes of panic on her face, twisting of her hands, struggling, soldiers yahooing and fuelling each other along, overhead visuals of soldiers thrusting atop her. A strong post action visual follows as she is found the next day still staked out. She is wide eyed with shock and has a very battered and bruised face. The scene is both visually and conceptually strong. At the lower MA classification the guidelines allow for "visual suggestions of sexual violence are permitted only if they are not frequent, prolonged, gratuitous or exploitative". In the opinion of the Board these scenes exceed the MA criteria for frequency and intensity.

Other scenes of violence, including a fight to the death culminating in a man being implicitly shredded by an outdoor motor and a post action visual of a bloody Colonel in his home showing a graphic blood bullet wound in his head etc, could probably be accommodated in the lower MA classification.

ADULT THEMES
The film deals with adult themes with a very high degree of intensity but the treatment is not exploitative. The violence and adult themes are inexorably linked.

Elizabeth is portrayed as an attractive, highly intelligent officer with a prestigious career ahead of her. As the investigation into her murder unfolds the audience becomes aware that this was all a façade concealing darker truths. The first inkling arrives at 35 mins as Paul Brenner searches her home. Upstairs he finds her house immaculately presented leading him to comment, "This was one squared away soldier". In the cellar, however, he finds a secret dungeon containing extensive bondage and S&M paraphernalia including a table with vibrators, butt-plugs, candles, chains and whips. A home made video taps is found in the room and it shows Elizabeth in latex gear acting as dominatrix whilst she abuses a trussed up male. She roughly grabs his head, whips him, kicks him and sits astride him in implied intercourse. Having been made aware of Elizabeth's dark side the audience is given an explanation of her behaviour via fallout from her initial rape.

At 92 mins a battered Elizabeth is shown in hospital and her Father's behaviour highlights her despair. He tells her, "Don't ever think of this again...it never happened...none of this happened". Her subsequent promiscuity was common knowledge amongst the staff and she later explains, "I was conducting an experiment in psychological warfare...subject Daddy". The rape and its outcomes continues as a theme of the film.

At 96mins (via flashback) Elizabeth is shown naked on the ground staked out in the original manner in which she was first raped. She had apparently decided that this was to be her salvation, her therapy to make her Father realise his wrongs. Her Father arrives and is shocked at what he sees. He orders her to stop. She says, "It happened"... He replies, "I don't give a damn what happened seven years ago". As he walks away she pleads, "Daddy please". Shortly thereafter, "Kent" an obsessed lover, (She tormented me...became my obsession"), approaches and Elizabeth angrily threatens to tell his wife and calls him repulsive, "You were just a fuck". She spits in his face whereupon he begins to choke her until she dies.

In the Board's opinion the theme of rape and its outcomes, which in the film include involvement in S&M and re-enactment of the rape as a form of therapy, combined with the repeat visuals of a graphic scene of sexual violence exceed the lower MA classification and warrant, but do not exceed, the R classification.

Extract from OFLC Community Assessment Panels Report, 2 June 2000

Classification Review Board Summary of Report

Title: THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER

Classification: MA

Consumeradvice: Adult themes, Some sexual violence

The Classification Review Board decided to set aside the decision of the Classification Board to classify the film The General's Daughter R 18+ with the consumer advice "Medium Level Violence, Adult Themes", and to classify the film MA15+ with the consumer advice "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence".

The plot
Army investigator Paul Brenner sets out to solve the bizarre murder of Lt Elisabeth Campbell, daughter of a prominent General. Paul uncovers the story of the pack rape of Elisabeth during an Army exercise seven years earlier. The official attempts to suppress this incident and to deny its reality have severe consequences for all concerned.

The themes and scenes
The Review Board considered the themes and scenes cited by the Classification Board as, in its opinion, taking the film into the R18+ category.

The Classification Board found that the film's violence and theme of rape and its outcomes were of sufficient strength to require an adult perspective. The scenes of violence included that at 77 mins in which Elisabeth's rape seven years earlier is shown as a flashback, with the rape and its effects narrated by the psychiatrist who treated Elisabeth afterwards.

The consequences of the denial and suppression of the rape are shown to include Elisabeth's promiscuity and resort to sadomasochism. Further, in a futile attempt to show her father the consequences of his suppression of the incident (for the good of the army), Elisabeth has herself staked out naked in the manner in which she had been raped (96mins), and arranges for her father to see her. She is subsequently strangled by a rejected "lover".

The Review Board found the depiction of the rape was via visual suggestions which were not frequent, prolonged, gratuitous or exploitative.

Further, the Review Board found that the theme and scenes related to the consequences of the rape were such as required a mature perspective, but not necessarily an adult one.

The Review Board therefore found that the film could be accommodated in the MA15+ category.

Other elements
The Review Board agreed with the Classification Board that other depictions, which included a fight to the death, resulting in a man being pushed into the propeller of a boat, and the postaction visuals of a Colonel who had been shot in the head, could be accommodated in the MA15+ category.

Reasons for the Decision
The Review Board based its decision to classify the film The General's Daughter MA15+ on the content of the film as set out above.

The Review Board found the depiction of the rape of Elisabeth by her fellow army cadets during an exercise to be conveyed by "visual suggestions of sexual violence". The gang rape was not seen in closeup, nor as sequential action, but rather as a series of separate shots, with the perpetrators seen only as silhouettes against the night sky. The depictions were not frequent, prolonged, gratuitous or exploitative.

The violence depictions in this sequence, eg, the shots of Elisabeth's shocked and battered face, while of high impact, were considered to be not frequent, prolonged or gratuitous.

The Review Board found the themes of the consequences of rape and suppressed rape to be powerful, but nevertheless to be one which could be understood and appreciated by those with a mature perspective.

The film clearly emphasised and condemned the horror of rape, and the perpetrators were seen as weak and cowardly. The ongoing suffering of those who have been raped was clearly conveyed. The psychological disturbance caused by the suppression of the rape supported the theme of the horror of rape, and while not all aspects of this subtheme might be understood by those between 15 and 17 years, its treatment was not, in the opinion of the Review Board, harmful to them. The Review Board therefore took the view that the film was appropriately classified MA15+.

The Review Board also concluded that the combination of scenes referred to
above is "likely to disturb, harm or offend those under 15 years" so as to warrant imposing the restriction that "children under 15 years will not be admitted to cinemas unless accompanied by a parent or guardian (and that) video material will be restricted to persons 15 years and over", in accordance with the guidelines for the classification of films and videos.

The Review Board's direction that the consumer advice be varied to "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence" is made having regard to the content as described above.

7. Summary

7.1        The Review Board's decision is to set aside the decision of the Classification Board, and to classify the film The General's Daughter MA15+ with the consumer advice "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence".

Extract from Annual Report 1999/2000 OFLC Classification Board & Classification Review Board

Full Report of the Classification Review Board

THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER

APPLICANT
United International Pictures

BUSINESS
To review the decision of the Classification Board to assign the classification "R 18+" under the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995 to the film The General's Daughter, with the consumer advice "Medium Level Violence, Adult Themes."

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION

1. Decision The Classification Review Board decided to set aside the decision of the Classification Board to classify the film The General's Daughter "R 18+" with the consumer advice "Medium Level Violence, Adult Themes", and to classify the film "MA15+" with the consumer advice "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence".

2. Legislative provisions The Classification (Publications, Film and Computer Games) Act 1995 (the Act) governs the classification of films and the review of classification decisions. The Act provides that films be classified in accordance with the National Classification Code and the classification guidelines. Relevantly, the National Classification Code (the Code) in paragraph 4 of the Table under the heading "films" provides that "films (except RC films, X filmsand R films) that depict, express, or otherwise deal with sex, violence or coarse language in such a manner as to be unsuitable for viewing by persons under 15" are to be classified "MA15+".

3. Procedure 3.1 The Review Board heard oral submissions from Mr Michael Selwyn, and Ms Una Lawrence representing United International Pictures. 3.2 Three members of the Review Board viewed the film The General's Daughter at its meeting on 13 August 1999.

4. Evidence In reaching its decision the Review Board had regard to the following:
(a) the applicant's Application for Review;
(b) the film The General's Daughter;
(c) the written and oral submissions made by the applicant;
(d) the relevant provisions in the Act;
(e) the relevant provisions in the National Classification Code as amended in accordance with Section 6 of the Act;
(f) the current Classification Guidelines for the Classification of Films and Videotapes determined under Section 12 of the Act.

5. Findings on material questions of fact

The plot

5.1Army investigator Paul Brenner sets out to solve the bizarre murder of Lt Elisabeth Campbell, daughter of a prominent General. Paul uncovers the story of the pack rape of Elisabeth during an Army exercise seven years earlier. The official attempts to suppress this incident and to deny its reality have severe consequences for all concerned.

The themes and scenes

5.2 The Review Board considered the themes and scenes cited by the Classification Board as, in its opinion, taking the film into the "R 18+" category. The Classification Board found that the film's violence and theme of rape and its outcomes were of sufficient strength to require an adult perspective. The scenes of violence included that at 77 mins in which Elisabeth's rape seven years earlier is shown as a flashback, with the rape and its effects narrated by the psychiatrist who treated Elisabeth afterwards. The consequences of the denial and suppression of the rape are shown to include Elisabeth's promiscuity and resort to sadomasochism. Further, in a futile attempt to show her father the consequences of his suppression of the incident (for the good of the army), Elisabeth has herself staked out naked in the manner in whichshe had been raped (96mins), and arranges for her father to see her. She is subsequently strangled by a rejected "lover".

5.3 The Review Board found the depiction of the rape was via visual suggestions which were not frequent, prolonged, gratuitous or exploitative. Further, the Review Board found that the theme and scenes related to the consequences of the rape were such as required a mature perspective, but not necessarily an adult one. The Review Board therefore found that the film could be accommodated in the "MA15+" category.

Other elements

The Review Board agreed with the Clssification Board that other depictions, which included a fight to the death, resulting in a man being pushed into the propeller of a boat, and the postaction visuals of a Colonel who had been shot in the head, could be accommodated in the "MA15+" category.

Reasons for the Decision

6.1 The Review Board based its decision to classify the film The General's Daughter "MA15+" on the content of the film as set out in 5.2 and 5.3 above.

6.2 The Review Board found the depiction of the rape of Elisabeth by her fellow army cadets during an exercise to be conveyed by "visual suggestions of sexual violence". The gang rape was not seen in closeup, nor as sequential action, but rather as a series of separate shots, with the perpetrators seen only as silhouettes against the night sky. The depictions were not frequent, prolonged, gratuitous or exploitative. The violence depictions in this sequence, eg the shots of Elisabeth's shocked and battered face, while of high impact, were considered to be not frequent, prolonged or gratuitous.

6.3 The Review Board found the themes of the consequences of rape and suppressed rape to be powerful, but nevertheless to be one which could be understood and appreciated by those with a mature perspective. The film clearly emphasised and condemned the horror of rape, and the perpetrators were seen as weak and cowardly. The ongoing suffering of those who have been raped was clearly conveyed. The psychological disturbance caused by the suppression of the rape supported the theme of the horror of rape, and while not all aspects of this subtheme might be understood by those between 15 and 17years, its treatment was not, in the opinion of the Review Board, harmful to them. The Review Board therefore took the view that the film was appropriately classified "MA15".

6.4 The Review Board concluded that the film depicts, expresses or otherwise deals with sex in such a manner as to be unsuitable for viewing by persons under 15, within the meaning of Para 4 of the table under the heading "Films" in the Code. The Review Board also concluded that the combination of scenes referred to in paras 5.2 and 5.3 above is "likely to disturb, harm or offend those under 15 years" so as to warrant imposing the restriction that "children under 15 years will not be admitted to cinemas unless accompanied by a parent or guardian (and that) video material will be restricted to persons 15 years and over", in accordance with the guidelines for the classification of films and videos.

6.5 The Review Board's direction that the consumer advice be varied to "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence", is made having regard to the content as described in para 5.2 and 5.3 above.

6.6 The applicant argued, in part, that: a) the adult themes can be coped with by those aged 15 to 17years; b) the rape scene was not a realistic depiction; c) the film shows that sexual violence damages women; d) the film does not dwell on the Elisabeth's involvement in sadomasochism; e) the film was consistent with the public's expectations of an "MA15+" level of content; f) the precedent of the film The Accused which contained a gang rape, was classified on review, as "M15+" (the "MA15+" classification was not then in existence), as it contained a socially significant message about rape.

6.7 The Review Board took the view that:
a) was valid;
b) was valid;
c) is true, but not necessarily relevant;
d) was valid;
e) has been judged to be so;
f) was not relevant, as the Review Board must make its decisions in relation to the current Guidelines for the Classification of Films and in accordance with current community standards.

7. Summary

7.1 The Review Board's decision is to set aside the decision of the Classification Board, and to classify the film The General's Daughter "MA15+" with the consumer advice "Adult Themes, Some Sexual Violence". This decision is taken after full consideration of the applicant's submission, and after assessing the film as a whole against the relevant legislative criteria, including those contained in the Code, and in the current Classification Guidelines for Films and Videotapes determined under Section 12 of the Act.

13 August 1999

Extract from OFLC Community Assessment Panels Report, 2 June 2000
(The Adelaide Panel took place 29-31 October 1999)

Adelaide Community Assessment Panel's Response to The General's Daughter

The [OFLC] Board's synopsis read as follows:

The Board originally classified the film R and the consumer advice read 'medium level violence, adult themes.

In August 1999, the distributor of the film appealed the decision. The Classification Review Board decided to classify the film MA with the consumer advice 'adult theme, some sexual violence'.

7.5.1 Overall Response

The majority of the Panel responded positively to the film, describing it as powerful and exciting.

An excellent movie with a compelling story. It has great actors. (older group)
It gives you insights into things that happen in the army and the cover-ups. It has a good story and it was hard to pick the killer until the end. (younger group)
I thought the film was intriguing. It kept you guessing as to who the murderer could be. (younger group)
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had humour, suspense, a bit of violence and intrigue. (older group)
Captivating. It kept you thinking and wondering the whole way through. (younger group)
I thought it was very powerful and thought provoking. (younger group). It was quite compelling. I reckon the story was very good. (older group)

An older woman considered The General's Daughter as a movie to be shared with her family.

This is a movie which the whole family can go and see. I don't enjoy killings but my husband and my two sons do. I can watch it with them. Some participants in both groups were critical of the film. One woman in the older group was disappointed by the lack of impact.
I didn't like it at all. I didn't cry, I didn't feel sorry for that woman. I wasn't moved at all. It didn't have that impact for me. It could have been a very emotional story but it didn't work for me... It offended me. I think they made it too light. One of the younger women disagreed by clearly identifying with the plight of the rape victim.
After the rape scene I thought poor woman, how would it be to go through something like that? (younger group)

An older man considered The General's Daughter a 'junk' movie with a lack of intellectual value.

It didn't do a lot for me. I've seen better. They never examined the issue of females in the military and that to me was the moral basis of the story...this was a junk movie to me for a low grade mass audience. It's not aimed to treat the issue in any serious way and it has a couple of good actors to dress up the movie.

7.5.2 Sexual Violence

Rape

Panellists identified the theme of rape as the main classifiable element of The General's Daughter. There are two scenarios featuring the daughter's rape, which the Panel discussed in detail, although often rape was treated as a single topic. The gang-rape of the heroine by army cadets is shown in flashbacks. Elizabeth's re-enactment of the rape, staged in order to taunt her father for suppressing the atrocity, culminated in her (off-screen) death. Although there was general agreement that the rape and its re-enactment were shocking and confronting, the majority of participants found the sequences to be powerful and vital components of the storyline.

Every time they showed something it was relevant. They were showing us something new. The plot goes along with the investigation. They discovered something, we discovered something too. (younger group)
The rape scene was very scary but I think they didn't overdo it. I think it's very well done in this movie. (older group)
It gives the feeling of what she was going through. (older group)
I think it had to go as far as it did to get us emotionally involved so we could work out why she was acting the way she was. (younger group)
It wouldn't be a movie at all without those scenes. (younger group)
I think they were part of the story. It didn't really bother me. (younger group)
In every film you find things that disturb you but sometimes you need to be disturbed in a movie. (older group)

When evaluating the sexual violence in The General's Daughter, a young woman made a comparison with the film The Accused.

I don't think it was a full rape scene. If you've seen Jodie Foster's movie it was stronger there. There were more guys and they were screaming and they were patting each other on the back. Here, the investigation was more in-depth than the rape.

A woman in the older group considered that the rape was not treated in the depth and with the seriousness it deserved.

It offended me because I think they made it too light. Of course I didn't want to see everything but they could have been made the incident more severe. The discussion of the rape was like if the cat got run over. That's the guts of the story and they made it so shallow.

A male participant in the younger group insisted that the rape was treated in an exploitative manner. He was particularly critical of the repeated references to the dead woman's body.

They felt they had to show the visual for impact. It doesn't need to be so graphic, it felt exploitative. You need to engage people but you don't need the intensity of some visuals...I think society sleeps better at night not knowing certain things.

Gang Rape

Panellists emphasised the high emotional impact of the gang-rape and stressed the powerlessness of the general's daughter to defend herself. The humiliation and trauma entailed in being tied down was said to make her attack particularly terrifying.

It's a lot more emotional in a gang rape. You don't see that in a lot of movies. (younger group)
Rape is rape but this one was worse. She was tied up and she couldn't put up a fight. She was at their mercy. (younger group)
The rape scene is a tricky one. She is left totally vulnerable. She can't defend herself, there is nothing she can do. She is left totally powerless, totally submissive. (older group
Gang rape is much worse, more dramatic, more traumatic than a rape. (older group) They hated her because she was smarter than them. They wanted to humiliate her using their power. (younger group)

Possibility of 'Copycat' Rape

The issue of 'copycat' crime was raised in both the groups. A younger male suggested some people imitated behaviour seen in films and he believed there was a risk that young people would copy aspects of the sexual violence in this film.

I'm sure there are people that are gonna do that. How do these people get their ideas initially? Our imagination doesn't create these thought'.
This view was not supported by the rest of the younger group.
A movie like this one is not going to make you rape someone. You have to have a problem already.

The older group also debated the likelihood of young people imitating elements of the film. In general, the majority were dubious about such copycat behaviour.

There has been a lot of research between the link of rape and pornography...it hasn't been proved. Anyway, you can copy something better from the paper.
These people would do something anyway. They are inclined, it's in their heads.
It has a moral message. They are trying to say it's not a good thing. A sound mind will see that. A movie doesn't turn anybody on that way.

Sado-Masochism

Elizabeth's practice of sado-masochism, revealed by bondage equipment and a videotape found in her home, was not considered problematic by most of the Panel. Nevertheless, there was a general agreement that this scene was definitely a classifiable element of the film.

The Panel seemed to accept that the daughter's sadomasochistic practice could be accounted for by the trauma she had suffered and a need to have sexual power over men.

That was full on payback. She was doing that to punish men. In the video you can see that she was the dominant one. She was always on top.

Nevertheless, a couple of the male participants were concerned that a sexually abused woman was portrayed as resorting to 'kinky sex' and one older man thought that the videotape demonstrated inappropriate pleasure.

But they were enjoying that. They were having a good time. Payback to me is a gun to their heads!

7.5.3 Other Violence

Propeller Scene

While rape was by far the main topic of discussion in terms of violence (sexual) in The General's Daughter, Panellists also referred to a fight scene in which a man is killed by a boat propeller. Panellists were not overly concerned by this scene although it was considered when classifying the movie. A couple of younger women described the scene as graphic but it was the older group who expressed more concern. The consensus appeared to be that this level of violence was commonplace in contemporary action films.

I saw that in heaps of movies. Nothing new. (younger group)
You see that in other movies, you get used to it. (older group)
... people going through an aeroplane propeller, I've seen that. You see a lot of people getting blown up in all sorts of movies. Now it is a common occurrence. (younger group)
The guy dying in the propeller scene...he was a bad guy anyway. It was like acceptable, who cares when someone like that dies? (younger group)

Suicide

A few Panellists discussed the off-screen suicide of one of the characters. The younger participants gave more attention to this issue even though they were largely unconcerned by its treatment in the film.

The suicide didn't disturb me. You didn't see the lead up to it. (younger group)
You needed to know more about the guy who committed suicide. (younger group)
If they had shown his family grieving, that would be different, that would have been stronger. (younger group)

7.5.4 Humour and Violence

The younger group raised the device of countering violence with humour. In general, it was considered a positive attribute, being a 'break' from the highly intense tone of the movie.

I liked the comedy part. There wasn't just drama, drama, drama in terms of the rape and the investigation.
It tones down the whole impact of the movie.
With the use of humour you're still seeing the violence but it's more enjoyable.
I don't think the comedy was there for a laugh. I think it was there to break up the movie.

7.5.5 Comparison with Other Films

When discussing the overall treatment of violence in The General's Daughter, some Panellists made comparisons with previous films they have seen. The majority of Panellists found the violence in the film to be appropriate and in no way gratuitous when compared with other films.

The violence in the movie, it's not like Seven . (younger group)
Do you know that movie with Jack Nicholson in it? [A Few Good Men]
I don't like army movies but I enjoyed this one, it was different. (younger group)
The violence... I've seen worse in James Bond movies. (younger group)
In Saving Private Ryan... I was thinking of the first scene. It's much worse. (younger group)
I saw Clockwork Orange when I was fifteen and I didn't have the guts to walk out after the first ten minutes. Something that I should have done. But this movie is very well done and I don't think they over-did it. (older group)
I'd rather my son didn't see Something About Mary than see this movie. I found things in that movie particularly offensive. (older group)

7.5.6 Adult Themes

Cover-Up in the Army

Some Panellists determined that the film had a powerful message about the military and its culture. The suggestion of the military being above the law was identified as a classifiable element by some of the Panellists.

The military... they can disassociate from society and do their own thing. (older group)
They want to change things for women in the army. Women may be afraid that if they join the army they're gonna get raped by Tom, Dick and Harry. (older group)
I found interesting all the cover-ups in the army. That's the way it is. (younger group)

Rejection by the Father

Panellists identified the rejection of the daughter by her father as one of the main adult themes. One participant in the younger group considered the fraught father/daughter relationship to be the main theme of the film.

'The movie has moral messages. The father caring more for his career than for his daughter'. (younger group)

Some panellists took into consideration this issue when classifying the film.

'...the father was more worried by his career than for the welfare of his daughter. That's a strong adult theme for me'. (younger group)

7.5.7 Coarse Language

Although it was regarded as a minor element, Panellists did refer to the coarse language in the film. The majority of the Panel thought the language was in context and did not find it offensive.

There is some swearing in the movie. I think it was in context because I can't remember it! (older group)
There is a little bit of coarse language at the end with the General and Travolta. The f-word is used there. (older group)
At the beginning they said something about fucking with everybody's minds. (younger group)

7.5.8 Initial Panel Classification

Immediately after viewing the film but before the group discussion, participants nominated in the questionnaire an acceptable minimum age for the film and classified the film.

The majority of the Panel (12 participants) considered that the youngest audience for the film would be 15 years. However, two Panel members, one from each of the groups, nominated 16 years and six others 18 years.

As can be seen below, immediately after viewing the film but before the discussion, a majority of Panel members classified the film MA, with seven giving the film an R. There were clear differences by age. While the majority of the younger group classified the movie as MA, the older group was equally divided between an MA and an R classification.

The General's Daughter (MA)

	Total Panel	Younger Group	Older Group
MA	13	8	5
R	7	2	5

Justification of MA

Those who classified the film MA made the following comments:

The violence at the start makes it an M but with the rape scene I gave it an MA.
The most controversial scenes are very discreet. They use different camera angles to reduce the impact.
The bondage film with the chains and stuff is something to explain for someone younger.
It's not in-depth enough to be offensive. I don't like to see people being raped but I didn't think it was very violent at all.
There was a bit of violence in the beginning, the suicide scene, the kinky sex.
MA on the grounds of violence, the military attitude and no kids under 15 should watch it.

Justification of R

Those who classified the film R made the following comments:

R because of the violence and the f-word'.
I gave it an R because of the kinky sex, the gang rape and the language.
The main reason is the length and the details of the rape scenes. I haven't seen an R film before but I have seen Basic Instinct and this is at the same level. The violence is quite graphic and shocking.
R for the treatment of the woman.

7.5.9 Classification Discussion

After discussing the film, only one, older woman changed her views regarding the classification of The General's Daughter (in brackets is shown the participants' classification before the discussion). She classified the film R whereas previously she nominated MA.

The General's Daughter (MA)

	Total Panel	Younger Group	Older Group
MA	12 (13)	8 (8)	4 (5)
R	8 (7)	2 (2)	6 (5)

7.5.10 Panel's Assessment of the Board's Decision

After the Panel had made their final classification decision they read and discussed the Classification Board and Review Board reports on The General's Daughter.

The majority of the Panel agreed with the Review Board's MA classification and also concurred with most of the report.

Nevertheless, Panellists who classified the movie R were mildly critical of the Review Board's position. For instance, two participants in the older group expressed concern that being classified MA, The General's Daughter can be seen by young people aged 15.

It does horrify me. I'm old enough to watch what I want but if we allow them to watch this type of movie over a period of time, it's cumulative. They may think they can get away with everything they watch in the movies.
I'm worried that 15 or 16 years olds are going to be watching this movie.

A younger man who consistently criticised the rape scenes in the film, indicated his doubts about the real message of the film.

I don't think it has a very strong anti-rape message. It doesn't need to show what it shows, I prefer a more subtle approach.

Nevertheless, the same Panellist acknowledged that under the Classification Guidelines, the decision of the Review Board seemed to be correct.

I knew it was going to be an MA. From what I've been reading in the last few days I understand their decision. But if I'd have a choice, I'd give it an R. That would be my personal decision.

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