Lexi Webster
The 1978 musical romantic comedy film Grease is a fun and lively film with well-known music, dance scenes, and comedy. However, it has been rated PG-13 due to its sexual content, references, teen smoking and drinking, and language. Parents may want to carefully examine the film before showing it to their children due to concerns about exposing younger children to the language, smoking, drinking, and sexual attitudes shown, particularly the attitudes of the boys towards the girls.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Reason for rating | Sexual content including references, teen smoking and drinking, and language |
| Violence | Students push and shove in the corridor. Danny thumps another boy on the arm. |
| Smoking | Lots of smoking. The girls encourage Sandy to smoke. |
| Drinking | Characters drink at parties, at home and in cars. |
| Sexual activity | Rizzo and Kenickie have sex in a car. |
| Nudity | Three guys show their bare bottoms on the dance floor. |
| Language | Characters use words like "ass," "crap," "weenie," "flog your log," etc. |
| Gender roles | Outdated gender roles, with teen boys obsessed with girls |
| Sexual harassment | Frequent sexual harassment is excused as "boys will be boys." |
| Year | 1978 |
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What You'll Learn
Sexual content and innuendos
The 1978 musical film Grease is packed with sexual content and innuendos, earning it a PG rating in Australia. The film's sexual themes and depictions of teen sex would likely result in a higher rating if it were released today.
The film includes several scenes of passionate kissing, implied sex scenes, and sexual innuendo in the dialogue and song lyrics. For example, during the song "Greased Lightning," the lyrics include vulgar language and sexual references such as "you know that ain't shit, we'll be gettin' lots o' tit", "she's a real pussy wagon", and "the chicks'll cream". The song also contains profanity, with words like "t-t", "s--t", and "p---y wagon".
The film also features sexual gestures and rude language. Male characters frequently make obscene gestures, including pretending to motorboat someone and grab at breasts. Characters also use words like "ass", "crap", "weenie", "heinie", "flog your log", and "gangbang".
There are also implied sexual activities and discussions of sex, including masturbation and protection. For example, two characters discuss a broken condom, and a girl expresses fear that she may be pregnant. In another scene, the main character makes a pass at his girlfriend, pushing her down into the car seat and aggressively kissing her. She has to fight to push him off, yelling "stop it".
The film also includes scenes of characters in their underwear or partially dressed. Three men's bare buttocks are seen when they moon a passing car and a TV camera. A group of women are seen in their underwear, and during a sleepover, teens dance around in their nighties.
Grease's sexual content and innuendos, along with its portrayal of outdated gender roles and negative messages about relationships, have drawn criticism from some parents and reviewers.
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Violence and aggressive behaviour
Work-related violence and aggression can come from various sources. External violence, for example, is associated with robbery or other crimes where the perpetrator is from outside the organisation, while service-related violence occurs when providing services to clients, customers, patients, or prisoners, typically in industries such as health, hospitality, retail, aged care, and education. Internal violence and aggression, on the other hand, arise within the work environment from co-workers, supervisors, or managers. It can also include initiation and hazing practices, which involve negative, humiliating, or distressing experiences that can cause physical and psychological harm, especially to new and young workers.
To prevent violence and aggressive behaviour in the workplace, it is essential to first identify potential risks. This involves examining the work environment, tasks, and management practices. Hazards that can increase the risk of violence and aggression include high levels of psychosocial hazards, such as stress, frustration, or conflict, as well as service methods that escalate frustration or anger, such as long waiting times or poor queue management. Once risks have been identified, they must be controlled or eliminated. This can be achieved through risk isolation, such as separating workers from the public using protective barriers, or through administrative controls if the risk persists despite other measures.
Employers play a crucial role in addressing workplace violence and aggression. They are responsible for providing information and support to employees on how to respond to and report incidents of violence or aggression. Additionally, under model WHS laws, persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) must manage the health and safety risks of workplace violence and aggression, whether it occurs between workers or involves other individuals at the workplace, such as customers or clients.
In the context of healthcare settings, such as intensive care units (ICUs), aggression, violence, and threatening behaviour from patients towards staff have been observed, triggering security responses known as "Code Grey". While the prevalence of such incidents in Australian hospitals is considered low, it has been noted that the annual number of events has been increasing over time. This highlights the importance of managing and mitigating the risks associated with violence and aggressive behaviour in healthcare and other workplace settings.
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Smoking and drinking
The iconic musical Grease features a lot of smoking and drinking, which has raised concerns among parents considering showing the film to their children. The film is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sexual content, teen smoking and drinking, and language.
In the film, most of the main characters smoke, including Danny, Rizzo, Kenickie, and Sandy, who is pressured by her peers to take up smoking. The character of Danny, played by John Travolta, is often seen with a cigarette dangling from his lip, portraying smoking as cool. This portrayal of smoking may encourage younger viewers to imitate the behaviour, which is concerning given that smoking is now less socially acceptable than in the 1950s era depicted in the film.
There is also a significant amount of drinking in the film. Characters are shown drinking at parties, at home, and in cars. They drink beer, wine, and Pepsi, and spike the punch at the school dance. The film also features product placement for Pepsi and Ipana toothpaste. While drinking is not glamorised to the same extent as smoking, it is normalised as a regular part of teenage life in the film.
In Australia, where the film is set, there are strict laws and measures in place to reduce smoking rates and tobacco-related harm. These include excise tax on tobacco products, tobacco advertising bans, plain packaging laws, laws on smoking in public, and age limits on purchasing tobacco. It is illegal to sell or supply tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18, and smoking is prohibited in cars when a minor is present. These laws reflect a broader shift in societal attitudes towards smoking, with a focus on protecting young people from the harmful effects of tobacco use.
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Coarse language and profanity
The use of coarse language and profanity in films and television shows is often a subject of debate and scrutiny by censorship boards and rating systems worldwide. Australia is no exception, and its rating system for films and television content takes into account the presence of coarse language and profanity when assigning age-appropriate ratings.
In Australia, the Australian Government Classification Board is responsible for classifying films and television shows based on their content. The Classification Board uses a set of guidelines to determine the suitability of a film or television show for different age groups.
Regarding coarse language and profanity, the Australian classification system allows for some mild to moderate coarse language in films and television shows rated PG and PG-13. Words like “bastard”, “crap”, “damn”, “pissed”, and “hell” are generally permitted in the PG rating, although their usage may be limited. The PG-13 rating allows for infrequent use of the word "fk" and other mild to moderate expletives.
At higher rating levels, such as NC-16 and above, stronger language is permitted. However, the frequency and context of such language are crucial factors in determining the final rating. For example, coarse language that offends community and cultural sensitivities may be restricted to the M18 category. Additionally, strong religious profanity is viewed as highly offensive and may even be cut from a film or show, regardless of its rating.
The musical film "Grease" is an example of a production that has been reviewed for its coarse language and profanity in Australia. While the film is well-known for its music, dance scenes, and comedy, it has also been noted for its racy content, including coarse language, smoking, drinking, and sexual attitudes. Reviews from Common Sense Media and Children and Media Australia highlight the use of words like "ass", "crap", "weenie", "flog your log", and stronger profanity in the song "Greased Lightning". These reviews suggest that parents may want to preview the film before allowing younger children to watch it.
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Gender roles and stereotypes
The 1978 musical romantic comedy film Grease is a fun and lively film with well-known music, dance scenes, and comedy, making it enjoyable for adolescents. However, it has also been criticised for its portrayal of gender roles and stereotypes, as well as its depiction of violence and sexual attitudes.
The film centres around the relationship between Danny Zuko, leader of the T-Birds greaser gang, and Sandy Olsson, an Australian transfer student. When the summer fling between Danny and Sandy continues into the school year, Sandy feels pressured to change her image to fit the description Danny is looking for. She joins the Pink Ladies, a greaser girl clique, and starts becoming a rebel, dressing like a "bad" girl and even taking up smoking. This conforms to the stereotype of girls needing to change themselves to attract boys, and the idea that "bad" girls are more desirable.
Danny, on the other hand, is worried about his image and can't be seen liking someone like Sandy, who is portrayed as a good girl with blonde hair, perfect teeth, and popularity. He is concerned about maintaining his tough, cool, and rebellious image in front of his peers. This perpetuates the stereotype of boys needing to be tough and unemotional, always in pursuit of sexual conquests.
The film also showcases gender roles through the behaviours and attitudes of the characters. For example, the boys are shown boasting about their sexual exploits, with Danny implying that Sandy "was good" and asking if she "put up a fight". These scenes normalise the idea that girls are expected to resist sexual advances, but ultimately, boys are expected to conquer them. This blurs the line between romantic pursuit and rape culture.
Additionally, the film portrays a parents-free world, with teenagers mostly left to their own devices. This highlights the influence of peer pressure and the desire to conform and fit in at school. Sandy's transformation is driven by her need to impress Danny and be accepted by the Pink Ladies, reflecting the power of peer influence over parental guidance.
Grease has been criticised for reinforcing gender stereotypes and promoting potentially harmful messages to young audiences. While it provides an entertaining and nostalgic view of teenage life in the 1950s, it also offers a simplistic and outdated view of gender dynamics that may confuse or misguide modern viewers, particularly children and adolescents.
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Frequently asked questions
Grease is rated M in Australia.
The M rating in Australia restricts viewers under 15 years unless accompanied by a parent or adult guardian.
The M rating in Australia is due to the film's sexual content, references, teen smoking and drinking, and language.
Grease includes sexual innuendo, rude and sexual gestures, sexual harassment, and outdated gender roles. There is also a lot of smoking and drinking by teenagers, as well as coarse language.
In the United States, Grease was initially rated PG and later re-rated PG-13 due to similar concerns about sexual content, teen smoking and drinking, and language.
