Oh, Hugh Jackman, you are one naughty guy. With Deadpool & Wolverine, Jackman joined a franchise that outraged parents, as Deadpool and Deadpool 2‘s inclusion on Disney+ raising the ire of the Parents Television and Media Council. Parents were also ticked about the R-rated film, Logan, appearing on the streaming service too. Deadpool & Wolverine then faced criticism for its “blasphemous” content, particularly from parents who felt it sullied Walt Disney’s reputation after taking their children to see it — despite the film’s “R” rating, the heavy promotion saying exactly what the movie was going to be, and the precedent set by the first two films. But still, these all pale in comparison to Jackman’s hedonistic Western film that introduced “pornography” to the innocent eyes of students at Payson Junior High School in Utah. No, it’s not Australia but the 1999 PBS stage production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!
The 1999 PBS ‘Oklahoma!’ Is More Provocative Than Oklahoma Itself
Um, Oklahoma!? Yes, really. One of the most controversial scenes features Jackman as cowboy Curly. During a visit to the ramshackle home of Jud (Shuler Hensley), the hired hand, Curly notices photographs displayed on a wall. The scene includes ten images of nude women, with Curly commenting that one is ‘plum stark naked as a jaybird,’ while the camera lingers on the explicit display.
And that’s just the visual element. The first hour is rife with language and insinuations that would make a sailor blush. For example, the song “Kansas City” includes reference to “a girl that is round on top and round on bottom, peeling off clothes as far as she could go.” And how far could she go? Perhaps, just as far as that “plum stark naked as a jaybird” lass the Jackman’s Curly was ogling.
‘Oklahoma!’ Shouldn’t Have Been Shown At the School
Oklahoma! was shown to a number of students — 100 to 150 — at the school by a substitute teacher on September 28 and 29, 2017. Parents were horrified, with one set claiming it was all so offensive that their child was “physically upset by the situation,” and that they were working with their child through the agony was a painful process. Whether it was an oversight, or a deliberate attempt at corrupting the minds of the impressionable youth, protocol wasn’t followed. Lana Hiskey, the spokesperson for the Nebo School District, said that the screening was in violation of the district’s media policy, where any movie shown in its entirety is to be reviewed by the teacher and approved by the principal. “None of those things happened,” Hiskey told the Kansas City Star.
Nevertheless, the airing of the smutty musical that raised such an uproar had to be addressed, so in mid-October of that year, the principal and the school’s drama teacher sent an email out to the parents of children who saw far, far too much for their innocent little eyes. “This movie was not previewed or approved, and some inappropriate material was viewed by the students,” the email stated. “As parents, you may want to visit with your student about this.”
Placing the Uproar Over the Inappropriate Material in ‘Oklahoma!’ in Context
But still, Oklahoma!? How bad could a 1999 revival of a musical that debuted on Broadway back in 1943 possibly be? Well, that’s just it. It isn’t, or at least it isn’t the R-rated monster that it’s made out to be. The dozens of parents upset over the material turned out to be just one set, Jarrod and Kathryn Bolton (presumably no relation to Michael). Jarrod Bolton revealed that they brought their concerns to the school board after the district simply took too long to address his and his wife’s concerns with the film having been shown. So why did it take so long for the district to do anything? Probably for the exact same reason that you’ve been shaking your head through this entire article: it’s much ado about nothing — would the 1993 film adaptation of William Shakespeare‘s Much Ado About Nothing create the same uproar? Curious.
A post in a Facebook group, that has since been deleted but attributed to Kathryn, said, “A p—-graphic movie was shown in a classroom setting to approximately 125 students… among other things, the movie contained an 8-second close-up of 10 full-frontal images of 10 naked women.” 8-seconds. A full 8-seconds of pictures of naked women, which according to the Kansas City Star, were obscured or blurred, were deemed pornographic. In a similar vein, the reportedly suggestive verbal elements were likely overstated beyond their actual impact. The whole debacle is reminiscent of a call to ban a Peppa Pig episode in Australia over the presence of a spider, but at least that had some logic behind it.
Oklahoma! is currently available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO
