Adam Goodes Doco "The Australian Dream" Has Been Rated MA15+, Restricting Reach to Young People

It was classified MA15+ for "themes of racism and strong coarse language".

The Australian Classification Board has handed down its rating for The Australian Dream, a powerful new documentary about the racism faced by Adam Goodes that led to his exit from the AFL.

The doco, directed by Daniel Gordon and written by Stan Grant, helps us understand both the systemic and casual racism faced by Aboriginal Australians in everyday life, and through Goodes’ painful public vilification, viewers come to see our country under a harsh yet necessary new light.

As we titled our five-star review, it’s "a must-see for all Aussies".

So, of course, it’s been slapped with the restrictive MA15+ rating down under.

What's that now?

An MA15+ rating, according to the Australian Classification website, means "the content is strong in impact". Now, no one would deny that The Australian Dream isn't "strong in impact". It can even be pretty hard going at times.

However, material classified MA15+ is "legally restricted to persons 15 years and over". That means anyone under the age of 15 is not allowed to legally watch the film unless "they are in the company of a parent or adult guardian". (Note that "adult guardian" means legal guardian; it can’t just be an older mate.) So, that makes it harder to access if you're in school years seven, eight, nine or younger, despite the clear value of seeing Goodes' story at that age.

On The Australian Dream’s classification page, the reasons for its MA15+ rating are clarified slightly…

… but not really, especially when you compare it with the PG rating for The Final Quarter, another recent doco on Goodes’ final years in the AFL:

We reached out to the Classification Board to see if they could explain why The Australian Dream was given the more severe rating out of the two films.

They supplied us with the Classification Board's Decision Report.

"In the Board's view this film warrants an MA15+ classification as, in accordance with item 4 of the films table of the Code, it is unsuitable for viewing by persons under 15," it reads.

The Classification Board added that The Australian Dream received its rating due to "three audible uses of very strong coarse language in the form of the word 'c***' in addition to written use of the word 'c***' as well as use of the word 'f***' and derivatives which is occasionally aggressive."

(Earlier this year, an independent Classification Review Board revised an original MA15+ ruling for Rocketman, which also included the word 'c***', and gave it an M rating instead, because it was "contextual".)

Though the Classification Board shared with us some specific instances in which the strong language was used, they reiterated that "the examples described... do not represent an exhaustive list of the content that caused the film to be classified MA15+".

Still, you have to wonder why The Australian Dream, a movie that sheds an important light on Australia’s historical injustices and calls for greater acceptance, empathy and unity, is more harshly classified than, say, the M-rated Hobbs and Shaw, which opens with Idris Elba shooting a man in the face ("moderate impact violence"). Or Avengers: Endgame, which involves the genocide of half the planet and includes a character getting beheaded ("mild impact themes" & "moderate impact violence"). Or X-Men: Dark Phoenix, in which a character is impaled on a pole ("moderate impact violence").

We don't mean to 'violence-shame' those other flicks, but given the clear educational and historical value of The Australian Dream, and the importance of bringing it to the attention of young people around the country, we have to ask: What is the thinking here?

Paul Wiegard, Managing Director of Madman Entertainment, told Student Edge, "As the distributor of The Australian Dream, it is important to us that the film is seen by the broadest audience possible."

"We are going to consider our options."

Perhaps most ironic in this situation is the synopsis for the film written in the Classification Board's Decision Report.

"The Australian Dream is an Australian documentary, focussing on Adam Goodes, the Indigenous AFL legend and his story of race, identity and belonging in a society still immature and mostly ignorant with regards to its historical identity."

Mostly ignorant. If only there was some way to help people of all ages learn more about it...

The Australian Dream arrives in Australian cinemas 22 August.

Header Image: Madman Films