Why is “Americana” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, language throughout and some sexual references.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes some flirting, several scenes of people being shot by guns and arrows with bloody wounds shown, a stabbing death, discussions of patriarchal communities, discussions of the genocide of Native Americans and the appropriation of their land, stealing and selling cultural artifacts, and at least 80 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Several people in a small South Dakota town think they have found a way to make some quick money and change their lives with a Native American artifact, not realizing the consequences they will face. With Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Eric Dane, Gavin Maddox Bergman, Joe Adler, Zahn McClarnon, Derek Hinkey, Simon Rex, Jasper Keen, Christopher Kriesa, Augusta Allen-Jones, Rhiannon Frazier, Kenzie Shea Ross and Emily Perry. Directed by Tony Tost. [Running Time: 1:50]

Americana SEX/NUDITY 2

 – We understand that a man takes money for men to have sex with his daughters in a locked room; one daughter ends up pregnant and leaves to have the child. A man proposes to a woman after their third date and she declines. A man says that sometimes he wishes he was “queer” and makes a crude reference to a woman’s anatomy.
► A man and a woman embrace and dance together in a couple of scenes. A man practices a marriage proposal with a server at a diner. A woman is told to make a man feel comfortable in their home, and she rubs his shoulders and chest.
► A woman changes her clothing and we see her wearing a bra and underwear that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen, back and legs to the hips. A woman wears a bra and puts on a T-shirt when she gets out of bed (cleavage, bare abdomen and legs to the hips are seen).

Americana VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Two armed men enter a house and shoot several people (we see blood spurt); one gunman chases a woman and we hear gunshots off-screen, and a wounded man on the floor is shot again (we see blood on his clothing and a glass display case is shattered and an item inside is removed). A man stabs another man in the chest several times and he slumps over dead (we hear crunching). A man shoots another man in the chest and he falls to the ground, bloody. A woman shoots a man in the head and blood gushes from the wound, another woman later shoots the wounded man twice, a woman head-butts another man, a woman stabs a man in the foot and several women arm themselves with guns. Two men with guns shoot other men with arrows (we see some bloody wounds) and one man is shot in the abdomen with an arrow (we see blood) and falls to the ground.
► A man points a gun at a young boy and shoots it in the air as the boy shoots two arrows at him (missing the man); the man threatens the boy and the boy shoots him in the neck causing him to fall to his knees and collapse dead on the ground (we see blood on his mouth and neck and the arrow sticking out of his neck), and the boy makes a war cry before walking away. A woman is shot in the abdomen and she falls to the ground with blood on her clothing. A man in a car speeds into another man on foot before he shoots a woman; we see him injured on the ground later and he is shot by a man with an arrow, killing him.
► A woman threatens another woman with a gun and the second woman speeds away in her car chased by the woman with the gun. A man pushes a young boy into a room with another man and we later see the boy bound and gagged and in a van with several armed men. A man hits a woman in the face with a tomahawk handle (we see blood on her face). When being shot at by men with arrows, men in a house argue about “arming the women.” A man with a bloody gunshot wound breathes heavily and coughs while talking to a woman and he dies mid-sentence. A man drives into a property and sees many dead bodies on the ground; he gets out of his car holding a gun and sees many men with bows and arrows around him and several women with guns inside a house.
► We understand that a man takes money for men to have sex with his daughters. Several armed men stand around a property where signs read, “Trespassers will be shot” and “private property.” A woman says that she smashed someone’s head in and we later see a man moaning on the floor with a bloody head wound after she hits him with a hammer. A man talks about the Lakota coming back to remove the white people from their land. A man tells a woman that she can enter his house as long as she abides by the house rules. A man says that he was born and raised in a prisoner of war camp after the Lakota people’s land was taken.
► A woman throws something into the air and shoots a gun at it. A young boy practices shooting arrows through a suspended car tire. A young boy swings a stick at a woman that tries to make him leave with her; they argue briefly and she leaves. A woman yells at another woman for coming in late and mimics her stammer.
► People discuss stealing a Native American artifact. A young boy wears a ceremonial headband and identifies himself as the reincarnation of Sitting Bull throughout the movie. A sign reads “UR on sacred land.” A TV program depicts a Native American asking why they are hated by others and asks, “Are we evil?” A man says that the world is full of bad things. A man says that he has poor equilibrium from a brain injury caused by an exploding IED; a woman touches a scar he has on his head.

Americana LANGUAGE 10

 – About 80 F-words and its derivatives, 28 scatological terms, 11 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (weird, terrible burden, joker, pervert, dumb idea, pedants, bores, bastard, mumbles, colonialist, bougie [anatomical term deleted]), exclamations (wow, shut your hole, what the heck, cut that [scatological term deleted] out, rat me out, oh gosh, knock it off, stay calm, are you kidding me), 9 religious profanities (GD), 12 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, Jesus Christ, oh God, Holy [scatological term deleted], God). | profanity glossary |

Americana SUBSTANCE USE

 – Several people drink beer in a bar, a man orders beer for himself and a woman in a bar, wine bottles are shown on a bedside table, a man and a woman drink bottles of beer at home, and people drink wine at a gathering. A man smokes a cigarette.

Americana DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Native American artifacts, the Lakota Nation, Sitting Bull, South Dakota, cultural appropriation, speech impediments, honesty, Karl Marx, patriarchy, genocide, “Little House on the Prairie.”

Americana MESSAGE

 – A cultural artifact can possess symbolic power, and also be an item of commerce, as well as inspire violence.