Selah and The Spades | 2019 | R | – 2.4.5

Why is “Selah and The Spades” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “teen drug content, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kissing scene, and a few scenes of cleavage revealing outfits, a few scenes of teens beating other teens with bloody results shown, discussions of a car accident, many arguments and power struggles between teen groups, discussions of a drug distribution business on a private school campus, several scenes of teens taking drugs and drinking alcohol with one scene of a teen being drugged, and about 7 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Five factions of teenagers dominate social life and illicit activities at a prestigious private school, while the school administration is clueless. The leader (Lovie Simone) of one faction keeps her position by handling the selling of drugs and alcohol but when a new student (Celeste O’Connor) arrives, she threatens the established power structure and chaos ensues. Also with Jharrel Jerome, Ana Mulvoy Ten, Jesse Williams and Nekhebet Kum Juch. Directed by Tayarisha Poe. [Running Time: 1:37]

Selah and The Spades SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A teen boy and a teen girl kiss and another teen girl photographs them. Two teens sit on a bench close together.
► A teen girl asks another teen girl if she and a teen boy were ever in a relationship and she replies, “He’s not my type.” Two teen girls talk as to whether they have each been in relationships or had sex. A teen boy looks at a teen girl’s photo and asks, “Is she single?” A teen girl talks about adults telling her (and 17-year-old girls in general) what to do with her body (how to dress and not entice teen boys, etc.).
► Teen girls in a spirit squad dance in a couple of scenes and we see swaying hips and thrusts briefly. Teen girls on a spirit squad wear short skirts and crop tops that reveal bare abdomens and legs to the upper thighs. Teen girls wear short skirts that reveal legs to the mid-thighs.

Selah and The Spades VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – Several teens chase another teen through a school building, take money out of his backpack and crowd around him (presumably to beat him up) and we see him with bloody cuts and bandages on his face later. A teen boy is shown tied to a chair with a blindfold and tape over his mouth and a teen girl questions him and then tells another teen girl that she knows what needs to be done; we later see the second girl’s hands bloody, presumably from beating the teen boy (we don’t see the beating or his resulting injuries). A teen boy pounds on a teen girl’s room and falls into a chair spitting blood on the floor (we see bloody cuts on his face and we understand that he was beaten). A teen girl is shown under the influence of drugs and we see her vomit and stumble through a party (we see a stream of liquid come from her mouth). A teen girl realizes that she has been drugged and punches the girl responsible in the face (we see her bloody nose and lip); the first girl runs away and is chased by a teen boy and a teen girl and she falls over a fence (the other two help her back up to safety).
► A woman speaks sternly to her teen daughter about missing 7 points on an exam. Two teen girls argue in several scenes. Text accompanying the opening sequence describes a woman striking her husband and giving him a black eye. Several teenagers argue about organizing a senior prank and yell at each other. A teen girl talks about never going to a part of town alone (to buy drugs). A woman tells her teen daughter the cautionary tale about a scorpion and a frog crossing a river together and describes the frog sinking to its death after being stung by the scorpion. A teen boy and a teen girl argue over a misunderstanding and another teen girl (the boy apologizes later). Two teen girls argue about taking things too seriously (one girl apologizes later). A teen boy talks about stealing a ledger and making a copy of it as a joke. A teen girl tells another teen girl, “You’re not special.” A teen girl yells at a teen boy for betraying her and she shoves him and says, “You’re out.” A teen girl describes another teen girl having been expelled after an incident where a car she was in was driven into a football goal post and the driver was “out of her mind on acid.” We hear that a prom is cancelled because of the bad behavior of the students.
► A teen girl frantically cuts up a sweater sent to her by her mother. Many teens dance at a party in an empty building and everything is broken down and carted away by the teens when someone calls out that they have been spotted. Many teens line up glasses of colorful water on the winding entry stairs of a school administration building and we see the chagrinned administrator later.
► We hear about several factions in a private school with each having different activities; one handles gambling, one distributes drugs and alcohol, one keeps the administration distracted, etc.

Selah and The Spades LANGUAGE 5

 – About 7 F-words, 2 sexual references, 8 scatological terms, 8 anatomical terms (several in song lyrics), 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (rat, fox, seedy, enemies, teachers’ pets, racket, extra, dramatic, entry level trainee, bootleg faction, too new, flake), exclamations (don’t you dare, shut-up, screwing us over, jeez), 3 religious profanities (GD), 5 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh God, Oh My God, My God, Fear Of God). | profanity glossary |

Selah and The Spades SUBSTANCE USE

 – A teen girl spikes a bottle of liquor with acid tablets and gives it to another girl to drink (she guzzles it down), a teen girl snorts cocaine, teens smoke marijuana cigarettes in several scenes on a private school campus, a teen passes out pills at a party, we see a chest filled with drugs as well as alcohol and money in a teen girl’s’ dorm room and orders are fulfilled in a few scenes, discussions of a group of students providing booze and powders and pills to other students, two teen girls discuss an incorrect order for drugs, and many teen girls and boys buy and sell drugs and alcohol before a party.

Selah and The Spades DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Private schools, control over one’s life, factions, vices, cheating, gambling, culture, shock, illegal parties, legacy, perseverance, parental pressure, perfection, rumors, peace, war, chaos, manipulation, fitting in, Macbeth, actions have consequences, trust, jealousy, adjusting to a new school.

Selah and The Spades MESSAGE

 – Power corrupts.