The Trial of the Chicago 7 | 2020 | R | – 3.6.9

Why is “The Trial of the Chicago 7” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “language throughout, some violence, bloody images and drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a possible near rape and a few sexual references, scenes of the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy with some blood shown, a police raid scene with blood and bullet holes where a man was killed, several scenes of violent encounters with police during protests in a large city and leading to many beatings of people and bloody wounds, and at least 40 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Based on true events: Courtroom drama about the trial of seven progressive activists for conspiracy and inciting riots, after violent confrontations between armed Chicago police officers and anti-war protestors during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. With Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Doman. Directed by Aaron Sorkin. [Running Time: 2:09]

The Trial of the Chicago 7 SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A woman carries an American flag during a protest and three men yell at her telling her to put the flag down and “Get back to the kitchen”; when protestors are attacked by police, the men pull the woman to the ground and tear her shirt off leaving her wearing a bra (we see cleavage and bare abdomen) until another man pulls them away (it seemed as though they were determined to rape her).
► A woman receives a phone call in an office and it is implied by her responses that the caller is asking what race she is and if she has sex with African-American men, when she refers to sexual stereotypes being true. Two men request a permit to gather in a park in a city and they indicate that there will be “public fornication” and this term is repeated several times. A woman buys a man a drink in a bar. A man talks about being broken-hearted after a woman “enchanted” him.
► Women wear cleavage-revealing tops in a few scenes and some shorts that reveal bare legs to the mid-thighs.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – Newsreel footage shows Robert Kennedy on the ground with a pool of blood behind his head and on the ground. Photos show a scene after a police raid on a man and we hear there was a shootout; we see bullet holes and pools of blood and we understand that the man was killed. A man on a stage calls to a large crowd for them to take to the streets and it appears that he is calling for violence; the crowd charges toward police officers and they are struck with nightsticks and gassed with teargas (we see blood spray and spurt), and they march toward bridges where they are met by large numbers of police and National Guard troops with guns drawn and mechanized vehicles with what looks like razor wire attached to the front; some of the protestors throw bottles at the police. Several people on a sidewalk are surrounded by police officers and they confront them in front of a plate-glass window; the officers remove their badges and nameplates and shove a few of them through the glass window shattering it (we see a couple of people handcuffed and with bloody cuts on their faces)
► Two bailiffs on orders from a judge hold a defendant in a chair in a courtroom, and lead him to another room where they beat him, shackle him, gag him and lead him back into the courtroom for everyone to see. Protestors gather and march in a few scenes and we see them met by large numbers of police officers with tear gas and nightsticks; people are struck with the sticks and we see their bloody wounds and people are sprayed with tear gas that causes them to gag and their eyes to burn. A teen boy climbs a light pole in a park and two police officers order him to get down while pulling on his legs; the boy comes down and one officer hits him in the chest with a nightstick, another man intervenes and pulls one officer’s arm, causing him to be beaten several times with nightsticks (we see his head very bloody and he falls to his knees on the ground). A woman carries an American flag during a protest and three men yell at her telling her to put the flag down and “Get back to the kitchen,” and when protestors are attacked by police the men pull the woman to the ground and tear her shirt off leaving her wearing a bra (we see cleavage and bare abdomen) and until another man pulls them away it seems as though they were determined to rape her. Two bailiffs grab a defendant by the arm in a courtroom and he tells them that they don’t need to grab his arm, one grabs him again and he punches him in the face (the man is slammed to the table and handcuffed and led away). A police officer holds a gun on a man during a protest. A man is caught letting the air out of a tire of a police vehicle and one of the officers slams the man against the hood of the car and handcuffs him.
► A man instructs a class of young adults on how to make Molotov cocktails and we see two bottles in flames being thrown at a military recruitment office storefront. Two men walk into a courthouse for a trial and when someone throws an egg at them, one man catches it. Women in a park are shown burning their bras in a fire and men burn their draft cards. A man describes another man’s death as an execution and says that he was shot in the shoulder first so that he could not defend himself, and then in the head. Two men argue and one grabs the other.
► As a protest, several defendants and their legal representatives do not stand as the presiding judge leaves the court; one of the defendants does stand and the others are upset with him. A man makes a presentation showing napalm setting a village on fire and remarks that women and children were burned. A woman offers a man a gun as he leaves to go to Chicago and he declines.
► During a trial, we hear about the events that led to a riot in Chicago and the people charged in the trial are accused of inciting the riot. We hear that a speech contains the phrase, “Fry the pigs,” referring to police officers. A judge in a courtroom yells at men in several scenes and charges a few of them with multiple charges of contempt of court. A man yells at a judge in several scenes because he is in the courtroom being accused of crimes and he has no legal representation. We hear that a man has been charged with killing a police officer in another state. We hear that jury members received threats that were identified as having come from the Black Panthers. A woman carries an American flag during a protest and three men yell at her telling her to put the flag down and “Get back to the kitchen.” A man insists that there will be no violence in a protest and he tells his wife and child that they should never use violence to resolve any situation. A man begins reading over 4,700 names of American soldiers killed in Vietnam, as a judge in a courtroom yells and pounds his gavel repeatedly. We read that a man killed himself. We read that five of the seven defendants were sentenced to five years in prison and that after their appeal the charges were not pursued.
► Milk is poured on people’s eyes and faces after tear gas is deployed by police.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 LANGUAGE 9

 – About 40 F-words and its derivatives, 4 obscene hand gestures, 4 sexual references, 8 scatological terms, 5 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, 1 derogatory term for African-Americans, 2 derogatory terms for gay people, name-calling (police state, stupid, unprofessional, impolite, petulant, funky cat, dangerous, little fairies, vulgar, nuts, frat brothers, freak, phony, dope users, reckless, criminal, hookers, irrational, idiot, foul-mouthed losers, animal, ironic, insane, weird, crazy, anti-social, radical left, they’re all pigs, disrespect), exclamations (father no, silence, be quiet, zing, shut-up, okay, wow, I know, hey, what), 6 religious profanities (GD), 11 religious exclamations (e.g. Dear God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, For The Love Of Christ, For The Love Of God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

The Trial of the Chicago 7 SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man smokes a marijuana cigarette, a woman takes a phone call and someone on the other end of the line indicates they want to make a donation until the woman says that “We can’t take grass,” and a man asks another man in a courtroom if he is “stoned.” People drink and smoke cigarettes and marijuana in a park in a few scenes, people in a bar drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes, and people in a bar drink cocktails. A man smokes in a courtroom in a couple of scenes, and a man smokes in a meeting room in a courthouse.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – The Vietnam War, President Richard Nixon, President Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, assassination, racism, racial stereotypes, the Black Panthers, Attorney General Ramsay Clark, Attorney General John Mitchell anti-war protests, riots, 1968 Democratic National Convention, martyrs, Civil Rights, the Chicago Police Department, MOBE, SDS, YIP, US Department of Justice, the First Amendment, transition of power, conspiracy, political trials, revolution, perjury, extortion, suicide, jury tampering, confrontational tactics, mistrial, civil disobedience, anti-Semitism.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 MESSAGE

 – The 1968 Chicago riots were mainly caused by the mismanagement of the protests by the Chicago city authorities and charging the seven activists with crimes was a political act by then Attorney General John Mitchell.