Larry Yust's 1969 film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery was made as part of the Encyclopedia Britannica's Short Story Showcase, a series of education films meant to be shown in school classrooms. It had an accompanying commentary film titled, A Discussion of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and proved to be quite popular - the Academic Film Archive even deemed it one of the two all-time bestselling educational films.
In 1972, these films were included in the curriculum of Independent School District No. 831 that consists of Forest Lake, Linwood, and Wyoming, Minnesota. However, during the 1977-78 school year, a group of parents became concerned with their use in senior high school American Literature courses. Objections focused on potential impacts on students' religious and family values.
A public meeting took place to discuss this matter on February 21, 1978. Both films were shown at the beginning to the audience of approximately fifty attendees, and teachers discussed how these films were effective teaching tools and that University of Maryland education professors had actually conducted a study that determined no negative effects from this material on students.
While no formal decision regarding the films was made at this time, three parents filed a formal Citizens' Request for Reconsideration of Instruction Materials. Their reasoning was that viewing the films might cause students to begin questioning their own family loyalties and religious beliefs. They also objected to the matter-of-fact way the films accentuated the "brutality and senselessness in our times," and their portrayal of a "vengeful God" rather than a "loving God."
A Challenge Committee held a public meeting on March 28, 1978, and recommended that the films not be used in junior high classes but could be used in high school, with information sheets being sent home with students for their parents to know their children could be excluded from viewing. Instead, the school board voted on April 17 to to reject these recommendations and remove the films entirely from the curriculum. No official reason was provided at the time.
Three students in the Forest Lake junior and senior high schools took this issue to the United States District Court - District of Minnesota. Their argument was that the movies were unconstitutionally excluded due to ideological content and should be reinstated. The court gave the school board an opportunity to present evidence to the contrary, but were instead provided with this statement:
The motion picture version of "The Lottery" and the trailer film discussing the short story graphically place an exaggerated and undue emphasis on violence and bloodshed which is not appropriate or suitable for showing in a high school classroom and which has the effect of distorting the short story and overshadowing its many otherwise valuable and educationally important themes.
This was not found to be a legitimate reason.
After the 'Pratt v. Independent School District No. 831 - Forest Lake, Minnesota' hearing in 1981, the court determined that the board's objections had religious overtones and that the films had been banned due to ideological content, thus violating the First Amendment. Arguments that the films emphasized violence were found to not be supported by facts, as violence was only contained in the final few frames and was faithfully adapted. In addition, no curriculum review had ever previously been undertaken by the board due to violent content.
The case's sequence of events was found to be particularly damning - the school board's decision originally gave no reason for the ban, and only after the court asked for evidence did the board attempt to justify its actions with concerns over violence.
On Jan. 13, 1982, the films were ordered to be reinstated.
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The films in question:
Reference:
Court records via Open Jurist
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