The Bikeriders Parents Guide

The Bikeriders is an upcoming 2023 drama film focusing on a motorcycle club in the 1960s. Directed by Jeff Nichols, it features an ensemble cast including Michael Shannon, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer. 

The film provides a gritty, artistic look at motorcycle club culture during a transformative time in America.

With its R rating for strong language, violence, drug use and brief sexuality, The Bikeriders may seem inappropriate for pre-teens and younger teenagers.

However, the rating alone doesn't tell the whole story. This parental guide dives deeper into the content to help parents make an informed decision about letting their kids see the film.

By understanding the type of mature content in The Bikeriders and how prominently it's featured, parents can determine if their child is ready to handle it.

 We'll provide specific details on language, violence, drugs, sexuality and more so parents can weigh the pros and cons. There may be some positive messages worth discussing as well. Our goal is to give parents the tools to decide if The Bikeriders aligns with their family's values.

MPAA Rating

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) gave The Bikeriders an R rating for "language throughout, violence, some drug use and brief sexuality." This means parents are strongly cautioned as the film contains adult material that is unsuitable for children under 17. 

According to the MPAA ratings guidelines, films with an R rating can include hard language, drug use, nudity within sensual scenes, brief graphic violence, and other adult content.

The R rating for The Bikeriders seems to be largely for pervasive strong language throughout the film. Reviews mention there is constant use of F-bombs and other profanity by the biker characters. In addition to language, the rating reflects some intense bloody violence such as stabbings and beatings. 

Drug use is featured in the film as well, mainly alcohol consumption and marijuana smoking associated with the biker lifestyle. Finally, there are a couple sensual scenes involving partial nudity and implied sexuality. However, the sexuality and nudity are described as brief.

Overall, the R rating signals that the content is aimed at adult audiences and likely contains more hard language, violence, and drug use than a more restrictive PG-13 rating would permit. The imagery and themes in The Bikeriders require mature viewership.

Language

The Bikeriders fully earns its R rating with frequent use of very strong profanity throughout the film. The language is pervasive from beginning to end. According to IMDb parents guide, there are over 300 F-words used in the movie, in addition to regular use of words like "shit", "ass", "bitch", and more. The strong profanity comes from all central characters and is used in both hostile and casual ways.

Reviews note the constant harsh language and recommend that parents be aware if considering allowing their pre-teens or young teens to see the movie. The amount of profanity alone makes The Bikeriders inappropriate for young viewers.

Violence

The Bikeriders contains a significant amount of violence, which contributed to its R rating. There are several intense and bloody fight scenes between rival motorcycle clubs. In one disturbing scene, a character is beaten brutally with metal chains, leaving his face covered in blood.

Compared to other R-rated films, the violence in The Bikeriders is on the more graphic side, with brutal beatings, stabbings, and shootouts. Many of these scenes show blood splattering and gory injuries. There is also an up-close knife fight that results in a gruesome throat slashing.

The amount of violence earned the film its restricted rating, as there are multiple realistic scenes of bloody harm. Parents should be aware that the severity of violence is more intense than the standard R-rated action movie.

Drug Use

The Bikeriders depicts frequent drug use by members of the motorcycle club, often to excess. According to Quora, some real-life motorcycle clubs use drugs like methamphetamine to get high and enhance their riding abilities. In the film, drugs and alcohol seem to be a way of life for the bikers.

The most commonly used substances in The Bikeriders are marijuana, cocaine, LSD, methamphetamines, and alcohol. Both recreational use and drug dealing/trafficking are shown as ways the motorcycle club funds itself. 

Drug use is pervasive throughout the film from start to finish. The bikers are frequently shown smoking marijuana, snorting cocaine, drinking heavily, and tripping on LSD during parties and celebrations.

Sexuality

The Bikeriders contains a few scenes with partial nudity and sexuality. There is a scene where two characters briefly kiss while topless, though no graphic nudity is shown. Later, there is a quick shot of a character's bare backside. 

The most explicit scene involves a character skinny dipping at night, though the lighting obscures graphic details. These scenes are relatively brief, lasting only a few seconds each. Overall the film's sexual content amounts to less than 3 minutes total.

According to reviews, the film focuses more on exploring the themes of freedom and rebellion within the motorcycle club than on gratuitous sexuality (The Guardian). The sexuality present serves more to portray the dynamic relationships between characters rather than to titillate.

Themes

The Bikeriders explores several common themes through the eyes of its characters who are part of the motorcycle club culture. One major theme is freedom, as the bikers embrace a nonconformist lifestyle filled with excitement and danger.

Their motorcycles represent escape and independence. The bikers themselves rebel against society's rules and norms. Loyalty is also an important theme, as club members form tight bonds and support each other like family. 

They live by their own moral code and rules. The characters struggle to balance their devotion to the club with their personal relationships and obligations to their biological families outside the club.

According to Slant Magazine, "The Bikeriders seems to reveal itself as an homage to Danny Lyon and his documentary tradition as much as the world that it depicts." The film provides an insider's view into themes like loyalty and rebellion in motorcycle club culture. 

Though it has some dramatic elements, it takes a raw, documentary-style approach to examining these themes.

Motorcycle Club Culture

The film provides an insider's view into the culture of motorcycle clubs. It depicts the codes of conduct and traditions that govern these groups. According to Wikipedia, motorcycle clubs "have a set of bylaws that delineate the clubs' hierarchical structure and the responsibilities of the members."

Aspects of motorcycle club culture shown in the film include the importance of loyalty, brotherhood, and commitment to the club. There is an initiation process to become a full member and strict rules that members must follow. 

The film focuses on one club in particular, examining their rivalries with other clubs and ongoing conflicts. It offers a look at the biker lifestyle - riding motorcycles, holding parties, getting tattoos.

Overall, the depiction aims to showcase the unique bonds between members and the freedom they find on the open road. But it also doesn't gloss over the danger, violence, and criminality associated with some biker gangs. Parents should be aware it features illegal activities like drug dealing and assault.

Uplifting Elements

While The Bikeriders depicts the gritty reality of motorcycle club culture, it does have some inspiring and uplifting moments. In particular, the bond of brotherhood among the club members is portrayed as unbreakable and enduring. 

Led by president Knuckles (Tom Hardy), the group has an undeniable loyalty to each other that gets them through tough times. There's also an uplifting romance between Knuckles and his old flame Jessica (Jodie Comer) which represents hope and second chances. Jessica sees the good in Knuckles despite his rough exterior and criminal activities. 

Their rekindled love offers lightness to balance the darkness. While the lifestyle of the biker club involves illegalities, The Bikeriders finds nobility in the members' fierce devotion to the code and commitment to treating each other like family.

Appropriateness for Kids

Overall, The Bikeriders is not considered appropriate for pre-teens and young teens under the age of 15. The MPAA gave the film an R rating citing pervasive strong language, violence, some drug use and brief sexuality. 

As a gritty drama about motorcycle club culture, there are many mature themes throughout including criminal activity, aggression, and rebellious behavior that parents may find too intense for young viewers.

While the lead characters exhibit loyalty and family values, they are still part of an outlaw biker gang involved in violent conflict. There are multiple scenes showing bloody beatings, stabbings, and shootouts. 

Strong profanity is used regularly in dialogue. Brief sexuality includes some partial nudity and depictions of strippers at a clubhouse party.

For these reasons, The Bikeriders requires mature emotional and psychological development to fully comprehend the nuances of this adult drama. Most experts advise against letting pre-teens and young teens under 15 watch R-rated films with this type of graphic content. 

However, each child matures differently so parents should use discretion based on their individual child. Those not comfortable with the mature themes and images should wait until their teen is older before allowing them to view the film.