Black Panther has been handed an unsurprising PG-13 rating, but the reasons for it apparently include a "rude gesture." The Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther was never going to be rated R, as PG-13 is the norm for movies set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The other titles coming in 2018 (Avengers: Infinity War and Ant-Man & The Wasp) are virtual locks to get the PG-13 designation from the MPAA.

Like every other installment in the MCU, Black Panther promises plenty of epic action sequences with some mild violence. But of course, that would never rise to the level of an R-rated film. And there's apparently a "gesture" from a character in the movie that felt strong enough for the MPAA to add it to the reasons why Black Panther ultimately got a PG-13 rating.

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As reported by box office research firm Exhibitor Relations via Twitter on Thursday, Black Panther's PG-13 rating is due to "prolonged sequences of action violence, and a brief rude gesture...allegedly involving sticking it to the man." The prolonged action scenes come as no surprise, nor does the rating itself. But the mentioning of a "rude gesture" to denote "sticking it to the man" is curious, to say the least.

The gesture could be as simple as a middle finger. That would certainly qualify as "rude" by most people's standards. However, the presence of a gesture that "involves sticking it to the man" in the description for Black Panther's rating indicates something more suggestive than that. It could be a gesture that has no bearing on the movie itself or its plot, but that would make it odd that it's being highlighted as if it's part of an important moment.

Who's on the giving and receiving end of the "brief rude gesture" in Black Panther is anyone's guess at this point. But it sure sounds like someone's flipping the finger, and it will be a memorable-enough moment in the movie that the MPAA took notice for the rating. Most likely, the gesture will come from a hero (perhaps a member of the Iron Legion?) and be directed toward one of the bad guys, likely someone vying for T'Challa's throne in Wakanda.

Clearly, Black Panther's action set pieces were going to be enough to get a PG-13 rating. The car chases, especially, won't exactly be light-hearted fare. But it appears that Black Panther will also have something of an edge to it, even if this mysterious "rude gesture" is just played for laughs. It will be interesting to see what was so rude that the MPAA had to bring it up in their rating.

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Source: Exhibitor Relations

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