When spoken with the right tone — or perhaps the wrong one would be more accurate — almost any word can become a slur.

And for those who are wondering what a slur is, common dictionary definitions for that term include "an insulting or disparaging remark or innuendo," or a word that has "a shaming or degrading effect."

I bring this up because there have been questions about specific wording and content descriptions in a recent movie reviews. In particular, "slurs" or the more explanatory "derogatory language and slurs."

It's a content ratings replacement. At one time the Deseret News reviews only flagged "racial epithets." But there are other epithets and slurs, not just those that are based on race and ethnicity.

And it's a growing concern. A recent statewide campaign called attention to so-called "hate language" and other terms of derision.

Getting back to my point, slurs and epithets can be based on everything from religious beliefs to sexuality to socioeconomic status to levels of intelligence. So their presence in films needs to be mentioned as a warning to viewers.

IT BEARS REPEATING

Our ratings content and advisories for movie reviews often differ from those issued by the Motion Picture Association of America and its Classification and Ratings Administration board.

That board assigns the G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 ratings to movies. Unfortunately, those ratings often they don't go far enough in describing the actual film content.

Take the "Toy Story" movies, although it should be pointed out that they earned the G rating for a good reason. They are family-friendly.

However, they also feature some animated violence such as "Toy Story's" scenes of the bully neighbor, Sid, blowing up and destroying toys. That might upset some younger children.

And the closing-credits outtakes for "Toy Story 2" feature flatulence humor.

ALSO …

Along these lines I'd like to mention the "slurs" in "White on Rice," a locally produced comedy that was released last weekend.

The lead character (played by Hiroshi Watanabe) speaks disparagingly of other Asian races, particularly Koreans. (He is Japanese.)

Obviously, the film is not as hateful or vituperative as, say, the recent R-rated comedy "The Goods: Live Hard. Sell Hard," which had racial, ethnic and other slurs. But slurs are slurs. That includes terms used in "White on Rice" to describe supposed "idiocy" or "disabilities." And there are some of those in the film as well.

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com