There are chariots of fire, broken hearts in Verona and a smattering of Tibetan monks.

Throw in an alien on a bike, an injection of gender stereotypes and a few dead poets and you've got a film library that covers everyone from kindergarten to teenagers.

But out of the 74 films suggested by the Board of Studies English K-10 Syllabus, not one contains a same-sex couple.

On Wednesday, NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli took the extraordinary step of using his ministerial powers to ban a film about the children of gay parents, Gayby Baby, from being shown during school hours.

"It is not about the content," the minister repeatedly said of the ban. "It is about not impacting on planned lessons."

Which begs the question: What is appropriate to splash on the silver screens of the state's school halls?

Every year the Board of Studies updates its list of suggested films designed to "inculcate ideas and influence thinking" among the state's pupils, but it does leave room for teachers and principals to decide on appropriate films at their own discretion.

Its preface states: "The power [of films] lies in their ability to shape public opinion, create public debate and give rise to fashions and fads."

But you can forget about the gays - none to see here, move right along.

The Board of Studies syllabus for kindergarten to Year 10 reveals a film canon splattered with teenage angst.

Throughout the suggested texts, Scorsese drinks tea with the Dalai Lama in Kundun, Keira Knightley dribbles through gender expectations in Bend it like Beckham, and Rhys Witherspoon inexplicably gets sucked into her TV in Pleasantville.

Ten Things I Hate About You hasn't been off this list for a decade, neither has Shrek, nor What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

Princesses abound in Ever After, Fairy Tale and The Princess Bride, it's all very pretty, pleasant - and nuclear.

All of them and Luhrmann's take on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet have one thing in common. They are all about heterosexual relationships in a heterosexual world, where every child either has a mother and father, or no parents at all.

It is a cultural menage not lost on the protagonists in Gayby Baby.

"I don't know anyone who has a family like mine," says 12-year-old Ebony in the trailer to the film.

The state's syllabus doesn't either.

10 films your kids should see (according to the syllabus):

1) Babe (G) Directed by Chris Noonan, Universal Pictures

Babe is a pig whose skill and intelligence leads him to become an outstanding sheepdog. Real and artificial creatures are smoothly portrayed together and the film succeeds on many levels and its allusions will appeal to adolescents and adults as well as children.

4) Ladyhawke (PG) Directed by Richard Donner, Warner Bros/20th Century Fox

Medieval knight Navarre and his true love Lady Isabeau escaped two years ago from the clutches of the evil Bishop, who lusted after Isabeau. But they have been cursed. Navarre is destined to be a wolf during the night while Isabeau transforms into a hawk by day.

3) Lousy Little Sixpence (G) Directed by Alec Morgan and Gerry, Bostock Ronin Films

This important documentary recounts the history behind Australian government policy of separation of Aboriginal children from their parents. It combines stills, archival photographs and film with contemporary footage and studio interviews.

4) The Dark Crystal (G) Directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, Columbia TriStar

On another world two races exist, the gentle Mystics who teach about peace and love, and the Skeksis, a violent and powerful tribe. Two Gelfings, Jen and Kira, survivors of a race wiped out by the Skeksis, go on a quest to find a shard to heal the Dark Crystal and bring unity back to their world.

5) The Princess Bride (PG) Directed by Rob Reiner, 20th Century Fox

This classic fairytale full of fun, frolic, adventure and quirky characters begins with a grandfather reading his grandson a bedtime story. As he reads, the action comes alive and we are introduced to Buttercup, the beautiful Princess, who is kidnapped by the evil Prince Humperdinck. With occasional interpolations by the grandson as the story progresses, we watch as Westley, Buttercup's childhood sweetheart in the guise of hero Dread Pirate Roberts, attempts to rescue her.

6) Edward Scissorhands (PG) Directed by Tim Burton, 20th Century Fox

This modern-day fairytale tells the story of Edward, whose inventor died before finishing him, leaving Edward with scissors instead of hands. The film takes place in an artificial world where a haunting gothic castle crouches on a mountaintop high above a storybook suburb, a 'sitcom' neighbourhood where all of the houses are shades of pastels.

7) Dead Poets Society (PG) Directed by Peter Weir, Roadshow

Set in the 1950s in an exclusive and traditional private school in America (with English overtones), the film depicts a group of boys in their final year of high school. With the arrival of a new English teacher, Mr Keating, the boys are encouraged to 'seize the day' (carpe diem) and 'suck the marrow out of life'. His inspirational lessons give the boys insights into the world beyond school, with its rigid thinking and codes of behaviour.

8) Gallipoli (PG) Directed by Peter Weir, Roadshow

A period film rather than an historical one, Gallipoli is notable for its script by playwright David Williamson and its portrayal of Australian-British relations as the product of British arrogance rather than Australian compliance. It follows the adventures and experiences of two young men, Archy and Frank, during World War I. The boys are successful sprinters and have a friendly rivalry in competition, but a deeper friendship is forged in the army.

9) Pleasantville (M) Directed by Gary Ross, New Line Cinema

David and his sister Jennifer fight over the remote control and inexplicably end up being sucked into the television. They find themselves trapped in Pleasantville, a "Father Knows Best" style 1950s black-and-white television show, complete with loving parents, old-fashioned values and an overwhelming amount of innocence and predictability.

10) Sense and Sensibility (G) Directed by Ang Lee, Columbia Pictures

Ang Lee's capable direction brings to life an age of extreme politeness and ritualised conversation in considerable contrast to present social conventions. The Dashwood sisters' styles, Elinor's sense and Marianne's sensibility, are finely distinguished in this adaptation of Jane Austen's novel.