In response to criticism (such as the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated) the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theater Owners are working to make their process more transparent. That’s good. They’re also going to offer a new warning to parents that some R-rated movies are unsuitable for children, even when accompanied by an adult. That’s utterly worthless, and the coward’s way out. See, the parents that bring children to movies loaded with violent and pornographic content aren’t clueless about the movie they’re about to see.
They’re just horrible parents.
I’m not talking about the parent that brings his 15 year old to The Last Kiss to find out there’s several sex scenes that the trailer didn’t even hint at. I’m talking about the mother who brings her 5 year olds to see The Cell. The parents who bring their pre-teens to Blade II. And the parents who complain because the theatre won’t let their 3 year old in for free to see The Exorcist! By the way, these are all real examples I’ve witnessed firsthand here in southern California. It happens all the time.
Roger Ebert has said about two films, “If this movie doesn’t get an NC-17 for violence, no movie ever will.” The films where Hannibal and The Passion of the Christ, and after seeing both I heartily agree. And yet they initially gave an NC-17 to Clerks for language! The MPAA just wants to soothe their aching conscience. These people live in the area of the country that I do, so they can’t be blind to their contributions to the delinquency of minors. I’m not for eschewing parental responsibility. But if we can do something, even a small gesture, to lessen the psychological damage these selfish parents will inflict on their children, shouldn’t we?
Yeah, at Apocolypto there was a family with some kids under 10. This movie was rated R, and it deserved that. I don’t care if your parents feel you are up for it, cuz it ruins the movie for the rest of us when your kid starts crying and not that “I want to go home I am tired” cry, but the one that is going to be repeated for years to come in the kids nightmares. The theaters should enforce the ratings and not leave it up to the idiot parents, and they should be fined when they don’t (wth free movie passes for people that turn them in). As in most cases, we don’t need more rules, we just need to enforce what we have, says the angry gun owner…..
I’ve heard Apocalypto was even more violent and gory than Passion, which is impressive.
The sad issue is the perception of NC17. While it’s simply “R minus children”, many theatre owners and chains view it as rated X, and will refuse to exhibit the film. Blockbuster, too. If they helped change the perception on the part of the distributors and public, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.
As you said, the short-term solution is to have some sort of R++ rating for which the theatres would voluntarily enforce a no kids policy. Heck, maybe that’s a decent long-term solution.
The whole point of the MPAA and NATO is to prevent government regulation, like they’re trying to do with video games. I think they’re doing a poor enough job that the government should probably scare them into stepping up their measures.