I just read an article about the movie ratings assigned by the motion picture industry, from the perspective of the ratings’ relevancy in today’s entertainment world.
The original rating system was introduced in 1968 as a way to inform parents of the suitability of a movie’s contents for young children. Before that, Hollywood was under the watchful eye of the “Hays Code,” which was designed as a type of “Ten Commandments” of forbidden depictions in moviemaking. Among them were nudity (adults and children), swearing/cussing, mixed race relationships, white slavery, sexual hygiene and childbirth, racism and drugs. Oh, and the clergy couldn’t be spoken ill of, either.
The Motion Picture Association or MPA, (which included “of America” until 2019), created the rating system we now know to make it easier to choose movies for families or adults. The challenges which reshaped the system–one of the most noted being the addition of PG-13 after the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom due to some borderline violence touching the PG line in the sand–have tweaked the original four classifications. We now have five ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17) and a variety of descriptive text to include mild, fantasy or extreme violence, language, drugs and alcohol and sexual content as means of parental guidance as to what their children may experience during the movie.
The article points out that, unfortunately, many young people feel that the ratings system is a plot by adults to deprive them of what they conceptualize as a “better” form of entertainment. Young people will purchase a ticket for a PG-13 film, then sneak into the R-rated movie. I know from firsthand experience–not in a theatre, but watching a film on TV not suitable for me at a particular age–that this practice can be mentally damaging. In a rush to grow up, theatres are accidentally releasing rule-breaking teens sporting mental scratches and dents out into the world with a perspective they may not have been ready for, because there isn’t a system in place to make sure they “got what they paid for.”
This came to light recently when the Terrifier franchise (known for extreme violence) released another movie this past winter and the packed houses were not always filled with age-appropriate paying customers.
The best solution may be to keep a certain classification of movies on one side of a multiplex, so that youngsters headed in that direction would be immediately obvious. Another may be to set up a ticket scanner at the door to each auditorium which the attendee must swipe in addition to their original admission in the lobby. The door would then open for them to enter the auditorium.
The classification system is still relevant. Children still need some protections in place to shield them from things they may not be mature enough to witness. This is a job all grown-ups take on when we come of age. It is a responsibility to the future generations and mankind in general to allow children to grow at the pace set for them by natural order, and introduce new concepts when they are ready to receive them. Our society has become so lax and liberal, that youngsters do not seem to be blocked from anything that may harm them; true crime documentary channels are not for four-year-olds. Forget that it’s cable or steaming, and remember that you control the remote.
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