Beating the System: Movie Ratings

By: Melissa Glover © 2002

We are all familiar with the numbers and letters used in theatres to draw the lines between what we are allowed to see and what we are not, but is there actually any truth to them?

Many movies out there right now have that R rating, which is supposed to prevent anybody, under the age of 17, from seeing the movie without adult accompaniment. The pressure is then put on the movie theatres to check for age, and give out tickets accordingly. That is a big responsibility and one that theatres are, for the most part, not taking seriously enough. There have been many “studies” done to test ‘theatre promises’ to the public, and many times they have failed. Teens, even as young as 13 and 14 have no difficulties getting into R rated movies, which makes you wonder if there is really a point to having a rating in place. A fourteen year old, who was part of one of the tests, told a reporter how surprised she was at getting in. She said sarcastically,” Wow, I got in because I don’t look seventeen.” If teens want to get into a movie, many times they will, and the theatres can only help out by not forcing them to sneak around to do it.

Unfortunately the inconsistency with the theatres is not the only problem. Movie companies are obviously looking to make as much money as possible and, let’s face it, teens are nearly a fifth of the movie going population. The content found in older, firmly R rated movies, is now being put into movies today, and marketed towards the younger, teen generation. The companies will push as hard as they can to stay away from that R rating, which means only teens that sneak in will view it, while a Pg-13 rating gives teens the chance to watch a movie without breaking any rules, therefore raising profits of movies, and encouraging others to push the limits further as well.The problem comes with what is now being passed as suitable for anybody over 13. A PG-13 movie can have as many components of one that is rated R, however the only real difference is the frequency of how many times the ‘inappropriate’ scenes are shown. For example, a movie which occasionally mentions the F word in it, contains some scenes of violence, and the occasional sex scene, may pass as PG-13. An R rated movie has the same language, the same sex scenes and the same violence however, they are repeated more times. But what is the difference whether you mention the F word 1 time or 300 times. It is still wrong. Thanks to these ratings, the line between teenager and adult is definitely fading.

The well-known Austin Powers movies, all went through theatres at PG-13, and thanks to their teen audiences, brought in millions. However, if you look a little more closely at the films, they are filled with sexual references, but because they are put into a comedic atmosphere, they don’t come off so noticeably. You have to wonder how films such as those can be deemed acceptable for teens, but had it been rated R its profits would have suffered tremendously.

Pushing the ratings , from R to PG to allow teens to enter a show, helps the profits of a movie and as expected, provides huge benefits due to the movie companies. Unfortunately, we as a society have lost our focus on moral values by ‘relaxing’ the standards. Because there is a gap between what we are exposed to in everyday life and what we are supposed to be able to see, all teens want to see the movies that are rated R. However, should we get our way is the question. Permissiveness is a growing problem with society. Every aspect of the entertainment industry, from music lyrics to television shows to movies are now pushing the limit towards showing their audiences more graphic images and are allowing more ‘inappropriate’ topics and language to be part of ‘standard procedure’. More and more is now ‘accepted’ as being okay for teens. It had to have started somewhere, and I think today’s movies are the ones that are encouraging and even promoting this change. The problem is that, aside from the profits they will make, the decision to allow inappropriate material to reach teens does not affect them as much as it will affect us kids. Today, because of their ‘relaxed’ attitude, you’ll find younger and younger children swearing and discussing adult topics, and sadly, because it’s been started, there is nobody besides parents to stop them.

Some real action is required to repair the rating system, and the line between unacceptable and acceptable material for kids. As a society we must re-draw the line, and we must re-think our moral standards. Otherwise, if we don’t, adult films today, may be considered family favourites in the future.