chris_santucci

I recently wrote an article about the ridiculous MPAA rating system--specifically with regard to the broad PG-13 rating.

In preparation for "The Dark Knight Rises", I am very curious if any parents plan to take the youngins to see the new Batman or any of the other mega-hit summer films aimed at teenagers.

What films are okay for kids? Should the MPAA rating system be changed?

I welcome all thoughts.

http://www.film-matters.net/2012/07/...rly-rated.html

Jon2

If you're talking about a typical kid in the vicinity of 13 years old (say an educated 9, or even a sophisticated 8 year-old and up), and not some overly sensitive, nervous Nellie type, I don't think there is an issue with most of them.

I haven't seen Spider-Man (yet), Hunger Games (no interest at all), Dark Knight (yet), or Think Like a Man (again, no interest), but I doubt they are any more intense/risque than the others.

Of course, every parent has to decide what their own standards for what is suitable movie fare for their children. If most parents were doing parenting properly, they'd check out movies on their own, and making their own decisions, before hauling a kid to a flick. Circumstances for a lot of people don't allow many to do that, so it behooves such parents to find or develop reputable sources of trust for reviews.

FWIW, and not to slight anyone here, but I wouldn't count DVDtalk as such a source.

Matthew Chmiel

I've seen everything on that list but TDKR, Dark Shadows and Think Like a Man.

I voted for all except Snow White and the Huntsman and Rock of Ages. Why?

Snow White and the Huntsman is a piece of shit that nobody should have to sit through and I don't think children would appreciate (or sit through) Rock of Ages.

Rypro 525

i got to see most super hero movies in the early to mid 90's at a young age, but they weren't nearly as intense as they are now. I was actually surprised at how bloody Amazing is at times.

Also, i was actually surprised the Katy Perry movie got a PG. Granted most "kids" the movie is aimed at have her albums, but one of the songs featured in the movie does go 'i wanna see your pea cock cock cock'. and there were a few instances of the word bitch

EdTheRipper

Spider-Man, Dark Knight, Men In Black III, Battleship, Rock of Ages and Avengers are all movies I'd consider fine for my son just based on what I know. He's 9, soon to be 10. The others would be judgment calls.

chris_santucci

Nicely put. I agree with you heartily that parents should pre-screen films to ascertain its content for themselves. Unfortunately, most parents want these films to distract their children--not the other way around.

I do find it interesting that parents shun their kids away from films that have any sexual content, but will take kids to violent films and purchase copies of "Grand Theft Auto" without blinking.

RichC2

Depends on your kid, I remember going to see Terminator 2 in theaters when I was 8 with no averse effects. Nothing in Spider-man, Hunger Games (the action scenes are way too jumbled, just show them Battle Royale instead), or Men in Black 3 is all that bad. The Avengers felt like a Disney movie (technically it was, but it felt much more like one than I expected) and is fine for the PG bunch. I haven't seen the others, though I imagine TDKR will be much like TDK and feel like an R rated movie on tone alone, despite not having any content to suggest it actually is.

But there are websites that rate the violence/language/sex of each movie, check those.

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ -- it has a ton of spoilers for movies, describing scenes of sex, violence and profanity. The review for Savages for example:

PROFANITY 10 - About 85 F-words, 1 obscene hand gesture, 3 sexual references, 49 scatological terms, 10 anatomical terms, 1 mild bscenity, derogatory terms for homosexuals, derogatory terms fro Hispanics, name-calling (crazy, jerk, sailor, fat Indian, knucklehead, playboy, buddy boy, gringoland, GI Jack, SEAL boy), stereotypical references to men, women, Mexicans, Africans, Asians, corporations, soldiers, police officers, federal agents, drug dealers, Buddhists, exclamations (shut up), 8 religious profanities, 4 religious exclamations.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Illegal sales and use of marijuana and cocaine, medicinal marijuana, Mexican drug problems, murder, corrupt government officials, polyandry, families, friends, responsibilities, choices.

MESSAGE - Drug dealing is a savage business.

They're much better than the MPAA at both breakdown and ratings.

"I don't care if little Johnny hears F-bombs, but knucklehead is where I draw the line."

Jules Winfield

Depends on the kid.

chris_santucci

Kids-in-mind is a great website. This beckons the question, is the MPAA even relevant?

RichC2

No, the MPAA hasn't been in ages in regards to ratings, but they're the ones that have political power and deals with theater chains.

TGM

My dad took me to see Raiders of the Lost Ark when I was 7. The face melting scene at the end gave me nightmares for a month. But, other than growing up to be a cynical crotchety asshole, I am no worse for wear.

EdTheRipper

I saw a ton of R-rated movies when I was a kid. My mom was very lenient about that sort of thing. And to an extent, I'm the same way with my son. I just try not to take him to see anything R at the theater because I don't want to be "that guy".

Groucho

Is the reason Snow White and the Huntsman has no votes because of the movie's content or because nobody wants to see the thing?

RichC2

The R-rating is waaaay too broad. It's amazing to me that Torture porn and The Matrix both share the same categorization.

Michael Corvin

Language bothers me none. We all use it, so it's silly to me to think that "bad" words even exist.

I showed my 5 & 7 year old Raiders a few months ago. I had them shut their eyes during the face melting and the tail end of the "plane" fight.

Of course they are both hooked on FaceOff on SyFy so they see how they do that kinda stuff. I'm just don't know if the connection is totally there once they are just enjoying a movie.

chris_santucci

I'm getting a lot of posts about "Raiders", which was actually the third Indy film I watched during my youth. My first was "Temple" which makes "Raiders" look like "The Music Man". Does anyone have any scars from that installment? Or would you allow a child to see it?

milo bloom

Temple of Doom came out in 84, my dad took my brother and I to see it. I would have been 10 and my brother would have been 3/4 (depending on if we saw it later in the year). I did okay, and I'm pretty sure my brother is fine.

DRG

Until they notice the hookers and sexual innuendo when their kid is playing, then they go apeshit. Once, in Target, I overheard this conversation:

Mom: What's the best selling game for this system right now?

Target Girl: Grand Theft Auto, but... how old is your son again?

Mom: 9, why?

Target Girl: Hmmm, that one probably isn't the best choice for a 9-year-old.

Mom: (Confused) Why?

Target Girl: Well, (runs through list of examples of adult content).

Mom: (Horrified) Why would they put that in a video game!!! That's awful!!!!

clckworang

In 1984, I would have been 7 years old. I remember seeing Temple of Doom in the theater and absolutely loving it. I had no ill effects whatsoever. I had already seen Raiders on VHS and had no problems watching that one either.

My parents were fairly lenient with me about what I watched when I was a kid, but at a very young age, they reinforced the idea that movies weren't real and talked to me about what I saw. I watched many different types of films and never had much of an issue.

There were some things my parents would draw a line about because they felt the content was too mature. For whatever reason, I remember them saying no to any Friday the 13th movie because they were deemed too violent, but they let me watch the first two Nightmare on Elm Street films on VHS all the time. I totally loved those movies and watched them all the time. Credit might be due to those films for my lifelong love of horror. I had even forced my dad to watch the Nightmare movies with me at home before, so he knew what to expect when I was 10 and started begging him to take me to see Nightmare on Elm Street 3 at the theater. The begging intensified when my 13-year-old neighbor was able to go see it and raved about it to me. In the end, my dad finally relented and took me. I loved the film and, once again, had no ill effects. I guess that's why I don't necessarily have a major problem with children watching *certain* R-rated movies. I don't even have a major issue with kids in R-rated films at the theater as long as they are well behaved. When I saw NOES3, I knew how to behave in a movie and wasn't talking or screaming or otherwise distracting. But then again, my dad took me there because I wanted to see the film, not because he couldn't get a babysitter, which I imagine is the case for many children in R-rated films.

But I understand that this is really a case-by-case basis; it depends a lot on the individual child. Some children at 10 would have been traumatized by watching a NOES movie at a theater. When I was in college, I tried to introduce my niece to Star Wars. She was probably about 6 or 7. She couldn't make it through the cantina scene because she thought it was too scary. We're all individuals, and parents need to understand the needs of their child more than anything.

SterlingBen

Anything they are interested in seeing is ok. There is too much fucking coddling in this culture.

Kmical

Maybe I'll suggest The Human Centipede for my second grader's class movie day in the fall

SterlingBen

They would get bored to shit and turn it of in 10 mins.

Anything they are actually interested in.

chris_santucci

Great posts. I'm loving this discussion so far. In reference to "Nightmare 3". That was the first film where I ever saw a nude woman. I have no doubt my mother would have been mortified if she knew, even more so than than artery marionette sequence.

I also love the GTA discussion, although my observations from Gamespot usually sound more akin to this:

Clerk: Ma'am are you aware this game is rated M for mature.

Lady: Yes.

Clerk: The game contain violent content.

Lady: Yes.

ClerK: OK.

SterlingBen

If you change to to of it really changes the context of that comment.

Also even if you were to que it to the main sequence I don't see a problem with showing it to kids, it is a great example of why you should never talk to strangers.

RichC2

2nd grade is too old for that.

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