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This article about the arbitrariness of the MPAA's movie ratings raises my hackles, not because of the article itself, but because this is an issue that's been known and discussed well, for ages, and it's aggrivating that no one really seems to care.
A study released on Monday shows that one in five films rated PG, or "parental guidance suggested" -- with some material that may not be suitable for children -- actually have more violent actions than the average for those listed as PG-13, or inappropriate for children under 13.
It also found that one in 10 PG films had more violent acts than the average for those in the study that were rated R, or "Restricted" -- meaning any viewer under 17 should be accompanied by an adult.
"The most striking finding was that more than one quarter of the violence in each of the three rating categories was of lethal magnitude," said the report from the School of Film, Television and Digital Media at the University of California, Los Angeles, on a review of 100 top-grossing films.
Certain groups want to censor films and edit content, but they don't seem to want a informational source on films that is consistant and based on clear deliniations of content.
So the MPAA can have a useless rating system that doesn't really inform anything, and worse, apply it in a near random fashion to films. If one in ten PG films have more violence than an R film, we should just pitch the whole system into the drink.
Even the additions of sub-explanitory tags are a joke. "intense sci-fi violence" WTF does that mean? Or "thematic elements and peril"??!?! How does that explain anything better.
I think that parents should learn about a film's content before deciding if their kids should see it. They should read some reviews, a plot synopsis, talk to friends who have seen it and maybe even see if if they can. Certainly not depend on the MPAA's crappy system.
I'm glad to see some specific statistical data on just how arbitrary and crappy the ratings system is, and I hope that maybe it makes a few more people realize how lame it is.
Oh, and don't even get me started on PG-13.... AGGGGH! :)
A study released on Monday shows that one in five films rated PG, or "parental guidance suggested" -- with some material that may not be suitable for children -- actually have more violent actions than the average for those listed as PG-13, or inappropriate for children under 13.
It also found that one in 10 PG films had more violent acts than the average for those in the study that were rated R, or "Restricted" -- meaning any viewer under 17 should be accompanied by an adult.
"The most striking finding was that more than one quarter of the violence in each of the three rating categories was of lethal magnitude," said the report from the School of Film, Television and Digital Media at the University of California, Los Angeles, on a review of 100 top-grossing films.
Certain groups want to censor films and edit content, but they don't seem to want a informational source on films that is consistant and based on clear deliniations of content.
So the MPAA can have a useless rating system that doesn't really inform anything, and worse, apply it in a near random fashion to films. If one in ten PG films have more violence than an R film, we should just pitch the whole system into the drink.
Even the additions of sub-explanitory tags are a joke. "intense sci-fi violence" WTF does that mean? Or "thematic elements and peril"??!?! How does that explain anything better.
I think that parents should learn about a film's content before deciding if their kids should see it. They should read some reviews, a plot synopsis, talk to friends who have seen it and maybe even see if if they can. Certainly not depend on the MPAA's crappy system.
I'm glad to see some specific statistical data on just how arbitrary and crappy the ratings system is, and I hope that maybe it makes a few more people realize how lame it is.
Oh, and don't even get me started on PG-13.... AGGGGH! :)
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