Anakin26 Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Hi everyone! I am european as some of you know. I spent quite a few time in the US and I do feel connected... BUT one thing, that I find truly weird is the american movie rating system. I want your opinions on this. So here is what I think. Why, oh why is a movie like "Tin cup" (Kevin Costner) rated R? (meaning 18+, right?). Just because there is a mildy erotic scene with two people kissing in front of a fire place? I mean is there anything wrong with bodily contact and love? We are not talking XXX here! On the other hand a movie like "Mortal Combat" is rated PG 13 or was it 16? Anyways.... this movie is all about fightin, and killing. With very graphic display of violence. Am I the only one that feels, that the rating system is transporting a completely wrong picture to juveniles? Or has this rating system changed since I have last been to the US (which was 6 years ago). Nick.... still wondering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted August 18, 2005 Moderators Share Posted August 18, 2005 Hi Nick! I completely agree--it seems so arbitrary. Recent horror movies come to mind, as they all seem to be targeted at teens and rated PG-13, but the majority would've been R 10 years ago. Lots of good info here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Hi Nick heres something to think about . The latest Grand Theft Auto video game was given a Mature 17+ Rating . Actualy all of them were given the M rating . Well someone found a code that unlocked a hidden feature in the PC version that allowed the player to participate in consensual sex within the game . Once this got out the game was slapped with an Adults 21+ Only Rating . It seems that running around stealing cars and killing people was fine as long as you were at least 17 yrs old . But throw in that bad , dirty sex stuff and Wham , you have to be 21 to play . Kinda seems like our priorities are a little off . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin26 Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 Yepp! I see what you mean. It seems there is more passion for agression than passion for passion! I believe that many of the problems start here. Kids are kept from a whole number of social spare time activities by the law (going to clubs and so on), left with little options how to spend their time. The world they are presented with is full of agression and fighting whereas some important topics like sexuality are pretty much banned from them. Well... if that isn´t the wrong singnal.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 R is actually 17+ and there is only a PG-13, no 16. The fact is, before a Movie even starts shooting in Hollywood, they determine what rating they are shooting for. I'm sure that there is a lot of lobbying going on behind the scenes. If you release an R rated movie, you are missing out on a lot of the teen $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damonrpayne Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 http://www.mpaa.org/movieratings/about/ I'd be willing to bet, if you think about it, you could watch any movie and correctly guess the rating. I don't think its that arbitrary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardP Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 I am somewhat of an academic expert on topics related to media and psychology (I'm a psychology professor), and have recently conducted a study about changes in movie ratings over the past decade. It has been determined in several content analysis studies (mine and other's) of movies that more adult content (violence, sex, language) is, in fact, present in G, PG, and PG-13 movies than it was only a decade ago. The sub-committee of the MPAA who assigns movie ratings is very secretive, consisting of only 8-15 raters, and does not publish their criteria for assigning ratings. The only publicly-acknowledged guideline (see former MPAA-prez Jack Valenti's article "How it all began" at www.mpaa.org) is that if the "F-word" is uttered twice, it is automatically given an "R" rating. That is probably why Tin Cup received an R. Another interesting study compared content of R-rated movies with unrated "director's cut" or NC-17 versions of the same movies, and found that sex and/or nudity was nearly always the content that was cut for the R version, much less so than violence. Amy, your observation that so much violence, gore, horror, etc. is now present in PG-13 movies is clearly documented, and is reflective that those 8-15 raters feel that is it (now) OK for kids of any age to see it. The MPAA is the movie industry's lobbying organization, and is necessarily a studio-friendly group. Getting a PG-13 instead of an R means a larger audience and thus more tickets sold, so the trend is motivated by money as well. Another trend I have observed is the ratings committee's use of the euphemistic word "action" instead of "violence," as it sounds less objectionable. The Will Smith movie "I Robot" was listed as "rated PG-13 for intense stylized action.." with no mention of violence. Everyone knows what "stylized action" means, don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin26 Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 That was an interesting information. So it´s not only a feeling, it´s actually been proven. But if I think about it, that seems to be global issue. When I turn on the radio here in Austria I hear swear words at 9:00 in the morning. This was not the case 10 years ago. Same thing with TV Programm. You will hear people swear and see violence scenes in the afternoon or the early evening. We had "Night Rider" when I was a kid. And eventhough it was "action" it was the kind of action I would accept for kids. Michael Knight was our hero... nothing wrong with that. Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 The "R" came from language considered inappropriate for under 17 years old. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted August 24, 2005 Share Posted August 24, 2005 ---------------- On 8/18/2005 11:22:11 AM Anakin26 wrote: Hi everyone! I am european as some of you know. I spent quite a few time in the US and I do feel connected... BUT one thing, that I find truly weird is the american movie rating system. ............... Nick.... still wondering ---------------- Nick, I can understand how confusing our standards must seem. Perhaps the following example will help you. If there is a scene in which a man kisses or caresses a womans breast, the movie will most likely receive an "R" rating. However; if the man stabs the womans breast with a knife or shoots it with a gun, the movie will most likely be rated "PG-13". I hope this example helps clarify our standards of decency for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheis Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 It's real simple: In the USA sex is verboten, but misogyny and violence are considered good for the kiddies. Why, just a couple of days ago we had Pat Robertson, a fundamentalist "Christian" MINISTER (with his own national TV show) advocating the assasination of the President of Venezuela because he doesn't like his politics. Welcome to Amerika. We have some crazy people here - and they run things. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Reverend Terminator Pat Robertson ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakin26 Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 Is that the grey haired old freak, who is on TV every night talking some rather simple minded religious stuff? I think I have seen him quite a few times when I was in Denver a few years ago... I don´t want to go into detail, what exactly I think about him. I just believe he should go and take the red pill... "welcome to the real world" At least there are a few people who start doing something about the religious bs that has been getting worse in the last years. Did you hear about the spaghetti monster that created the world? I love it! - What a perfect answer to all those strange religous theories and theisms... Nick I am still trying to figure out whether it´s better from a movie rating point of view to caress a clothed female breast or to shoot a naked female breast..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sputnik Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 ---------------- On 8/25/2005 7:45:22 AM Anakin26 wrote: .................... I am still trying to figure out whether it´s better from a movie rating point of view to caress a clothed female breast or to shoot a naked female breast..... ---------------- I'm not quite sure how it would actually work out but here is my best guess. Caressing a clothed female breast could get an "R" rating if the participants somehow expressed pleasure as a result of the act. Brief nudity may be allowed in a "PG-13" movie if it is essential to the violence and not sexual in nature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 the ratings are quite strange: violence is OK in the gun capitla of the world, but sex is not, hence the weird ratings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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