Mpaa

[daleduke17]

I don't think parents have that much time, dale.

Let's say a parent wants to take their child to a movie. If they can't depend on the review of a "third party", that means they have to watch the movie themselves before making a judgment on the film. They'd have to find a sitter for their kids, go to the movie, watch it, come home, get the kids, and go watch the movie again.

No one is going to do this.

Sometimes the opinion of a third party is a valuable thing.

There's movie critics that would still be out there, as well as commercials and the word of mouth of people who have already seen it.

[linguist]

There's movie critics that would still be out there, as well as commercials and the word of mouth of people who have already seen it.

in which case you're still relying on arbitrary marks of third parties, except for commercials, and how often is a trailer for a movie actually representative of the movie as a whole?

[Boozy]

There's movie critics that would still be out there, as well as commercials and the word of mouth of people who have already seen it.

These would all be third parties.

And I see no evidence that the opinion of a movie critic is less "arbitrary" (in your words) than the MPAA.

[gremcint]

Yes it is. Pirating a movie is stealing. Just because 'the big movie studios won't lose much money' doesn't make it okay. Copyright laws not only protect major studios and music labels, but also small-time scholars/writers like me.

I'm not speaking ethically, I'm speaking legally and technically in regards to the definition of the words.

[jackfaire]

I don't think parents have that much time, dale.

No one is going to do this.

Sometimes the opinion of a third party is a valuable thing.

I do this. The ratings of the MPAA in my opinion are shite. They don't have the same values that I have.

I have to watch movies to make sure they are appropriate for my daughter because a lot of times the rating isn't correct.

Not having any ratings would be a pain.

Except they also use it to keep anything they don't like off the screens.

Not to mention the fact that sexual content always gets a higher rating than violence.

"Kids it's okay to kill each other but don't you dare make love."

And I see no evidence that the opinion of a movie critic is less "arbitrary" (in your words) than the MPAA.

A movie critic would theoretically be less biased as they don't work directly for the studios whose movie they are judging.

[thrifty]

I don't trust the MPAA ratings to determine what my child should watch. I will either watch it myself or go to one of the websites out there that goes through and tells you every questionable thing about a movie so you can know if it is appropriate.

[HYHYBT]

Not to mention the fact that sexual content always gets a higher rating than violence.

"Kids it's okay to kill each other but don't you dare make love."

I don't *agree* with them on this, but certainly an argument could be made that showing sex is more likely to encourage kids to have sex themselves than showing violence is to cause imitation, especially if it's exaggerated, impossible, or large-scale violence.

[jackfaire]

I don't *agree* with them on this, but certainly an argument could be made that showing sex is more likely to encourage kids to have sex themselves than showing violence is to cause imitation, especially if it's exaggerated, impossible, or large-scale violence.

Out of the kids in my city that watched two cartoon characters on a popular cartoon at the time burn down a garage for fun only one kid out of hundreds of thousands.

I don't know many people who are encouraged to violence because they saw violence. Nor do I see much evidence typically after watching a violent movie i don't hear, "Man I wanna go beat someone up" I hear "wow Karate looks cool I want to learn it." At which point they go take a class.

Plus other countries ratings systems put it the other way around that it is less vital than violence that sex is more okay to watch than violence.

I don't think kids watching a sex scene one is appropriate before they are old enough to be curious about sex naturally (on more than an intellectually level) anyway. I do not think they will be encouraged to have sex from actually watching it. It will answer some of those questions they are terrified to ask though.

[Red Panda]

I have to watch movies to make sure they are appropriate for my daughter because a lot of times the rating isn't correct.

What movies have you found to have incocorrect ratings?

[jackfaire]

What movies have you found to have incocorrect ratings?

Meet the Robinsons rated G.

There is violence in the movie. I would prefer it had been rated PG so that I would have known to view it first. My daughter would get very freaked out when people, objects etc start attacking eachother. That movie sent her screaming into her grandmother's arms and we had to turn the movie off.

I have seen less violent movies given a PG. Yes I understand it is cartoon violence but that doesn't mean much to a little kid even when you teach them that it isn't real.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Out of curiosity, how old is your daughter?

Because, out of all the clips I could find of that movie, I myself didn't see anything objectionable. There's the occasional struggle but nothing really violent actually occurs.

Call me cold-hearted, but if any of that freaked a child out that child either A) is very young, and easily freaked out... nothing is necessarily safe. Or B) if older, needs to come to terms with that which is startling.

I was rabidly afraid of dogs when I was young, and it would be a massive problem in my life if my parents hadn't encouraged me to confront that fear and realize that it was, basically, stupid.

[insertNameHere]

For now this article will have to do because I don't know where the one I read two years ago for class is at.
http://www.nickschweitzer.net/2007/0...ASWATRaid.aspx

I HATE the RIAA and how they have a pretend police force with no actual police powers that run around and confiscate pirated materials and in the case of the article above tagged along with an actual swat team to go do a bust. I get wanting to protect your job but really, if prices were lower people wouldn't pirate as much, along with not having DRMs, which are eventually get worked around anyways. Personally most of my movies I bought for $5-10 from the bargain bin at walmart or on sale at other retailers.

The ratings systems in this country are a joke that a majority of parents ignore, even at the protest of the people selling the product who have first hand knowledge. I'm at least glad a few parents here have said that they actually do look into things before taking their children.

[Red Panda]

Meet the Robinsons rated G.

There is violence in the movie. I would prefer it had been rated PG so that I would have known to view it first. My daughter would get very freaked out when people, objects etc start attacking eachother. That movie sent her screaming into her grandmother's arms and we had to turn the movie off.

I have seen less violent movies given a PG. Yes I understand it is cartoon violence but that doesn't mean much to a little kid even when you teach them that it isn't real.

Doesn't sound like any movie is safe for her if a little bit of conflict sends her screaming into the other room. Maybe you aren't a reliable side for this argument because your experience is so far out of reality of pretty much anybody else's.

[jackfaire]

Okay did no one else notice the bowler hats invading taking over people and turning them into zombies? Just curious cuz that is the part that freaked her out and at the time she was 7.

Also part of my original problem is that certain movies are deemed not able to be played in mainstream movie theaters because they get an NC17 when there is no real reason to have it except that either the director pissed off the major studios or they have decided it's against their morals to show something between 2 people of the same gender that they would have no issue with if it were opposite sex partners.

Regardless of how I feel they should have rated that movie, no my daughter is not the only child I have met that has an issue with violence, it is more about the bias of the studios having complete control of the ratings system.

It would be like in my mind using a health inspector hired by a restaurant and answerable only to that restaurant to tell me that the restaurant is clean.

I can't trust the word of someone who isn't an impartial 3rd party and thus has no reason to be biased.

[Red Panda]

Do you have examples of directors getting an NC-17 rating for no reason other then the studio being pissed off?

I think if the MPAA disbands and the government takes over, which it would, then things will get stricter as politicians will use the system to pander to voters. For example, Gay Love Story comes out and a conservative white congressman who has conservative white voters makes a move to get it a stricter rating so that he can brag that he saved the children from Gay Love Story.

As for the violence in kid's movies, it use to be that kids could be exposed to violence without problems. It has only recently been decided kids cannot take violence and as a result when they are shown a little bit they overeact. It is a result of parents who feel the need to shelter their children from anything that isn't bad.

My favorite movie when I was 7 was The Never Ending Story. That movie is dark and violent at times but I was well adjusted, new it wasn't real, and was only a little disturbed by the scary parts. If mind controlling hats makes your kid run from the room I would hate to see what she would do if she watched this movie