How do you feel about all the R rated movies being released this fall?

Question

I manage a movie theatre and I've been fielding a lot of complaints recently from parents and teenagers who are frustrated because most of the movies in the last 5-6 weeks have been rated R. And the trend will mostly continue for the next 4-5 weeks.

spiderhedron: I have mixed feelings about being 17 to see R rated movies. I guess it would be one thing if the R rating had a somewhat consistent meaning, but it can encompass so many things. A parent sees an R rated movie like 3:10 to Yuma or Erin Brockovich and they think it's nothing major. But then they don't realize Superbad is something completely different.

The censorship angle is tricky. I think most would agree that the average 15-16 year-old would be just fine watching an R rated movie. But what about 13-14 year-olds? What about 12 and younger. The question is where do you draw the line. Used effectively, the rating system is not an attempt by the movie industry to censor it's products, it's a tool for parents to decide what's appropriate. I think the ratings system is a reasonable alternative to real censorship.

Chickon: I beg to differ with you. Of the 40 highest grossing films so far this year, only 6 of them have been rated R - and only 3 of the 21 films to gross over $100 million have been rated R. And it was the same story in 2006 except only 2 of the 19 to gross over $100 million were rated R.

While the group of parents who rate movies does change over time, there are some objective rules for rating movies. For example, two or more F bombs is always an R rating - one will do it if it's in a sexual context.

I appreciate your feedback, but you need to get your facts straight.

Answer 1

The MPAA's standards are silly.

and the parent's are complaining to the wrong people.

Answer 2

Well actually, the reason why the R-ratings are so various is because the panel that decides the ratings is always rotating. At one time, you might have a board of a lot of conservative people, and at other times, mostly liberals. Which explains why some PG-13's should have been R's. Meaning, there were more liberal people on the board when watching that movie. And studies have shown that R-ratings can gross more money than any other ratings. Hence the reason why there seems like there are so many R's coming out all at once.

Answer 3

I don't have a problem with R-rated movies. Most of my all-time favorites, such as "The Matrix" or "The Blues Brothers," were rated R.

I also think it's silly to require people to be 17 to see R-rated movies. That's just another form of censorship, which I oppose on principle.

Answer 4

I love it! The more sex and violence and blood the better.