violence in R-rated movies and MPAA ratings

[jefferiestubes8]

I came across this today:

Chloe Moretz's Kick-Ass character Hit-Girl has unleashed a flood of outrage from family groups, claiming the 11-year-old's mega-violent antics will encourage other children to follow in her footsteps. Moretz responds to the critics.

11-year-old death-dealing Girl Wonder.

SOURCE

This is an independent feature film that has more artistic freedom. Period.

This led to Vaughn and Millar finding funding for themselves but this gave them the advantage of working outside of the studio system. Having no one to answer to or screenings or focus groups to tell them what to change, ‘Kick-Ass’ is the original vision of the director and writer and it is all the better for it.

Kick-Ass was given a R rating by the MPAA

Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children.

I don't understand how family groups can be upset. This film is rated R and the poster gives descriptions of why the film was rated that way.
The MPAA's website says:

Informing Parents, Protecting Artistic Freedom
Movie ratings provide parents with advance information about the content of films, so they can determine what movies are appropriate for their young children to see.

Who decides the ratings? Parents. Ratings are assigned by an independent Board of parents with no past affiliation to the movie business. Their job is to rate each film as they believe a majority of American parents would rate it, considering relevant themes and content.

R-rated films are rated that way they are and this is why.

Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the motion picture before taking their younger children with them.
Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-Rated motion pictures.

Kick-Ass was rated R, not PG-13.
Even with PG-13 the filmratings.com website says:

Parents are urged to be cautious. Some Material may be inappropriate for pre-teenagers.

This sounds like the same controversy surrounding the content in Léon (1994) aka "Leon: The Professional" - USA (longer version)


Are the parent groups upset with the MPAA rating of this film Kick-Ass or upset with the filmmakers themselves?

 

[John Picard]

Rent the movie This Film is Not Yet Rated and you'll see why the MPAA is such a bullshit organization, especially when it comes to this statement:

Who decides the ratings? Parents. Ratings are assigned by an independent Board of parents with no past affiliation to the movie business. Their job is to rate each film as they believe a majority of American parents would rate it, considering relevant themes and content.

As far as Parents Groups are concerned, they are nothing but a bunch of busy-bodies who need to STFU. The film could be branded NC-17 and they'd still bitch. It was these same "outraged" people who caused the development of the PG-13 rating due to "scary and extremely violent scenes" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

 

[ParticleMan]

I discovered from growing up in pretty conservative circles, that the more stridently uptight the parents were about movies and music, the more likely it was that the kids were into those movies at a really young age. My parents weren't very strict...we had HBO and the only time I remember being sent out of the room was when I was 5 and my dad wanted to watch a George Carlin special...

But the kids whose parents were super-strict were the ones with the hardest "R" tapes hidden under the bed...I never saw what the fuss was all about. If parents would just use common sense and not make such a big freaking deal out of movie content, it wouldn't BE a big freaking deal...

And personally, I can't wait to see Kick-Ass...

 

[captcalhoun]

well, at least it's not just complaining about Hit Girl's potty-mouth. the right-wing hate-rag the Daily Mail was stirring shit about Jane Goldman being the film's co-writer and OMG HOW CAN A WOMAN HAVE A LITTLE GIRL SAY THAT!?!?!?!?! completely ignoring her y'know, dismembering and murdering people left and right...

 

[John Picard]

well, at least it's not just complaining about Hit Girl's potty-mouth. the right-wing hate-rag the Daily Mail was stirring shit about Jane Goldman being the film's co-writer and OMG HOW CAN A WOMAN HAVE A LITTLE GIRL SAY THAT!?!?!?!?! completely ignoring her y'know, dismembering and murdering people left and right...

That's the kind of hypocrisy This Film is Not Yet Rated points out. Shoot someone in the head (but no blood), PG-13; the word Fuck is uttered 3+ times, R.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

I'm wondering though, the MPAA is shit now a days, anyways but the stuff rated R would be pretty much rated X in the old days or a higher rating. I've been some movies these days that are rated PG, PG-13 that could have been bumped up ten, fifteen years ago.

 

[Data Holmes]

The MPAA needs to die. Censorship should never be acceptable.

 

[Hermiod]

^You can rate movies without it being censorship.

Films should be rated so that parents can make an informed decision on whether or not to allow their child to see them. An adult can see any film he or she wants to and if they take their children then that's up to them. (Though this does cause problems as anyone who goes to see 12A certificate films in the UK will agree)

If a studio disagrees with a rating then they ratings board should be able to advise them as to why they received the rating that they did and give suggestions for changes to get the rating they want.

I do agree that the people determining these ratings should be from a much larger cross section of society than just parents.

 

[Captain Kirk]

The MPAA needs to die. Censorship should never be acceptable.

It is only censorship if a given movie theater refuses to exhibit a film due to the rating it receives (as is often the case with NC-17 rated films) and I agree this is wrong.

However, giving consumers as much information about a product as possible before they make a purchase is never wrong. The MPAA ratings, flawed as they may be, are a source of consumer information.

 

[John Picard]

The MPAA needs to die. Censorship should never be acceptable.

It is only censorship if a given movie theater refuses to exhibit a film due to the rating it receives (as is often the case with NC-17 rated films) and I agree this is wrong.

However, giving consumers as much information about a product as possible before they make a purchase is never wrong. The MPAA ratings, flawed as they may be, are a source of consumer information.

The MPAA ratings are beyond flawed. It is a biased group with zero consistency that collectively decide what is/is not deserving of a specific rating. At the best, they are modern-day Puritans.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

Films should be rated so that parents can make an informed decision on whether or not to allow their child to see them.

I do agree that the people determining these ratings should be from a much larger cross section of society than just parents.

You seem to have mixed thoughts. Would you prefer a Nielsen Ratings type of group?
Who should make the ratings then? What members should make up this ratings board?

 

[Hermiod]

^Not mixed at all.

Parents can make a decision based on information supplied by people other than other parents.

 

[Scotty]

well, at least it's not just complaining about Hit Girl's potty-mouth. the right-wing hate-rag the Daily Mail was stirring shit about Jane Goldman being the film's co-writer and OMG HOW CAN A WOMAN HAVE A LITTLE GIRL SAY THAT!?!?!?!?! completely ignoring her y'know, dismembering and murdering people left and right...

That's the kind of hypocrisy This Film is Not Yet Rated points out. Shoot someone in the head (but no blood), PG-13; the word Fuck is uttered 3+ times, R.

What about nudity or sex for that matter. Movies, even films for children can be very violent (look at Harry Potter and Narnia) but its considered suitable for children and teens. You can see all kinds of violence in PG-13 movies. But as soon as we get to see a breast, it's R. I never cease to be amazed how nudity can be more harmful than violence.

 

[DigificWriter]

]As far as Parents Groups are concerned, they are nothing but a bunch of busy-bodies who need to STFU. The film could be branded NC-17 and they'd still bitch. It was these same "outraged" people who caused the development of the PG-13 rating due to "scary and extremely violent scenes" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

As far as I am aware, it was Stephen Spielberg - not 'outraged parents' - who was responsible for the creation of the 'PG-13' rating, and that he went to Jack Valenti and suggested that there be a rating between 'PG' and 'R' because of some rather harsh criticsm he received because of the content of both Temple of Doom and Gremlins.

 

[Aragorn]

The MPAA is not only flawed, it's completely biased in its subjectivity. There were a lot of film critics who believed the brain scene in Hannibal would've gotten the movie an NC-17 if it had been a small film. But because it was a big studio film with big names behind and in front of the camera, it got an R.

 

[John Picard]

As far as Parents Groups are concerned, they are nothing but a bunch of busy-bodies who need to STFU. The film could be branded NC-17 and they'd still bitch. It was these same "outraged" people who caused the development of the PG-13 rating due to "scary and extremely violent scenes" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

As far as I am aware, it was Stephen Spielberg - not 'outraged parents' - who was responsible for the creation of the 'PG-13' rating, and that he went to Jack Valenti and suggested that there be a rating between 'PG' and 'R' because of some rather harsh criticsm he received because of the content of both Temple of Doom and Gremlins.

As I stated above, take the time to watch This Film is Not Yet Rated. Jack Valenti was a puritanical and censorship driven moron. I was in my early teens when Temple of Doom caused the uproar. Busy-body do-gooders were calling radio stations, TV stations -- you name it. Apparently, the so-called violence in ToD was just too much for young children

The MPAA is not only flawed, it's completely biased in its subjectivity. There were a lot of film critics who believed the brain scene in Hannibal would've gotten the movie an NC-17 if it had been a small film. But because it was a big studio film with big names behind and in front of the camera, it got an R.

Exactly. The American Pie films, featuring a male engaging in sexual congress with an apple pie warrants an "R" rating, while a film that features a female masturbating will get hit with an "NC-17". The MPAA is not comprised of people the general public is led to believe. It is very, very inconsistent.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

What about nudity or sex for that matter. Movies, even films for children can be very violent (look at Harry Potter and Narnia) but its considered suitable for children and teens.

Can we keep this thread to violence specifically and not just censorship of content overall?

It's a takeoff on 2 threads about the two last Trek TV series and the TV Parental Guidelines rating system in USA.

The TV Parental Guidelines system was first proposed on December 19, 1996 by the United States Congress, the television industry and the FCC, and went into effect by January 1, 1997 on most major broadcast and cable networks in response to public concerns of increasingly explicit sexual content, graphic violence and strong profanity in television programs. It was established as a voluntary-participation system, with ratings to be determined by the individually-participating broadcast and cable networks.

It was specifically designed to be used with the V-chip, which was mandated to be built into all television sets manufactured since 2000, but the guidelines themselves have no legal force, and does not apply to news or sports programming,

from Wiki on USA TV Parental Guidelines

VOY thread
most violent episodes (& TV Parental Guidelines rating system)

ENT thread
most violent episodes (& TV Parental Guidelines rating system)
There were definitely some TV14 rated ENT episodes.

 

[John Picard]

^^ I would appreciate it if you would go back and fix the quotes you screwed up, jefferiestubes8.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

^^ I would appreciate it if you would go back and fix the quotes you screwed up, jefferiestubes8.

done.

 

[John Picard]

^^ I would appreciate it if you would go back and fix the quotes you screwed up, jefferiestubes8.

done.

Thanks