Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024

Sex, Violence and R Ratings
A new study reports that gun violence in PG-13 movies now exceeds that in most R-rated films. Meanwhile, a love story that follows two young people in a relationship has been given an NC-17 rating, discouraging much of the demographic its two characters represent from seeing it. And in Sweden, a group of movie theater owners who are unhappy with the representation of women in film recently introduced a new rating system that rewards gender equality. Is it time to rethink how movies are rated?
* exceed = 넘다(초과/초월하다)/ discourage = 의욕(열의)을 꺾다, 좌절시키다/ demographic = 인구의 특정 부분/ representation = (특정한 방식으로의) 묘사(표현)/ rethink = 다시 생각하다(재고하다)

 영화의 등급을 재고할 필요가 있나요?

1. An Extreme Makeover Is Needed
The dirty little secret is that entertainment executives are financially rewarded when they rate content inaccurately for younger audiences.

2. Reform Movie Marketing, Too
In a cynical effort to wring every last dollar from families, the film industry is doing all it can to ensure that PG-13 movies are the talk of elementary and preschool playgrounds.

3. Consider Gender Inequality
In family films released between 2006 and 2009, 70 percent of the speaking roles were given to men. It was the same figure in 1946.

4. Diversity As Part of the Equation
Actors and actresses of color, the disabled, L.G.B.T. and older generations all make up the tapestry of America, and our movies should reflect this reality.

5. Rate for Violence, Not Sex
Why not have a qualitative rather than a quantitative rating system that would differentiate between films that exploit and art that explores the human body as a vessel to the psyche?

6. Get Rid of Ratings
In the age of instant access to reviews, movie-goers can seek out reviews to decide whether a movie

Sample Essay

Get Rid of Ratings

The rating system we know today is largely unchanged from its original 1968 structure. It relies too heavily on quantifying sexual content for harsher ratings and often seemingly ignores excessive violence. This year alone saw the violence and crime-laden "Fast and Furious 6" skate by with a teen-friendly PG-13 while just language and some sexual content got "About Time" kicked up to an R rating. Often the ratings stamped on movies seem completely arbitrary and without merit as little guidance is given as to what “some material” means.

"Some material," when it can no longer keep up with the world around it, should be thrown away. That is what should be done with the current movie rating system. It no longer serves its purpose. In the age of instant access to reviews, movie-goers can seek out reviews to decide whether a movie is appropriate or not. We should no longer be driven from what could be great movies by arbitrary codes handed out by an organization most people know nothing about; codes that may be deceptive in their accuracy.

Consumers don’t have to hope that their newspaper runs a review to learn about movie content like they did in 1968. Information on content is only a web search away. Ratings might have started out as a solution, but they have become a problem and have no relevance in today’s movie industry. Let’s go back to making up our own minds about what is appropriate for our families.