The commercial to a movie comes on; the trailers make it look amazing; you are dying to see this movie already! But at the last moment you realize that it’s Rated R and you’re not 17. Are you going to have to wait till it comes out on DVD or would you go to the movie theatre with your parents?
Our society and government says that teens under 17 can’t go watch a movie that has been deemed too scary or explicit for the general public. But a big factor to take into concern if a teen feels that they can handle a scary movie better because of past personal experiences and possibly the biggest factor; Personal maturity. Age is a very unreliable estimate of maturity, some people can be very mentally mature at 9 or some people can be 90 and still young at heart. So what makes people think that after you turn 17 you are automatically mature?
On the other hand, if you’re a parent and you’re trying to protect your children, then you probably wouldn’t want them to see some of the things on the movies. Some things you may want to avoid could be; language or nudity or any disturbing things that may impair your child or scare them. Some material that has been allowed in movies over the last few years that would have been considered extremely “taboo” to talk about 50 years ago.
“MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) defines an R-rated movie and their suggestions regarding such films as follows:
An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.”
Personally I don’t see what the big deal is, if a teen over 13 thinks that he or she can handle watching a movie and their parents don’t have a problem with it, why can’t they? If they can’t handle it in the end then it’s no one’s fault but their own, by the time someone is 13 they should probably be well aware of their personal limits.
Citations: “EDITORIALS.” FirstShowingnet RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2012
this statement is totally right. as 15 yr old girl i am very mature and i know what i can and cant handle and rated r movies is something i can, sadly some teens cant handle that but as you stated we should know our limits. im with your article 110%!!
I’m thirteen years old, and I completely agree with your article. While I have found ways to watch R movies online, I agree that the emotional maturity of older teenagers should play part in the age limit allowed to see R movies.
Although I am not the legal age, by any stretch of the imagination, I hope that there is a rule that allows us to watch these movies when we are older.
Yes they so they can get better at life
That’s true for life
you really need to work on your grammar Nico. Btw you have the same name as my brother
Yes they should. what is the point of not they can seel that at school or house.
I am with you i am 13 and i have seen several rated R movies and the ratings may not be true all the time i have seen a PG-13 movie it totally should have been rated not-rated
this article is very true. I am 13 myself but I am very mature for my age and all my friends are older. i went to the movies with my friend Brandon and it was so embarrassing because they would not let us in because i was ‘too young. I don’t look 13 at all, most people think i am 17 or 18 just really short.
I think that children under the age of 10 should be allowed into rated R movies because it’s a free country!!!📀 children can access the movie like, ‘Bad Grandpa’ at home!
I wish they allowed teens 15+ instead of 17.. I’ve been watching R movies ever since I could remember. It had no effect on me, I make A’s and B’s at school. But really Brigitte Gerwin II, children under 10 are not going to see rated R movies by themselves, when you aren’t even mature in 5th Grade, that would ruin the movie experience for everyone else.
ಠ_ಠ! I dont belive that. Just because it is a free country does not mean that there are rules to follow.
lol
yeah i saw shaun of the dead when i was like five, i recorded it without knowing what i was doing, my parents were not involved. I watched a bloody gory scene and i had nightmares for a year, but now i watched it again and the zombies dont scare me at all, im thirteen, i can handle it now.
Teens can handle movies, little kids cant
true
yo I finna agree with yall man cuz like my main main brandon was like yo i finna wanna watch dem movies but then i waz like yo man u cant watch that shiz man its rated r
HAHHAHAHAHAH
I know huh
Very funny
I totally agree with this article. I am a thirteen year old, and many of my peers are thirteen as well. They do know their personal limits. Not being able to watch an R rated movie is simply preposterous. There are many 17 year olds that are more immature than maybe even some of my peers. Not saying that ALL teenagers over the age of 13 are as informed, but they should be.
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teens should be able to watch what they want if they pay for it
i am 16 and i know what i can take
I’m 15 years old, and I’ve watched a pretty good number of R-rated movies before. I watch the Showtime series Dexter and I can handle it without even cringing. I’ve watched plenty of R-rated horror movies as well…The Shining (one of my absolute favorites), Silence of the Lambs, Blair Witch Project, The Exorcist…none of these even remotely affected me.
The R-rating is determined by hard language, persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, etc. Violence is not something teens ages 13-16 can’t handle, however consistent or aggressive it is. Sexually-oriented nudity and sex scenes…yes, some people may think this may encourage underage sexual activity, and could lead to teen pregnancy, but a lot of people in my school understand the seriousness of that. We’re not stupid, we’ve heard the spiels. The majority of us are not dumb enough to follow through. As for hard language…kids these days start swearing when they’re 12, maybe 13 at the latest. I hear profanity on an everyday basis just walking down the hallways of our school. It’s not foreign to us.
It depends on maturity, and, for the most part, we have it. Some of us don’t, true. But what we can and can’t watch should be decided our parents, not by age restrictions.
I think 13 year old should not be able to watch rated r movies because you would never no how a pre-teen reacts to certian movies that have violence and scary themes in them sooo…..
But some people say that it’s cool.👌
I am 16 years old, I have lived in a house hold where my parents would rather me not go watch a R-rated movie but it is not frowned upon because they know I know what I can handle and what I can not handle. I am at the age, like most of us, where I can decided to follow whats going on or make my own smart choices. I know right from wrong and I know that there will consequences for my actions. I agree with this article because either way, kids will still watch the movie if anyone lets them or not.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I think that teens as in 13 years and older should be allowed to watch R rated movies because by that age they should know what they can handle as for pre-teens as in children 12 years old and under should not be allowed to without a parental guardian. As for kids 13 years and older I believe should because again them aswell as their parents should know by now what they can handle and what they can’t.
a common myth is that parents know everything well parents don’t know everything there ignorant and arrogant. Nobody young or old knows everything its how u use experience that counts not how much experience you have. and especially parents think they know everything and think there righteous. and if America wasn’t discriminatory towards young people (17 and under) young people would be equal to adults (+18) but its not that way I agree with I 200% agree with what Khalil Worsham says in his comment
yesh because Our society and government says that teens under 17 can’t go watch a movie that has been deemed too scary or explicit for the general public. But a big factor to take into concern if a teen feels that they can handle a scary movie better because of past personal experiences and possibly the biggest factor; Personal maturity. Age is a very unreliable estimate of maturity, some people can be very mentally mature at 9 or some people can be 90 and still young at heart. So what makes people think that after you turn 17 you are automatically mature?
On the other hand, if you’re a parent and you’re trying to protect your children, then you probably wouldn’t want them to see some of the things on the movies. Some things you may want to avoid could be; language or nudity or any disturbing things that may impair your child or scare them. Some material that has been allowed in movies over the last few years that would have been considered extremely “taboo” to talk about 50 years ago.
“MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) defines an R-rated movie and their suggestions regarding such films as follows:
An R-rated motion picture, in the view of the Rating Board, contains some adult material. An R-rated motion picture may include adult themes, adult activity, hard language, intense or persistent violence, sexually-oriented nudity, drug abuse or other elements, so that parents are counseled to take this rating very seriously. Children under 17 are not allowed to attend R-rated motion pictures unaccompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Parents are strongly urged to find out more about R-rated motion pictures in determining their suitability for their children. Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.”
Personally I don’t see what the big deal is, if a teen over 13 thinks that he or she can handle watching a movie and their parents don’t have a problem with it, why can’t they? If they can’t handle it in the end then it’s no one’s fault but their own, by the time someone is 13 they should probably be well aware of their personal limits.
As a 15 year old girl since March of 2017, I’ve been watching R rated movies since I was about 11 years old. It didn’t ruin me or my thinking, it just opened my mind more. At a young age I learned that not all guys will date you for you and just date you for your body.
* note , i remain anyomus on the internet.*
I belive that kids over the age of thirteen watching r rated movies is right, as long as they get premisson from their parents. Oh, and by the way, why do i need a cellphone? Exactly. In the emoji movie, its set in grade 7 ( my grade) and every single kid has a cellphone.
i agree that if a teen thinks they are ready to watch a r rated movie than they should watch it.
yes, my parents are beyond rude and wont even let me watch Gods of Egypt. its rated friken PG-13!!! plus, ive ben watching scary movies since i was 5, with my other parents. i was adopted.
can i adopt u dad?
that’s not inappropriate
I’m 14 and i’m terrified of blood scorching movies but I like “The Shinning”