movie ratinsgs (was: Rip Torn)

["Peter T. Chattaway" <petert@interchange.ubc.ca>]

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003, Kelvin Bailey wrote:
> Working with teenagers, I've been called to task for seeing a movie
> simply cuz it has an R rating - even though there is maybe no sex or
> nudity and the R is for subject matter or maybe one to many F word -
> like 'Ordinary People' for instance.

Ah, one of my favorite pet peeves.  Of course, growing up in British
Columbia, I was always aware of how arbitrary these ratings were; I would
see or hear about the American ratings in the TV ads and on the video
boxes, but the B.C. ratings would be very different.  Thus, quite a few
R-rated films, from _Witness_ and _Stand By Me_ to _The Castle_ and _The
Missing_, have gotten only PG ratings up here (never mind the 14-A)!

> But the parents let the kids see a movie like 'Coyote Ugly' which, even
> though there is no nudity or explicit sex, is saturated with sex in ways
> that are grossly inappropriate for a 15 year old - but hey it's okay cuz
> its only rated PG13.  Stupid!  Do your homework Freak Mamma!

Exactly.  And of course, unlike the 14-A rating in Canada, the American
PG-13 rating isn't even enforced, so it has no real substance to it than a
typical PG rating or even a G rating.  (That's why it's PG-13, not R-13.)

--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter@chattaway.com ---
Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they
   claim remembrance, on account of their scars. -- Chris Marker, La Jetee

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