MPAA

There is a lot of debate today about violence in our school systems. Kids seem to be so far removed from real life that they no longer associate consequences with their actions. We're trying so hard to shape our own future, recognizing the changes we'll be making in the current generation's policies. But what about when we're all 70 and handing over the power to those yet to come? How can they handle these real life situations when they've never been faced with an honest challenge?

Maybe those things can start with movies and video games. I think the argument for video games is obvious. However, movie ratings are another thing. There is such a driving force today to make a movie for a target audience, and to reach as many viewers as possible. In order to do this, filmmakers must jump through hell and back in order to get their movie approved by the MPAA at their target rating. PG-13 is widely regarded as the rating to reach the greatest demographic. However, if the movie has violence in it, to receive a PG-13 these scenes must be heavily edited. Most often that means removing most or all of the gory parts of a fight. The Chronicles of Narnia is a great example. There are several large battles in which creatures and humans alike are killed. But there is no blood. Once someone is (quite unrealistically to those of a more mature mind) run through, they drop out of the frame.

There is no connection made to the consequence of these individuals dying. In fact, the death component of a fight/battle is largely ignored. No wonder we're having such issues with violence among our youth. They're absorbing all of these images without any realization of what it means to take a life. Kids today are capable of inflicting great harm but we're doing nothing to remove these false portrayals of "cool" guys carrying guns around. A couple months ago a youth was set on fire by his school mates for borrowing a video game without paying for it. A school mate of his was beaten to within an inch of her life for a text message.

The MPAA board is supposedly made up of "ordinary parents." These everyday Americans are making the decisions of what makes up a G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17 movie. When an independent film director hired a private investigator (in 2005) to uncover the members of this board, it was discovered what about 80% of the MPAA screening board had children that are over the age of 18.

If we have to agree that there should be such a board monitoring the images we see in movies, shouldn't it be made up of professionals who will realize the impacts of the violent scenes and mature themes? We put a great amount of trust into these everyday parents and yet their identities are kept entirely secret for their protection. The irony here is almost painful.