Tuesday, November 1, 2011

MAKES ME SO MAD..


Personally, I find many problems with America’s rating system. Not only is our system a monopoly that no one else has been able to get involved with, but it also inaccurately depicts what should be considered disturbing. The current rating system has a huge impact on who is able to see a film as well as the audience that the film is attracting.
            First of all, homosexual scenes are almost never found in mainstream movies. Originally, I thought this was because no one wanted to make movies about them, but after watching the documentary, I can now see that it is because those scenes are forced to be cut out or, God forbid, they are left in, those movies are deemed NC-17 for their content. After learning that, it is no surprise that there is so much homophobia in America. Cinema reflects the values and culture of our society and if something taboo is put on film, it is more likely to be regarded as normal and consequently accepted. If homosexuality was on film more, many more people would be exposed to it, and more people would realize that it is not something to be afraid of.
            Violence and sex is also something to be considered when rating a film. Sex is an every day act and is not one that should be banned inappropriate. All teenagers know and understand what sex is, so seeing it on screen would be nothing new for them. Teens have computers, and it really is not hard to find something online if you’re looking for it. Because of this, movies should be more sexually fluid and allow a variety of sex scenes. Like I said, most teens have already seen most of the “obscene” sex scenes that are found in higher rated films, and it should not be considered taboo because it is such a large part of our lives. The more people talk about sex, accept it, and feel comfortable about it, the more likely we are to have safe sex and avoid teenage pregnancy. Instead, of worrying about sex, violence should be a larger issue. Violence is something that SHOULD NOT be a part of every day life and that people should not be exposed to on a regular basis. If disturbing images are not put into your head, you are less likely to think that is “the norm” and act out in a violent way. Violence should be rated much more strongly than it currently is and sex should be more accepted.
            Our society is much more progressive and accepting than the 60- and 70-year-olds that are on the panel deciding for America who should and should not be able to view each movie that lands on the big screen. Either this panel needs to catch up with the rest of America or a new, more progressive panel needs to come along because we are way past those who are making decisions for us. 

2 comments:

  1. Interesting perspective. So is the current system then still viable since society has changed? Do we still need NC-17?

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  2. NC-17 should have extreme violence in it or be practically porn. The system needs to either be re-vamped to match current trends or a new one needs to be created.

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