By Natalya St. Clair
Do you or your parents pay attention to movie ratings?
"No way, why would I?" says Spencer Stewart, 17, of Canyon del Oro High School.
"No, because I don't care enough," says Shannon Cook, also 17 and a student at CDO.
"They don't care what I see," says Lindsay Partridge, our third 17-year-old CDO student.
What was the first R-rated film you saw?
"Predator" - Spencer
"When Harry Met Sally" - Shannon
"The Glass House" - Lindsay
What was the first R-rated film you saw when you turned 17 and could go on your own?
"The Mexican" - Spencer
"Dracula 2000" - Shannon
"The Glass House" - Lindsay
Did you ever sneak into an R-rated film? If so, how did you do it?
"Yes, you just walk in. It isn't that hard," says Spencer.
"Yes, I snuck into 'The Beach' by buying a ticket to 'Cider House Rules,' which was in the same wing," says Shannon.
"Yes, I have. I was in California and my aunt bought my cousins and me movie tickets, but because she wasn't going in with us she couldn't get the tickets to their movie so she bought tickets to a PG-13 movie and went in to the R-movie anyway," adds Lindsay.
Did you ever get caught sneaking into an R-rated movie?
"No," say all three.
What do you think is the attraction of underage people to R-rated movies, if you think there is any?
"More blood equals better movie. Just kidding. They're just better," says Spencer.
"It's something they're not supposed to do," says Shannon.
"I don't think there is any attraction," says Lindsay.
What do you think is appropriate for the movie industry? What do you think is not?
"Although gratuitous sex and violence is just stupid, I believe that if the material complements the story, or it fits the characters, then the material presented in the movie is appropriate," says Spencer.
"I hate movies that depict sex as a frivolous thing you participate in out of lust for the boy/girl you met that night. Movies that make fornication or adultery seem OK or even romantic piss me off. We wonder why the youth of today have no standards - dumb movies are the reason. I also hate movies that make it seem like you have to be perverted or cuss all the time to be funny.
" 'Chick flicks are altogether inappropriate! They should be banned from our media!
"Sex in general, even between husband and wife, is inappropriate. This is a sacred thing and should not be exploited for entertainment value," says Shannon.
"I know that things that are done in movies are not real. I can tell the difference between what's good and what's not. I think that just about everything is appropriate; it's just up to the parent to teach a child starting when they are really young what is bad or fake and what is good. I mean, there are things that there doesn't need to be that much like violence," says Lindsay.
What are the ratings all about, anyway?
On Nov. 1, 1968, the rating system was introduced so that parents could have a standard "leash" or guide to what their children could and could not see.
The five ratings are G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. The movie rating system is not a law or form of censorship. It is a voluntary system supported by filmmakers and run by the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theater Owners. A committee rates a film based on its theme, language, violence, nudity, sex and drug use. All are equally weighed and considered.
Among teens, it's the R-rated films that are controversial. While it seems that some R-rated movies are made to attract teen audiences, the rating itself means that no one under 17 will be admitted without an adult or legal guardian.
R-rated movies that attract teen audiences
- "American Pie" and "American Pie 2." "American Pie 2" pulled in $45.1 million on opening day, the largest opening for an R-rated film in history. In the first movie, four teen-age guys enter a pact to lose their virginity by their senior prom night. "American Pie 2" reunites the group after their first year of college. - "Scream," "Scream II" and "Scream III."
"Scream" is about a group of teens who run from a killer in their town, someone who has been watching too many horror movies. In the first movie's famous opening scene, Drew Barrymore's character is murdered after chatting on the phone with the killer about movie trivia.
- "Scary Movie," "Scary Movie II." These are parodies of just about every horror movie ever made, including "Satirizing Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "The Sixth Sense," "The Blair Witch Project" and others. "Scary Movie" topped the box office when it opened in July 2000, according to the Santa Monica division of Hollywood.com, although its sequel did not do as well as expected.
