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One Up

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Submitted By melissajinks
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Melissa Jinks
Frist Year Writing II: ENGL 1304
5 November 2013

One Up
“Proposal Argument for the MPAA rating system”
A student and a teacher make out on school premises. A young man sings, “I make love with a woman on the bathroom floor.” A character says suggests to another that she, “shove it up her harry little-.” Two teens passionately make out in a bed while a mother walks in and offers condoms. A teenage girl is hit by a bus. PG-13 ("Mean Girls [2004] [PG-13] - 5.4.4."). These few scenes from the 2004 film, Mean Girls, depict the limits that are pushed in the content of a PG-13 rating. Why are filmmakers so limited when it comes to language and violence in PG-13 films? Why can’t they drop more than one F-bomb? Why do they have to be precautious when revealing the reality of the consequences portrayed in a violent scene?
Although there is only a year difference between thirteen and fourteen year-olds, the MPAA should change the rating of PG-13 to PG-14 because most fourteen year-olds are mature enough to handle more explicit content, allowing liberty to filmmakers who try to avoid “R” rating and above. In doing this, leniency will be provided in the areas of language and violence and the filmmakers will be freer to expand on the content of the film while obtaining the larger audience they were aiming for.
Since the boundary for content allowed in PG-13 movies is already pushed towards more mature audiences, it makes sense to say that upping the PG-13 rating a year would not only give more freedom to filmmakers, but justify films that question their PG-13 rating. Films such as The Wolverine and Meet the Spartans are examples of PG-13 ratings with objectionable material that would deemed be more appropriate at PG-14. Common Sense Media, a site that contains movie reviews by parents, says that although both films are rated PG-13, they are more appropriate for ages fourteen and above. Part of this reason is because of some of the violence is considered disturbing to audiences ("Movie Reviews - Kids Movies | Common Sense Media."). Other films such as Bully had to make adjustments in order to receive a PG-13 rating. Although the film is directed towards an audience in the PG-13 area, the filmmakers had to remove three F-bombs in order to drop the R rating (Effron). In a way, the restriction of violence and language on these films portray a less effective meaning that the movie is trying to get across. Violence that does not illustrate the true consequences of what may happen if for example, someone is stabbed, can appear to younger audiences as less of an issue than it really is. In the case of profanity, if the F-bomb is dropped once, then it should not matter if it is heard again. It could be considered offensive to children who are not mature enough to handle more violence or language, so the challenge for the MPAA is to establish a more accurate depiction of an age that is mature enough to handle this content that way the restrictions are more reasonable.
Without a doubt, today’s youth is exposed to more mature content compared to thirty years ago. With this becoming the norm, there are many teens that can handle such content while others are still in need of parental guidance. People lack to see that there is a major difference between maturity levels of thirteen and fourteen-year-olds. Fourteen-year-olds are typically eighth-graders going into high school. By this age, puberty is old news. They begin to experience more freedom and gain and a better sense of self-confidence (“14-Year-Old”). Development of maturity is obvious. At thirteen-years-old, kids are sensitive and go through many changes physically and mentally (Witmer). With thirteen-year-olds being so close to high school there are many changes going on in their lives. They cannot handle the same mature content that perhaps a fourteen-year-old is exposed to.
High school also has an impact on the development of a teen. A clear fact is that fourteen-year-olds cannot avoid what will be exposed to them in high school. So whether they are in a discussion at the lunch table about mature topics or if it is revealed to them through a movie, it doesn’t matter because they will see or hear about it eventually. It is no longer a surprise to them and they are learning how to behave about it in a mature way. As they grow, they understand the consequences of participating in inappropriate behaviors. It is their choice to take the risk because they understand the results.
Some parents are more lenient about what is presented to their kids. It doesn’t bother them that their kids are watching movies out there that could contain content a little too inappropriate for them because they have to learn about it eventually. If that is the case, then the parents should have no problem being there while they watch a higher-rated movie or, hypothetically speaking, if they sat in on their conversation during school lunch. Thirteen-year-olds, on the other hand, are not ready for this. Living with a thirteen-year-old little brother for the past year has convinced me of this. I know that if Mean Girls or The Wolverine were to play in theaters right now, I would not feel comfortable taking my brother to see teenage girls dressed up as Playboy bunnies or blades piercing a person’s body. Although he is technically old enough to watch the movies on his own, I do not think that determines the fact that he is mature enough. As he grows older and is closer to high school, I know it will not be long until I decide that the content in heavier PG-13 movies nowadays is appropriate for his age level. At fourteen, he is still in middle school, but close enough to high school. I know that once he enters high school, he won’t be able to avoid topics considered unprincipled or the language of other students. Therefore, if PG-13 were changed to PG-14, the rating system would have a more accurate understanding of teen maturity. So weather the F-word is heard more than once or a little more blood is involved in a battle, fourteen-year-olds have reached the age to handle it.
Why would the alternating the rating system even matter to the thirteen or fourteen-year-old? Evidence suggests that youth exposed to extensive media violence are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior, that they are less likely to reject violence as a means of solving disputes and have less empathy for victims of violence (Healy). Therefore, exposing too much violence through film to a child who is not mature enough to handle it could potentially corrupt their health. Hence, thirteen-year-olds would not be fit for this, but fourteen-year-olds would. Filmmakers are also impacted because of the greater content that would be allowed in their film. Movies would have a better chance of success at the box office due to a greater audience. Parents would feel more comfortable sending their kids to a movie who portrays a more accurate rating.
The guidelines for PG-13 are pushed as it is. Up the rating year and some films will be more accurate to their rating while other filmmakers will not have to play it so safe. PG-14 will allow audiences to expand by providing parents with a more trustworthy rating as well as a fairer chance for movie producers to stray away from “R.” It will no longer be a surprise to see a mutant pierce his claws through a human or hear a teenage girl suggest to another to “shove it up her harry little-.”

Works Cited Effron, Lauren. "‘Bully’ Film Rating Lowered to PG-13 After Public Pressure." ABC News. ABC News Network, 6 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Healy, Melissa. "Booster Shots." PG-13 Films Serving up Way More Violence, Not Much More Sex. N.p., 08 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
"Mean Girls [2004] [PG-13] - 5.4.4." Mean Girls [2004] [PG-13] - 5.4.4. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.
"Movie Reviews - Kids Movies | Common Sense Media." Movie Reviews - Kids Movies | Common Sense Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Witmer, Denise. "13-Year-Old Social and Emotional Development for Teens." Parenting Teens - Parent Advice for Raising Your Teen. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.
---. "14-Year-Old Social and Emotional Development for Teens." Parenting Teens - Parent Advice for Raising Your Teen. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2013.

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