June 26, 2004
First in line for the R-card.
The New York Times has a story today about an Illinois theater offering R-cards which give kids under 18 prearranged parental permission to see R-rated films.
"The R-card costs $2 and allows youth to attend R-rated films unaccompanied by a parent or guardian....But critics are denouncing the R-card as both a maneuver around the movie rating system — which was set up to help parents sort out which movies were appropriate for their children — and an abdication of parental responsibilities."
First, a parent purchasing the R-card for a teen hasn't necessarily neglected their parental responsibilities, but they have definitely made a choice. A choice that says, "I'm allowing my teen to see R-rated films." Whether you agree or not, buying the card implies blanket permission, not necessarily apathy.
I would buy this card for a teenage Trevor, but I would also hand it out to him on a case by case basis. Requiem for a Dream and The Breakfast Club are vastly different films, but both are rated R. I would allow Trevor to see the latter as a teen. The former, I hope he sees when he's about 30, next to someone who will offer a hug afterwards.
Which brings me to my second point. The MPAA ratings are broken. They were created to help parents judge how appropriate movies are for children, but vague warnings like "strong language" and "some violence" are useless. There was "some violence" in the movie Brother Bear—those cartoon brothers smacked each other at least fifteen times at the start of the film. Which is different from a severed ear. And different from a slow, excruciating evisceration.
Mainstream critics are too concered with spitting out a pithy sound byte out to actually describe a film's content, but there are places to find child-aware reviews. Regardless of your religious beliefs, Christianity Today is a thorough source. Reviewers get down to the real nitty gritty of each film and tend to err on the conservative side. Knowing beforehand about the "kiss" in the final scene of Dodgeball is valuable in a way that a "rude and sexual humor" warning is not.
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Or if you really want an extreme analysis of a movie, don't forget www.capalert.com. Or you know, if you want a good ol belly laugh.
And I found a dress. And found I fit into a size below. Bring on the birthday!