PG-13 .. should 13 year olds really be watching some of this stuff?

[Heronwing]

Well, first of all, I think that movies likes Blues Brothers, which came out before the PG-13 rating that are fine for kids to watch.
On the other hand, stuff like Transformers 2 is pushing the rating. I liked the story and the action, but I'd prefer it if they didn't make all the crude jokes and if they had Megan Fox actually wear shirts that cover her stomach.

There's stuff like The Matrix, too, which I thought deserved more of a PG-13 rating until the part where Mouse dies, and from then on, I wholeheartedly agreed with the R rating. I also remember watching the first Indiana Jones, and how my dad used to make me stand in the hallway or something when they opened the Ark. Watching that scene now, I can understand why.
Also, the rating descriptions are a bit too vague sometimes. My grandparents took my brother and I to see The Great Debaters when I'd just turned 13 (it was only a few days after my birthday), and one of the things mentioned was "thematic elements", which turned out to be a lynching scene.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

[Monkey J. Luffy]

I honestly think that the American rating system for movies is TERRIBLE.[Yes, so terrible that caps are needed.] How Transformers didn't get an R rating and Public Enemies did is beyond me.
I think the best way to discover what movie parents are sending their children into is to check out a site that explains the content. Such as Preview, which i always find helpful as long as you ignore everything but the sidebar that describes all of the content.

And I believe that video game ratings are done very well at the moment. Although some games are rated a bit too severely.

[S.M.O.G.]

I felt the same way about the Eragon movie: When I heard the rating for it, I thought, "There's no way they could've made a PG movie out of that book." Of course, that movie had much, MUCH bigger problems than its rating. (Who knows? Maybe their insistence on a PG rating dragged the rest of the movie down to how bad it ended up being.)

...Man, that movie really blew chunks.

No, that movie was chunks.

[Song_of_Storms]

[SIZE="1"]I saw Jim Carey's Yes Man a couple days ago. After all the times he was throwing around the F word, and then that horrible bit with the granny, I couldn't believe it only got rated PG-13.

I suppose that parents are just going to have to view the stuff before they let their kids watch 'em. [/SIZE]

[Sanji07]

I agree with you completely. Norbit was awful imo. The main reason why is because of all the cursing and innuendo (as was mentioned). I doubt the movie would have been one of my favorites even with all this stuff taken out, but at least I wouldn't have regretted seeing it in the first place. This applies to many more PG-13 movies I have seen in the past. v.v

[Souba]

[color="RoyalBlue"]I agree the standards for PG-13 rated have gotten really low. I think advance screening will be the way to go for the kids, and maybe some net research for the older viewers.
[/color]

It's part of the reason I hate Michael Bay and wish he hadn't gotten the rights to the movies in the first place.

[color="RoyalBlue"]
Well I don't hate the guy, but I agree he totally ruined Transformers for me. At least I got the original cartoons to enjoy watching.
Beloved in Grace,
Souba
[/color]

[rocklobster]

Yes, I totally agree. Crude language is unnecessary in a Transformers movie. The line was directed at children, for crying out loud. I can understand adult material in something like Batman (Batman needs edgy stuff), but Transformers is not a dark story.

[Nate]

A civil war where brother kills brother isn't a dark story? If you say so...

[SnoringFrog]

Something just occurred to me today. I believe someone earlier in this thread mentioned Harry Potter and how the books were supposed to mature with their intended audience, and I was thinking, isn't that kind of what happens with some of these movies? (Transformers is mainly what I'm speaking of, since that's been a popular one in the topic)

Think about the people who watched Transformers growing up (not sure what current age-group that is, just know they're older than me), by now they're plenty old enough to handle a more mature series, and perhaps they want that. Now, I do realize that Transformers has continued to be remade into a children's show, and so all the issues that have been brought up there still stand, but I do think that sometimes people who were fans of the old shows would like to see them grow up and mature with them over time.

One series that comes to my mind is Pokemon. I used to love the Pokemon anime, now I can't stand it. However, I do still enjoy pokemon for the fanfiction. I used to know several authors that took the basic concepts of Pokemon and made fantastic fanfiction that was more realistic and more mature than the anime ever was. That's one series I believe I would love to see redone as something more mature, and I'm sure there are others (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also comes to mind, although they did mature that one a bit when it was remade a few years back for Fox, the TMNT I watched when I was much younger was much more lighthearted than the most recent series I saw).

So, for things like that, I don't mind having a series taken and redeveloped into something more mature (although, I don't agree with adding in alot of the things that get added that are really unnecessary, such as alot of the sexual content that's been mentioned) . It keeps some of the nostalgia for those who used to watch it, but also gives them something more their age. The problem arises when this happens with things like Transformers, where the show is still being marketed to children, who then of course would want to see the movies that have now been infected with alot of filth they don't need to see/hear.

[animechica]

This is why I hate Michael Bay. This is why I wish he hadn't worked on the sequel, or even the original. People were going to go see Transformers to see, well, TRANSFORMERS. It doesn't need sexual jokes, it doesn't need Megan Fox stripping, it doesn't need ANY of that, it needs robots fighting and that's it. There was zero reason to make it more "mature," the nerd factor and the kid factor was going to be more than enough to make the movie a success. He only did it because he's Michael effin' Bay and that's how he rolls. :|

My sentiments exactly.
Most sexual jokes in the media are disgusting to me, and if they elicit any laughter, it's awkward laughter, not because I think it's actually funny.

On overprotecting kids, I believe that kids should know about sex when they start being interested in it. That parents should actually get involved and tell them facts, something that mine never did. I guess the thing about ratings is that they don't seem to tell context very well. There is sexuality as in factual human sexuality, and then there is pointless, crude humor or scenes that basically amount to porn. I wouldn't want my kid watching that kind of crap because it has no point. I don't want to watch that crap myself. Let's use the Butterfly Effect as an example. I saw the director's cut so what I've seen may be a bit more graphic.

There is a part involving college life, some girls in showers, etc. You see nudity and the sexual aspect is played up a bit. I hate that. It's just to please the audience. But there's also a part with a prostitute and it's so sad just to see her all wasted away from her sin. I wouldn't mind my kids seeing that, nor would I mind explaining to them what a prostitute is. There's a part with child molestation. It doesn't show anything and obviously paints it in a terrible light. I'd let my kids watch that, and explain to them that people do take advantage of children and that they should never tolerate it.

I guess it's just when illicit sexuality (or violence for that matter) is glorified and no consequences are shown that it becomes something that's not really good for anybody to see because it's out of perspective to reality.

And I love how things are actually rated worse when they contain some actual food for thought versus cheapened sexuality and the most offensive words someone could think up. (I mean, are you in kindergarten? Will people be more impressed with your movie the cruder its language? Give me a break and stop packing the script with language like that FOR NO REASON)

I mean, if I could take a stab at directing Transformers, I'd portray Sam's girlfriend as a pretty, intelligent girl who's pressured by society to be "hot", who's bullemic and who almost commits suicide because she feels her whole purpose is to be "just a hole".

I'd rather have my kids watch something like that that than some sexed up garbage for sure.
Gah, this turned into a rant. my bad~

[RandomBurrito]

On the topic of sexual humor and Megan Fox (or anyone in that matter) stripping]want[/i] too hear sexual jokes. They want to see good looking women strip their clothes off on a big screen.

Now I myself didn't see either Transformers or the new Transformers 2, but from what I've heard from my friends, all it is is Megan Fox looking good and explosions. Neither or which are what Transformers should be.

Now on the actual topic, I agree that some PG13 content is inappropriate to some children who are the age of 13. It depends on the movie. I cannot say that all PG13 movies have inappropriate content because that's not true. Some of them do. Maybe even most. However, some movies that are rated PG13 are safe. I personally wouldn't even begin to believe the rating it received (PG, PG13, R, etc etc). I would rate them on my own "ratings". Ratings being what the content is and if I find it inappropriate.

I've read the majority of posts on this thread, and I don't believe this has been said. We also have to remember that even PG movies have gotten to the point that some of them are inappropriate to 13 year olds. By inappropriate, I don't mean things such as the dreaded Harry Potter with all of it's with-craft. I mean the PG movies that have sexual jokes and are not entirely aimed at a younger audience like they should be. Now, I can't think of any off the top of my head, but I know there are some.

All in all, I wouldn't tell my child they are able to go see a movie without first viewing it first and giving it my own age rating that's based off my child's age, maturity, content of the movie, and so on.

I agree about even some PG movies having content that's not suitable for young viewers. I think it was Marley and Me that I saw that I was kinda like "They gave this a PG rating?". It had some sexual innuendo in it.

[Nate]

And I love how things are actually rated worse when they contain some actual food for thought versus cheapened sexuality and the most offensive words someone could think up.

Well to be fair, when things have actual food for thought in them they tend to be more graphic content-wise than when it's glossed over. For example, if you had a rape scene in a movie, even if there was no nudity in it, it would almost certainly immediately get an R rating, despite how necessary to the plot it might be and what relevance it had to the story.

(I mean, are you in kindergarten? Will people be more impressed with your movie the cruder its language? Give me a break and stop packing the script with language like that FOR NO REASON)

I don't think that most of the time the language in movies is for no reason (though admittedly at times it could be). I was in the Navy for six years, and let me tell you, some movies look TAME compared to the normal day-to-day conversation that went on in that place, and I'm sure those people didn't talk any differently outside of the ship. My language can be pretty colorful too when I'm really upset about something, trust me. Just because there's a lot of language doesn't mean it was put in just to make the movie more "mature."

I mean, if I could take a stab at directing Transformers, I'd portray Sam's girlfriend as a pretty, intelligent girl who's pressured by society to be "hot", who's bullemic and who almost commits suicide because she feels her whole purpose is to be "just a hole".

If I could take a stab at directing Transformers I would portray Sam's girlfriend as nonexistant because she serves no purpose to the story whatsoever. XD

[DignifiedSoul]

I know!!!!!I saw Transformers 2 as well and I'm 13.It really sickened me!A lot of people my age think it's "okay" but I strongly disagree.LOL wow me being a Christian totally makes me feel like an oddball but I'm a proud oddball! XD lol anyway I agree that the media is really going far.I'm reading this book called "Recreate your World" by Ron Luce and it mentions about the dirty things on media.It's really saddening on how this world acts. T_T

[Scarecrow]

Rating system is a joke, I don't even pay attention to it. (Rated R for strong language and Smoking... what a joke!) Not saying I watch whatever I want regardless of what's in it. Just saying if it seems like it could be beyond what I want to see, I'll look it up myself rather than rely on what the rating say. I mean I don't have kids but ya I don't think I'd let them watch either Transformers till they're like 15 (I don't think either were bad enough for an R but they certainly weren't PG-13 either).

But really it would depend on the kid. Age is really just a number and not a reliable measurement of maturity.

[KeybladeWarrior]

Isn't a thread like this a bit too contriversial?

[Radical Dreamer]

Isn't a thread like this a bit too contriversial?

No, not really. We've been watching it this whole time, and the discussion has remained pretty civil. CAA has a "no theological debate" rule, but there's certainly nothing controversial about a good, healthy discussion. Thanks for your concern, but no, this thread's just fine!

[KeybladeWarrior]

No problem. That is good to hear.

[eternalprincess]

No no, I totally get that. I just think I might be the only straight guy in america who thinks she's not that great looking.

I applaud you! (and I'm being serious. . .)



As for Sam's Happy Time in Transformers; um, seriously? That whole scene ticked me off. It had nothing to do with the plot, and defiantly did not develop the character really at all--there's many other ways to develop a character than a scene that has NO purpose in a PG 13 movie.

To me PG 13 is the new R--I'm more worried about seeing PG 13 movies than R stuff now days, and I think that sad.

[Nate]

To me PG 13 is the new R--I'm more worried about seeing PG 13 movies than R stuff now days, and I think that sad.

I think you're overexaggerating a bit. Not to say there aren't PG-13 movies that skirt the border, which have already been mentioned. But if you're seriously more concerned about the content of Indiana Jones than Bruno, I think you're a little mixed up. :p

[Solid Snake]

Funny. I just got done watching Gladiator (R, as I'm sure everyone in here probably already knows) and then came and looked at this thread. I definetely agree with the main premise here. PG-13 is getting absolutely ridiculous. But, beyond that, I think the real problem is that MEDIA is getting ridicilous. Both outside of and inside of the Christian sphere. I mean, seriously, some Christian artists/entertainers could use to lay back on the sexuality factor themselves. IMO, almost all of them could (please take note of that big IMO). Just take a look on cable TV. Sure, PG-13 is where I think we see the biggest problems sneaking in so rampantly, but if you really observe public media consumption I think you can see that this is an across the board issue. I mean, for Pete's sake, we're even teaching the youngest kids today to be hip, hot, and keep up with Miley Cyrus' and the Jonas Brothers' love lives *Solid Snake raises tomato shield due to extreme fear of dislike on that comment*. Okay, sorry, rant over.
I agree, PG-13 is getting out of hand. Just want to say that, having worked with adult and teen alike in the ministry, it's REALLY refreshing to see some other people who agree that stuff like Transformers isn't just bad for young kids but is just totally, ridicilously out of hand.

PS. I never thought Megan Fox looked all too amazing either. Maybe the poor dressing and anti-Proverbs 31 thing just turned me off from the word get go

[SnoringFrog]

One thing I've noticed because of this thread and hearing it mentioned a few other times recently is that I didn't actually notice alot of the crap in Transformers until people started pointing it out to me. I went in wanting to see stuff blow up, so that's what I paid attention to. What I'm getting at is while I do still agree that that stuff shouldn't be so prevalent, I also think that if you get too focused on those things then you end up noticing them alot more than you would if you just piad attention to what you wanted in the movie in the first place.

[Nate]

I also think that if you get too focused on those things then you end up noticing them alot more than you would if you just piad attention to what you wanted in the movie in the first place.

From a guy who went into Transformers expecting a popcorn action flick, and a guy who doesn't mind sexual humor, I was appalled at how much sexual humor was in Transformers. I wasn't focusing on it. It slapped me in the face.

And I don't see how anyone could not notice John Turturro's forty-foot wide hairy rear-end in a thong on the screen in Transformers 2. There is literally no way to miss that, so I find your claim that you only notice it if you look for it a bit off. :p

[Yamamaya]

I agree that Transformers threw in too much objectionable material into a movie based off of a children's cartoon. Frankly I found it kinda irritating.

However, I disagree that the topic of masturbation is an R only topic since 13 is the general beginning of puberty and teens tend to start doing stuff of that nature.

[WhiteMage212]

For movies based on cartoons or comic books ment for kids, I think it is absolutly unnessasary to put R rated content. Also, I watched Year One without reading a review and one the movie was just a few minutes in, I realized I basicly gave eight dollars to the devil! I was going in my head: Look at this stuff, the content belongs in a R rated movie! I think the reason sexual content gets into PG-13 movies is because 13 year olds are so inmature, talking about those jokes and thinking thier funny. (I am so glad I am homeschooled) What ever happened to the comedys like I Love Lucy!?

[Etoh*the*Greato]

What ever happened to the comedys like I Love Lucy!?

Society found them to be largely unrealistic (I mean, seirously, they sleep in twin beds?). Not that today's situation hasn't swung in the opposite direction. It really has.

If we had to pick on Transformers 2 specifically, though, there are SO many worse things about that movie than the sexual humor, though. I mean, it was worse obviously because MB discovered America loved (for what ever reason) Megan Fox, but there were way worse things about the movie. For example, an issue of racism? I would take Nate's suggestion for directing the movie a step further. I wouldn't just remove Fox, I'd remove the twins, too.

[WhiteMage212]

I mean, it was worse obviously because MB discovered America loved (for what ever reason) Megan Fox, but there were way worse things about the movie.

Well, in almost every MB directed movie, there is sexy women which I don't find that hot(which they have only one purpose which is to look hot. Probably so that he can rake in some viewers.), explosions(transformers 2 is a clear example), and more special effects like explosions.

[SnoringFrog]

From a guy who went into Transformers expecting a popcorn action flick, and a guy who doesn't mind sexual humor, I was appalled at how much sexual humor was in Transformers. I wasn't focusing on it. It slapped me in the face.

And I don't see how anyone could not notice John Turturro's forty-foot wide hairy rear-end in a thong on the screen in Transformers 2. There is literally no way to miss that, so I find your claim that you only notice it if you look for it a bit off. :p

Ok...I'm apparently forgetting some parts then (and from what you just described, I'm VERY glad I'm forgetting those). Maybe that's more of what I meant then. I went in, and maybe I did notice it then (honestly, I don't recall noticing alot), but I've already forgotten the majority of it. I remember the "cool" parts and not much else.

Guess I'm blind/uber forgetful.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Well, in almost every MB directed movie, there is sexy women which I don't find that hot(which they have only one purpose which is to look hot. Probably so that he can rake in some viewers.), explosions(transformers 2 is a clear example), and more special effects like explosions.

But he's not the sole purveyor of those things. You've just described the quintessential summer flick.

[Ante Bellum]

Hahaha, yes, exactly! That's why I all but stopped watching movies. Seriously, I saw one movie in the theater, and another on a plane (not that I wanted to).
I now propose the WTF rating.

[sdzero]

As a future film maker, I study every film I see. Transformers 2 was riddled with plot holes that did not really make sense. Such as the decepticon female...do I really have to explain how dumb that was? But then again, it is a MB movie, so he had to find an excuse to work with a bunch of models. Also, could not the fragment of the cube shard that Witwicky had bring Optimus Prime back to life? Bumblebee, after 2 years still did not have his voice back after clearly talking at the end of the first movie? How did the government cover up a huge robot battle in the middle of the city in the first movie? Not to mention the new autobots in the movie did not even get 1 line at the most...well aside from the twins and the blackbird. The MOST ANNOYING ONES! * end rant *
The movies action was well done. If they took out all the other crude and dirty humor it would have been a better movie.