The MPAA is finally doing something about all those bad parents who drag their kids into rated-R movies and make things miserable for the rest of us. They’re just not doing very much.
The Hollywood Reporter says they’re adding a new advisory on to the R-rating which says, “Generally, it is not appropriate for parents to bring their young children with them to R-rated motion pictures.” Though the R-rating restricts anyone from under 17 from entering alone, it allows any child of any age in as long as they have a parent with them. Apparently most parents have been completely unable to figure out on their own that this is a bad idea. The MPAA has seen all the same crappy parenting you have. The next time you’re in an R-rated movie look around and count the number of kids under 10 in there with you.
The change comes in response to complaints from moviegoers, who are sick of ‘My Name is Earl’ rejects dragging their brats into movies they’re not old enough to see and thus ruining the experience for everyone else. I’m not talking about crying kids here, I’m talking about trying to enjoy a gloriously dark and disturbed R-rated movie while the little kid next to you asks his mommy why those two women are kissing and wonders out loud what happened to that nice man’s head. Seriously, enough.
Frankly, this isn’t taking it far enough. Most of the parents who insist on bringing their kids into R-rated movies anyway probably won’t even notice the new language attached to the rating and if they do I seriously doubt they’ll care. The MPAA really needs to take it further. If the movies aren’t appropriate for anyone under 17 to see without their parent, they’re not appropriate for anyone under 17 to see with their parent either. Let’s just keep them out, period. Make it a rule. R should be the new NC-17. NC-17 is useless anyway, there’s too much stigma attached to it. Parent or no parent, children (and I’m including teenagers in children… in fact especially teenagers… they’re the worst) should not be allowed in R-rated movies. Not because of some concern about whether or not the kids will be scarred, but because they’re messing things up for the rest of us. R-rated movies are just about the only place adults should be able to go without worrying about kids. Give us this one little corner of the world, will ya? Keep your kids out, I don’t want to have to worry about their mental health while I’m watching a good decapitation.
