The BIG Picture
It's Friday night, and you're ready to have some fun. You call all of your friends, make the pans, and you're off. Your choice- a nice movie to watch and enjoy. After reaching your destination, getting dropped off, and saying goodbye to your parents, you go to the ticket sale counter. "I would like to order (number of people with you) to (movie or your choice)," you say. "Sorry, but that movies is sold out. Would you like to watch another one?" says the lady behind the counter. You look around at all of the advertisements. You ask for your second, third, and fourth choice...all sold out. All they have left to buy tickets for is some lame old "G-Rated" movies and those awesome "R" movies. But you're 14! There's no way that you're going to be seen in a kiddy movie, and they definitely aren't going to let you into an adult movie. So what's a teen to do? You reluctantly go inside, use a payphone and it's couch city for you this Friday. A night ruined all because of a rating system that is totally out of whack. First, let's look at the factual side of this matter.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) decides the ratings for movies. In 1968, Backed by Supreme Court, the MPAA's president, Jack Valenti proposed a rating system where adults would be free to view any movie they pleased, but children would still be protected from inappropriate films. So who decides these ratings? It is done so by a board of 8 to 13 members whose qualifications include: being a parent, being able to put themselves in the role of most American parents, and possessing "an intelligent maturity." Even some of the high people of America say that this rating thing is a little unjust. Says, Liana Benin, PhD, "I don't think that 13 or 14-year-olds shouldn't be allowed to see what they want. If their parents don't stop them, then hey, so be it..." It just goes to show you that this whole rating system is a matter of opinion. Who's to tell you that something is right or wrong for your eyes? It just doesn't make sense. Now, it's opinion time. Think about this: If you were a parent and someone told you how to raise your child, you'd be ready to
Some common words found in the essay are:
, Benin PhD, S-T-O-P B-A-D, Jack Valenti, America MPAA, rating system, Court MPAA's, Big-Screen Blues, decides ratings,
Approximate Word count = 721
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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