Movie rating definitions
January 23, 2007
I was trying to figure out if my boys (ages 3.75 - 7.75) could watch Superman Returns. So off to the Interweb I went and look at what I found.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t really help me too much.
My boys have already seen action movies such as Superman I/II, Spider-man I/II, Star Wars I/II/IV/V/VI, Harry Potter I-III, Chronicles of Narnia and a few others.
My wife really thought they could watch Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I controlled the remote so the kids never saw skulls or melting Nazis. She wanted to also show Temple of Doom, but I drew the line there.
Hey, I’m not totally bad. I have not let the boys watch Star Wars Episode III. I prescreened that and thought it was way too violent. (Anakin has his legs severed and is burned to a crisp, Mace Windu is blown out a window, etc.).
When introducing a new action movie to our kids, my wife and I talk to the kids before and after. We have them ask questions and we reinforce that the movie is just a story and no one was hurt. The kids have told us repeatedly that they understand it’s just a movie and it’s not real.
So how do the boys react? Just fine. None of them are scared. No one wakes up with nightmares. They all cheer at the action scenes. They don’t do anything stupid around the house.
Seems like common sense, honesty and careful screening work just fine so far.
By the way, here’s the result of my research on action movie ratings…
Rated PG:
Star Wars I/II/III/IV/V
Raiders of the Lost Ark — Tons of skulls, a room of snakes, and melting Nazis. Seems like it should be PG-13.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — Heart ripped out, men burned in hot lava, insane mine/roller coaster ride, fall from an airplane without a parachute. Yikes!
Back to the Future I/II/III — Episodes II and III have some gun violence. My kids really enjoy this series and write stories about time travel.
The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — This has intense battle scenes and the torture of a Lion. My kids love it.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (I)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (III) — It’s annoying that HP II is rated PG-13 so we have to watch the movies out of order.
Superman I/II/III/IV — Episodes I and II are classics, but too long. III/IV are so lousy I told the boys we’re not going to watch them.
Rated PG-13:
Spider-man I/II
Star Wars IV
Superman Returns
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl — Tons of scary ghost pirates but overall a fun ride.
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (II)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (IV)
X-Men — A senator mutates and dies as a puddle of water.
X2
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — intensely scary.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — intensely scary and violent battle scenes.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — intensely scary and violent battle scenes.
[LOTR are my all-time favorite books and movies… But I’ve decided to wait for the boys to be older. I’d really want to encourage them to read the books first.]
Of course, after I looked up all these movies one-by-one on Amazon, then I found a searchable tool by the MPAA
Please share your thoughts on movie ratings and when to show what to whom.
Roland
Having raised 2 boys and 2 girls without ever telling them they could not see or read anything at any age, I remain puzzled what the fear is about? One of my sons became a Marine, but he’s not violent outside of violence socially approved. All of them had sex before marriage, but all waited to get married and are now in marriages that appear quite stable. No axe murders yet. All seven of my grandchildren appear well adjusted. In the case of violence, they need to know it’s a story and that most violence in the real world is wrong. In the case of sex, they are disinterested until they reach a certain age and after that age you could not keep them away with a sharp stick. They need safety information, not ignorance. These principles have served me well.
Thanks for writing, Steve. I’m glad you had a positive experience raising your children.
I recognize now that there are a small number of folks trying to push their agenda on the rest of us - movie/TV ratings, music, video games, books, sex, religion, sports (just to name a few).
Parents today really need to stand up to these busy-body zealots and apply common sense to the way we raise our children.
-BD