Is it Appropriate to Allow Children to Watch R-Rated Films?

Everyone remembers the first time they sat down and saw certain things happen for the first time on screen. When they first views full frontal nudity and extreme sexual content or when they first saw the gory details of a war scene. Maybe it was traumatic to see it for some or maybe it wasn’t, however it is an important question to consider when becoming a parent or watching over children. Is it okay to allow children to watch potentially inappropriate and restricted content shown in R-Rated films, or is it something that they need to wait till they are grown and mature adults to see?

Yes – Children and adolescences should be allowed to view films with more serious content and subject matter as a result of parental guidance, their own reasonable sense of reality, and the fact that not all people are negatively affected by the content shown in R-Rated films.

Firstly, it is ultimately up to the parent of a child or young teenager to decide whether or not a child is capable to watch a certain film or whether or not a film is too suggestive, violent, or serious for their child. There are, however, ratings that are made by the movie industry that are meant to inform you of suggested age restrictions. Although they are not usually required considering that a parent is present when the child is viewing the movie, they inform the parents about the level of content that may be inappropriate for their children. These ratings are G, meaning that it is safe for all audience members to watch, regardless of age, PG, which means that parental guidance is suggested for young children, as the content may not be suitable, PG-13 which requires a parent to attend with a child under the age of thirteen as the content is likely not suitable without parental guidance, R, meaning restricted and there must be a parent attending with a child under the age of seventeen, and NC-17 meaning that absolutely no children are to be allowed into the theater if they are under the age of seventeen, even with an adult. These ratings imply if a child should watch a movie, if they would need parental guidance, or if they would generally be able to handle it on their own (Cross). With parental guidance and an explanation of the content, which should be implemented, children will have a better understanding of what is going on in a film and what is, or isn’t okay in the real world.

Speaking of real world, one of the major concerns that is considered when showing a young child a movie that was intended for an adult audience is the child’s sense of reality or fiction. One may fear that a child may be easily frightened by a movie with some sort of monster or vampire, thinking that the child may think the creature really exists and can bring them harm. What many people fail to realize is that children do have a sense of reality versus fiction. A study was done by Wooley, Boeger, and Markman in 2004 where they introduced a fictional entity called the “Candy Witch” to both younger and older preschool aged children at school. Similar to Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, the Candy Witch visited children on Halloween and traded their candy collected for a new toy. Parents of the children of the experimental group played as the Candy Witch and traded their children’s candy for a new toy in the night. Children in the control group were not visited. Whether or not the Candy Witch visited the younger preschool children did not play a significant role in whether or not the children believed in her. The older preschool students, however were more likely to believe in the Candy Witch if they were in the experimental group than if they were in the control group. This suggested that the older preschool students connected the evidence of the Candy Witch’s visit with whether or not she existed (Woolley 457). If a child can put evidence together, they begin to figure out themselves if something is real or fake, based off of clues that they have put together. “Have I ever seen a vampire? No. Has anyone I know been hurt by a vampire? No. Then maybe a vampire shouldn’t be something that I’m afraid of.”

In addition, just because a child is exposed to a certain type of media, including tobacco usage or unprotected sex does not necessarily mean that they will be affected by it in the future. In an experiment which took survey of both white and black student’s smoking history before and after exposure to R rated films, the results showed that although the white students did have an increase in number of students who tried smoking (but did not necessarily pick up a habit) after viewing more R-rated films, the black students did not have the same reaction (Seppa 149). Because it was different based on race, it must have a different effect on certain people making it impossible to say that smoking will definitely have an effect on the upbringing of a specific child.

In another study, many sexually active college students, both male and female were exposed to a number of videos which included sexual content. One demonstrated a heterosexual couple having sex while using a condom. Another was a graphic sex scene with no discussion of engaging in safe sex. The next was a demonstration on how to use a condom on a test tube, and the last video was unrelated to the topic of sex as a control group. In the end, all of the participants were given a coupon that could be redeemed for free condoms from the University’s Health Services, but very few of the participants took up the offer, regardless of their given video or group (Kyes 301). This, again, shows that film does not necessarily change the opinion of the audience, even though certain groups did react to the videos a certain way.

A decade of drug education films was reviewed in 1982 on criteria that would decide the effectiveness of the film (Sheppard 92). One of the things being considered was the realism of the film. When a film is more realistic, such as the potential of a bad LSD trip over the ecstatic an exciting one depicted often, it had a more positive effect on the youth because it is not glorified in a positive light.

No – Children and adolescences should be restricted from viewing films with more serious content and subject matter as a result of their likelihood to follow suite, the indirect affirmation of the film content from the parent of the child, and the fact that people are impacted by the media they are exposed to at a young age.

A study done by the Association for Psychological Science suggests that exposure to sex through media can predict the age of sexual debut, or the subject’s first sexual experience. The reality of today is that a majority of youth, that being 57% of a sample of American teenagers aged from 14 to 16, have admitted to getting most of their sexual information from the media they have access too including the internet, movies, and television. A survey of films taken between 1983 and 2003 determines that, of the viewed films, 70% was with newly acquainted partners, 98% had no reference to contraception, and 89% the sex resulted in no consequences. Only 9% contained messages promoting sexual health (O’Hara 984). Therefore, adolescents who watch films containing this type of content and activities are exposed to a lot of unrealistic and risky sexual situations in film.

Many examples of television shows which are intended for tweens and teens depict the “loss of virginity”, or this sexual debut that was being referred to in the study done by the Association for Psychological Science. These losses of virginity can be shown in both a positive light, such as practicing safe sex, or it could be shown in a way that shows virginity in a light as something that needs to go and that the character is embarrassed of (Kelly 485). This could affect the reader in a variety of different ways or encourage them to engage in sexual activity before they feel ready. If an adolescent feels this same kind of shame after viewing this content, they could engage in sexual activity without the proper knowledge and face long term consequences such as STDs or unplanned pregnancy.

When it comes to another detail of films that would be exposed to those entertaining themselves with this type of video-oriented media, it doesn’t necessarily show itself as being a bad trait. Relational aggression occurs just as much in Disney movies as it does with TV shows that are not necessarily intended for children in the way that Disney movies are. This aggression is often portrayed by a character who is attractive or “good” in that sense. Research indicated that this exposure in media is positively associated with relational aggression in children. For the children whose parents didn’t intervene, the children tended to have a more positive view of relational aggression (Linder 496). By allowing a child to view certain content and not stating that it is not okay, some may imply that the parent is permitting or improving that kind of activity or behavior.

A study done by the Center for Tobacco Control suggests that exposure to tobacco usage in film is linked to the initiation of smoking in youth. When comparing movie ratings in the United States and movie rating in Britain. 79% of R-rated movies in the United States were considered appropriate for youth in Britain, making the British exposed to 28% more smoking impressions than the United States (Anderson 197). Based on research done by Phil Davignon, professor at Union University, Adolescents and Young adults are less likely to attend church if they view R rated movies, which often depict “ungodly” activities such as pre-marital sex, violence, and drug usage. This does take into consideration the importance of religion to the subject (Davignon 622).

The violence in media is damaging to children, therefore different techniques should be used to eliminate the violence that is being exposed to children (Jordan 235). There are many different programs made for parents to block certain types of activity, whether that be sex or violence, just as a parent would block a porn site from their child on the internet. Just because something is there, and the child knows what it means, does not mean that the child necessarily needs to see it.