15. First off, I'm against issuing an "R Card" to underage customers because it's nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt by this particular circuit to avoid any "heat" caused by selling tickets to kids who aren't SUPPOSED to be able to buy them... The card is, at best, PROOF that the kid is buying the ticket with his parent's approval, and this obviously is intended to let the circuit "off the hook" for selling the kid the ticket...
The rating system is NOT the LAW, but was originally set up as a method to AVOID having laws passed, which would attach penalties to selling tickets to kids to see pictures which offended or incensed certain moral, religious, or political groups... It was, and always has been, nothing more than a ploy to allow the studios to make and distribute films which SOME find objectionable... It was a PR move to placate those who were clammering for strict laws regarding the content of film... The VOLUNTARY compliance to the ratings by individual theaters has ALWAYS been sporatic, and certainly not universal... AND the ratings themselves have NOT been applied consistantly, with certain scenes, words, and activities being weighed to rate the film differently from picture to picture...
Sex has been a staple selling point for movies since the dawn of the motion picture... Even in the silent days, those who could proficiently read lips were sometimes shocked and/or amused by what the actors were actually saying, no matter what the title cards indicated... And "blue movies" were around and thriving since the very beginning... Violence and political incorrectness have also played a part, even in such acclaimed masterpieces as "Birth of a Nation."...
The 1930's brought about the Hayes Office and the "code" as a way to placate the demand by SOME to legislate motion picture content, and the Catholic League of Decency, and several other religious groups passed judgement on what was approprate for their members... Some cities, states, and areas had censor boards who had to approve the CUT of the picture that could be shown in their jurisdiction...
The mid to late 1960's was a time of unrest in all areas regarding individual rights and choices, and the movies being made pushed the envelope as to what was acceptable... Ultra liberal and ultra conservative viewpoints fought an ongoing battle over what movies could depict, and the rating system was an attempt by the industry to placate both... Surprizingly, then the "G" rating was the kiss of death to nearly anything other than a Disney picture, because the majority of moviegoers considered "G" pictures to be stictly for the kiddie crowd... The "GP" rating was jokingly considered to include scenes where the kids were to be sent out to the lobby to "get popcorn."... And the "X" rating, which was intended to allow latitude to present some adult viewpoint, storyline, and visuals, completely backfired on the legitimate movie industry when the porno industry took the "X" and made it into "XXX" (ala Pillsbury flour) and laughed up their sleeve all the way to the bank!...
We also went through the slasher movie period, when these half-witted gorefests AIMED directly at the teen "mall rat" crowd, and their 12 year old mentality, were rated "R" which ostensively elimiated THEM from seeing it unless accompanied by a parent... (fat chance!)
So what IS the course to follow here?... I can't speak for YOU, but my position is that I DO NOT actively enforce the VOLUNTARY ratings system... I also do not ENCOURAGE underage attendance of "R" rated pictures, but where that film is aimed at a teenage audience, and parents request that their kid be allowed in without them, I explain to the parent what the picture content is, and consider it to be their business IF they want their kid to see it... I am not it the business of raising their child, THEY are, and as long as he behaves in an appropriate manner while in my theater, I have no objection... I do not go searching for "mall rat" movies, and play only a small selection of the best of them, but IF I do play it, I am not about to turn away the audience it aims for...
I have taken some flak over the years from well-intentioned do-gooders, but that WILTS when I point out that the same film (often an unrated version with more graphic content and additional features) will be available on cable, at the video stores, and even in the Public Library within a few months, and question who will THEN watch over those seeing it... I am running a BUSINESS here, and it depends on selling tickets, in volume... To base my business decisions on someone else's moral judgements is to stick my head in the sand and avoid reality...
As long as you are willing to stand up and be counted, and not hide behind some kind of ploy like the "R" card, I think it's your decision to make... One final note: several years ago, on a very cold night, I had a parent show up at the boxoffice with two grade school aged children and request tickets for them to a picture I considered not appropriate, and I explained why in detail... However, the parents were headed for the bar down the street, and the kids would have been sitting in a cold car outside waiting for the parents unless I allowed them in... I did reluctantly allow them in, and they were little saints, never making any noise or problems... Was I the "bad guy" for doing this?... I don't think so!...
[This message has been edited by outaframe (edited June 04, 2004).]
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