What does “Parental Guidance” really mean? The existence of this rating makes the far reaching assumption that most parents are reasonable and provide guidance. I would argue that one.
We all know the rating “General” means you can breathe easy in the movie theatre while the “under 10” set hoovers popcorn into their gobs with no fear of nightmares from the screen images. It also means by the end of the opening scene, parents are trying to find forks to drive into their own eyeballs to kill off the boredom.
PG means that your sensitive youngster will be in your lap, but most kids are ok, generally. There is some violence, but no sex. (Isn’t that ironic??? But that is a whole other post).
PG13 means the 10 to 13 year old set REALLY WANT to see that movie, but mostly parents will want to check first, or not. It is also an excuse for all the douche parents to bring their 3 year olds along as well. I have words for you people… not nice words.
Then there are those movies like Ted and Pitch Perfect that look like your 11 year old might enjoy them. Advisory: No… probably not, or you will have some explaining to do.
I am always flabbergasted at the parents I see who bring really small kids to adult movies, with violence, sex, explosions and scary scenes. Why do you let your children watch that stuff?? You tell yourself they are fine and they enjoy it, but newsflash: they can’t deal with it, and you are taking them because you want to see it. Leave them at home. Harry Potter might be some of the all time best child lit and great movies, but most kids under the age of 8 can’t deal with the imagery of the movies.
Then there are those other parents. You know the ones, they ban all video games and movies, and their kids are weird. Or the other ones, who seem to have no issues with their 9 year old playing Grand Theft Auto. Surely there has to be a middle ground?
I saw a new rating the other day. A14. What the frig is that?? I just figured out the other ratings and now there is a new one. I will assume that one means if you take your kid to it and they are under 14, your are and Asshole.
I have a whole other rating system at my house that has only one item in an entire category all to itself. It is rated H40. That is “Hot for 40 year olds” and the series is Game of Thrones. Now if that isn’t a great Sunday night way to rev up the old boy, I don’t know what is. I think we should have more stuff rated H40 don’t you?
And for those of you stuck for a few more years in the G rated penalty box, I send you my sympathies and promise you, one day, they will stop wanting to see Dora movies, I promise.
3 Comments
You are sooo good at advice. And funny as a booger in a dinosaur, too.
I let my three year olds watch Octopussy once. It was on a (much needed) date night, they were tired but not that tired and it was the least offensive of all the Bond movies.
Funny thing, I gave away all their Thomas movies because everyone is mad all the time and one of the characters called another one “stupid”.
While they like to emulate Thomas, we haven’t seen any evidence of them trying to love like James Bond.
I have my principles you know.
Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under the age of 14 watch unattended.