It burns me up every time.
Without fail there are young children at the R-rated film screenings I attend as a Plugged In reviewer. At Repo Men—a sci-fi/action flick that has so much blood, violence and sexual activity that no adult should see it either—there were three young kids there with their grandmother. The oldest was probably about 6.
After the movie, I asked the older woman, “Wow. Should they have seen this film?” She replied, “Oh, they’re used to that sort of thing. It won’t affect them much.”
My tongue is still bloody from biting it.
Occasionally, I challenge someone who believes such things. And if I’d had a chance to address it that night, I might have reminded this woman of the research done on children who watch such content:
Youth exposed to violent images have a much greater likelihood of behaving inappropriately, or even violently, with peers and adults.
Children who watch adult content are more prone to underage smoking and drinking. Such content also increases sexual behavior among adolescents.
R-rated content causes a spike in children’s sensation-seeking behavior—apparently because real-life seems boringly slow when compared to onscreen drama.
The Centers for Disease Control have found that violence is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24, with 5,686 youth murdered each day. Now consider the senate judiciary committee that found an average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV alone by age 18. A steady diet of R-rated films would push those numbers up dramatically.
So, madam moviegoer with grandkids, I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. And I hope your family and others don’t have to pay the consequences.
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