A cultureless ratings system

It is really a shame that McG is having to fight for a shot of a topless woman to be featured in his new Terminator flick. The Man err I mean studios are requesting that the shot be removed so that they can have a PG-13 rating and appeal to a larger audience and have a larger marketing schema. Clearly art is not of consequence here.

Ironically enough, the original Terminator movies were both rating R and had enormous marketing abilities. I still remember playing the video game in the arcade.

But this brings up a greater issue: that of ratings. Why are we still stuck in such a puritanical society where a the site of a woman breast, something I can assure you we have ALL seen, demands such and outcry? It seems ridiculous to me that at 17 years old a young adult must be required to sit with a parent to see a breast when in many states the age of consent is 16 and one year later these young adults are then encouraged to go off and kill.

\The primary problem is American views on sexuality and profanity, while violence, for whatever reason, is easy to get past. b Ratings are optional. they are not enforceable by law. Video and DVD should render them null because of the success of movies such as the Dreamers which fare better on the dvd as unrated or NC-17.

Interestingly enough, ratings further dumb down our nation by relying on a superficial quality of a film rather than the overall message of the film. Some films talk about the dangers of sex and violence while others promote it. Tarantino films clearly demand an R rating but there are other films that deal with themes of violence and the terrible effects of it and should thus garner a lesser rating. There should be a pursuit of education in creating these ratings rather than a acquiescence to a religiously fanatic group who preaches moral values that in this day and age are wholly unrealistic.

Film ratings should be evaluated not on what makes up the film but what the product of the overall film espouses. Horror movies merit R Ratings because they don't teach anything but a film like Night of the Living Dead should receive a PG-13 rating because people should be smart enough or given enough credit to discover the thematic value of a piece rather than looking superficially at the violent nature. Sooner or later these movies will make it onto television and kids will see them anyway. We may as well stand for some sort of cultural efficacy and nourishment of children's minds at understanding one of the fundamental solids in American Culture.