Restricted Teens

When speaking about teenagers attending rated R movies, past president Bill Clinton said, “One can value the 1st amendment right to free speech and at the same time care for and act with restraint”. Clinton was the one who proposed that all people under 17 would have to be accompanied by an adult to a rated R (Restricted) movie. Although some people believe that teens should be able to go to see these movies alone, they do not have enough maturity and good judgment to have this right. Kids and teenagers should not be allowed to go to a rated R movie without a parent or guardian. Restricted movies have a direct link with violence, smoking, and drinking in teens. Also, content in rated R movies is not appropriate for kids and young teens. To start off, restricted movies are proven to cause more smoking, violence and drinking in teens. First of all, R rated movies cause more smoking in teenagers. “And there is no shortage of experts whose research alleges that violence (and sometimes sex) in entertainment presents proven health hazards analogous to cigarette smoking”(Rabkin). If children and teens were allowed to go to restricted movies alone whenever they want, then smoking numbers would raise too. Another point is that violent movies make violence seem okay. “…By making violence seem commonplace and ordinary, by cumulative celebration of the effectiveness of violence, we make violent behavior more likely to occur”(Pitofsky). If a child or teen sees their favorite actor use violence to solve problems they may assume that it is okay to copy that person. On the other side of the argument, people say rated R movies are not the only cause of violence and smoking in teens. Although this is a valid point, if we could decrease the amount of violence at all, why wouldn’t we? Just because it cannot fix the whole problem doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to help out a little. To sum it up, rated R movies are not appropriate for kids and young teens because it can

Cited: Lotozo, Elis. "Naughty Turns Nice: Parents Have Access to Specially Edited DVD 's." Philadelphia Inquirer 26 Apr. 2004. SIRS. Pitofsky, Robert. "The Influence of Violent Entertainment Material on Kids: What is to Be Done?" 25 June 1999. SIRS. Rabkin, Rhoda. "How to Rate the Ratings." Policy Review June 2002. SIRS. Surette, Ray. "The Promise and the Reality: Peddling Violent Entertainment to Children." World & I Apr. 2001. SIRS.