posted 06-10-2004 11:15 PM                 

quote: Julie Havlin

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Why is sex censored more than violence by most parents?

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posted 06-11-2004 01:55 PM                    

quote: Julie Havlin

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Why is sex censored more than violence by most parents? It's okay to watch a guy get blown open, but no T&A?

What happened to make love, not war

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posted 06-30-2004 05:39 AM                    

quote:

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BY CHRIS HEWITT
Pioneer Press

Hollywood's R rating is supposed to mean "Restricted." But, for many teenagers who want to see "Fahrenheit 9/11," it means "Rules are made to be broken."

Michael Moore's R-rated anti-President Bush, anti-Iraq war documentary was the No. 1 movie last weekend, raking in $21.8 million, 100 times as much as Moore's previous film, "Bowling for Columbine," did on its opening weekend.

"It did very well everywhere in the Twin Cities. Suburbs, too," said Hugh Wronski, city manager for Landmark Theatres, which had "Fahrenheit 9/11" on three screens. Wronski said "Fahrenheit" sold out "almost all" of its showings over the weekend.

A good chunk of that money undoubtedly came from teenagers who — encouraged by Moore on his Web site — watched a movie they were supposedly restricted from seeing. (A picture of the crowd at Minneapolis' Lagoon Theatre is posted on Moore's Web site, www.michaelmoore.com.)

"I want all teenagers to see this film. There is nothing in the film in terms of violence that we didn't see on TV every night at the dinner hour during the Vietnam War," Moore wrote on his site. "I trust all of you teenagers out there will find your way into a theater to see this movie."

Find their way in, they did. "Fahrenheit 9/11" was rated R for brief scenes of wartime brutality, including a beheading, and because of a 12-letter curse word used repeatedly by a soldier in an interview. Moore unsuccessfully appealed the rating, which states that, "Under 17 requires accompanying parent or guardian," but a check of several area theaters reveals that many under-17 moviegoers will have little trouble getting into "Fahrenheit 9/11" or any other R-rated movie.

"The R rating doesn't bother me," said Alex Cortes, 16, attending an afternoon showing of "Fahrenheit 9/11" alone at the Regal theaters in Eagan. "I knew I was going to see it one way or another."

The way he saw it? Alex, who lives in Eagan, simply bought a ticket to "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" and slipped into "Fahrenheit 9/11" instead. There's nothing illegal about that, although theaters frown on it, and, ironically, it takes money out of Moore's pocket, since "Dodgeball" gets credit for his ticket sale.

"It's a voluntary system. It does not have a legal backing at all," said Phuong Yokitis, director of public affairs for the Motion Picture Association of America, which devised the ratings system in 1968. "Theater owners are in partnership with us to make it an effective system, and my understanding is that the vast majority of them do cooperate."

The Eagan theaters certainly do. Numerous signs warn underage patrons they will be asked to show IDs. Greg Boone, who just turned 17, was also at the Eagan theater Friday, watching "Fahrenheit 9/11," his first legit, unaccompanied-by-parent-or-guardian R-rated movie. But Greg, a Burnsville resident, has used a variety of methods to get into restricted films.

When he wanted to see "Kill Bill, Vol. 2," Greg asked a friend to buy the ticket ahead of time and drop it off at Greg's workplace. When he went to the since-closed Burnsville theaters, IDs were never checked. When Greg went to R-rated movies at Lakeville, management there required his mother, Joan, to sign the back of his tickets, giving him permission to attend.

"I thought that was a good idea," Joan said. "I appreciated it. I think it's an individual choice, really, about whether children should go to R-rated movies, depending on the child and their knowledge."

For Mike Gaudette, a 16-year-old from Mound, it depends more on where you go.

"The Mann theaters in Plymouth won't let you in if you're under 17, but, sometimes, the theaters in Delano don't check," said Mike, who has not seen "Fahrenheit 9/11" yet but plans to.

Mike said his parents don't care if he goes to R-rated movies, as long as he clears them in advance. Sometimes, movie theaters help with that — when he attends R-rated movies at the Waconia Theatres, they call home to check that it's OK with his folks.

Other times, that's not necessary. "It's easier to get in if you hang out with people who look older than you. Then, maybe you won't get carded. If you go with younger people, they're way more likely to ask for ID," said Mike, who has attended "lots" of R-rated films.

Even ID checks aren't foolproof. Alyssa Diamond, 16, of Minneapolis was carded when she went to see "Troy," but the ticket-taker let her in, anyway. "I didn't know if he was illiterate or just didn't care," she said.

The latter, probably. Alyssa, who works at the AMC Southdale theaters, said she has so little trouble getting into R-rated movies that she's often not even aware of a movie's rating.

"Like, with 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,' I didn't even realize it was rated R. But if I told my mom I was seeing the movie, she wouldn't care," she said, who offers a tip: "If you just ask really nonchalant and have a confident attitude, most theaters won't bother you."

Alyssa said it does bug her to see parents bringing 10-year-olds into "hard-core, violent, R movies," but she doesn't see any reason to bar teenagers from them. In fact, she has a different way of using the ratings system than its originators intended.

"You can kind of tell what's going to be in a movie by the rating," she said.

"Yeah," agrees Cedar Schimke, 16, Minneapolis. "G is just going to be a kids' movie."

"If it's G, basically, you need to pay me to see it. And if it's PG, it will be corny," Alyssa said. "PG-13 is where it gets better."

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