Age Ratings/Certificates : A total farce?

[elitecrewer]

Having just turned 17, I've more or less finished the gauntlet that is buying games/getting into movies with age certificates. So I thought I'd add my two cents.

Because I'm a human being, I've seen films/games which were rated at above my age, as we all have, and I think I'll only have been better for it. 15/18 movies are, in my opinion, good for a person's development -> it's all a learning experience. I think you'd agree that the kind of kids who *never, ever* watched a 15 at age 14 may be kind of stunted. Further than this, you hear/see a lot worse than the contents of, say, Pulp Fiction in the news or at school.

Finally, they seem a little pointless. How hard is it to simply order the movie/game from amazon, thus skipping the entire process? People have fake IDs, and it's all too easy to buy a ticket for that 15 then slip into the 18 when you're past the ticket checking guy (see Inglorious Basterds when it drops, I'll be there). I just think that the whole thing encourages kids to be doing something 'illegal' (I'm unsure of where the law actually stands on this), which is good for them anyway.

Thoughts?

 

[Gooble]

I do kind of agree with you. I feel that it's kind of pointless lying to kids about sex/violence/major issues because they affect everyone's lives, and the earlier they learn about them, the more comfortable they are with dealing with it, and they will just accept it as part and parcel of life.

I mean obviously teach them about violence being wrong, and safe sex, and advise against having sex too early/casual sex etc. but they're going to find out about these things soon enough anyway.

OT, I think you should be able to draw your own boundaries and only watch what you're comfortable with. I know what films I'm just not going to enjoy due to gore or whatever, and what levels of extremes I am comfortable with. And I think you can make up your own mind from a fairly early age (like 10-14 sort of time).

 

[Stevedave00]

It's just something for your local political party to say at election time.
You know, "We helped pass this bill so we are keeping your children safe!"
type garbage.

 

[teisjm]

Most age-ratings are bullshit IMO.

I'll bet ya that most 13 year olds has seen more violent, sick or sexually explicit content on the internet and on the news than they'll ever find in a game.

 

[oldMcDouche]

mostly its really not necessary. we can all see what we want these days no matter how old they are. some really violent/mature stuff is to be limited tho.
its a reason for some politicians to ban videogames cause....they....i dunno what the fuck they got against them

 

[manaman]

I think the point was more to allow the parents to decide what they want their kids to see. The ratings where originally used as guidelines and the restrictions are all basically void if you show up with your parent.

 

[santaandy]

If the age can be measured in a single digit, no. Other than that, yes.

 

[bad peanut]

Yeah I think age limits are a crock. But still, whatcha gunna do? They are there for kind of a good reason.

 

[A random person]

Age restrictions are pretty pointless. I never got the whole "Now you're old enough to handle this material" thing. Really, they're just movies/music/games. They aren't that harmful. You shouldn't prohibit someone from getting a movie/album/game because they haven't existed a certain amount of time. Hell, you don't even have to be that mature.

 

[Lyri]

Having just turned 17, I've more or less finished the gauntlet that is buying games/getting into movies with age certificates. So I thought I'd add my two cents.

Because I'm a human being, I've seen films/games which were rated at above my age, as we all have, and I think I'll only have been better for it. 15/18 movies are, in my opinion, good for a person's development -> it's all a learning experience. I think you'd agree that the kind of kids who *never, ever* watched a 15 at age 14 may be kind of stunted. Further than this, you hear/see a lot worse than the contents of, say, Pulp Fiction in the news or at school.

Finally, they seem a little pointless. How hard is it to simply order the movie/game from amazon, thus skipping the entire process? People have fake IDs, and it's all too easy to buy a ticket for that 15 then slip into the 18 when you're past the ticket checking guy (see Inglorious Basterds when it drops, I'll be there). I just think that the whole thing encourages kids to be doing something 'illegal' (I'm unsure of where the law actually stands on this), which is good for them anyway.

Thoughts?

Personally I find age ratings are always going to be a little off the mark. It's a sweeping generalization of how certain age brackets will respond to certain types of media.
Sure, a 4 year old child may well find Robocop to be a terrifying film, too someone who is old enough to understand the story and what's going on, it may not be the case.

Give two people the same chance to watch the same film, You'll find that they'll both have different reactions.
That's something a sticker on the box cannot really begin to cover.
Unfortunately we're all stuck with the same system, which we all find our own little ways around anyway.

I know I only mentioned media in my post, I'm fully aware that age tags are on other things as well.

 

[elitecrewer]

*snip*

Personally I find age ratings are always going to be a little off the mark. It's a sweeping generalization of how certain age brackets will respond to certain types of media.
Sure, a 4 year old child may well find Robocop to be a terrifying film, too someone who is old enough to understand the story and what's going on, it may not be the case.

Give two people the same chance to watch the same film, You'll find that they'll both have different reactions.
That's something a sticker on the box cannot really begin to cover.
Unfortunately we're all stuck with the same system, which we all find our own little ways around anyway.

I know I only mentioned media in my post, I'm fully aware that age tags are on other things as well.

I think that it's more than fair to say that some 15-year-olds are more mature than some 18 year olds, and, in the absence of any kind of system to test how mature you are, I think the government should just trust people to look after themselves to an extent. Sure, there would be GTA parenting, but there is now.

Good point that the government like rules like these because adults (the voters) like them, whereas kids (no vote) don't. Perhaps under 18s should get the vote? Everyone else has!

 

[Lost In The Void]

Yes if there's a few intelligent kids out there who can handle the material, is it worth cutting down age restrictions so that every little moron that age can go see it? From what I've seen in schools and population in general is that there are mature and smart kids at young ages. Unfortunately there is a pile pile of idiots to go with them, so in my opinion, yes it does suck that you can't go to an R movie and such like that, but if it can prevent some idiots from watching that certain film, then I think it would be worth it

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

I do kind of agree with you. I feel that it's kind of pointless lying to kids about sex/violence/major issues because they affect everyone's lives, and the earlier they learn about them, the more comfortable they are with dealing with it, and they will just accept it as part and parcel of life.

I mean obviously teach them about violence being wrong, and safe sex, and advise against having sex too early/casual sex etc. but they're going to find out about these things soon enough anyway.

OT, I think you should be able to draw your own boundaries and only watch what you're comfortable with. I know what films I'm just not going to enjoy due to gore or whatever, and what levels of extremes I am comfortable with. And I think you can make up your own mind from a fairly early age (like 10-14 sort of time).

This...instead of kids living in fairy land where the grass is green and the cows drink Capri-Sun, we should be aware of the things that go on...not hidden from the,.

 

[skorpion352]

heh, i was playing gta games when i was 15. me and my brother would go into the video store with our mum and pick one off the shelf and walk up to her at the counter and give it to her in frount of the staff, who never said a word about it. we were also allowed to drink at home from 15/16 which has taught us to be responsible when we drink. if i hadnt be exposed to this stuff in such a controlled enviroment then i would probably have ended up on the streets a couple of years ago. but my parents never actually had to sit down with us and tell us that doing the stuff in gta in real life is wrong because we were brought up to know that. its not violence in the media that is the problem, its parents not doing thier jobs properly and basically letting thier kids get away with anything that has created the problem

 

[crudus]

It is really to cover the asses of companies. If there is nudity in the movie some people should be warned first so people cant say "o you didn't tell me". Sadly theres still people like H. Clinton who say things like "this game is violent! Why are you letting our kids play it" (imo, the ratings mean we can slap these people for being stupid). Basically i think rating are exactly like labels saying "warning: coffee may be hot"

 

[Akilles79]

As a gamer since I was 6 years old and now as a father of a 2 year old, I must say I think that ratings are the best system that we can have in this imperfect world. Here are my reasons:

1.I consider myself well informed, I have seen tons of movies and played buckets of games from a multitude of genres ranging from the supersafe Tetris type puzzles to the exceedingly bloody or morally ambiguous GTAs, Soldier of Fortunes or Postals. Now as a well informed person I find it hard to evaluate what my son would be ready for. (ofc I dont know yet since hes only 2)In addition each child is different in level of maturity and temperament. There are simply too many variables for parents to make the right descision on their own without any guidance.

2. When I began playing games they looked like games, these days they look and feel very realistic, so I question whether a 10 or 12 year old understands that striking someone in the face (as he does in a game) is not going to turn out the same way in the real world. I am sure that there are 10 year olds who grasp the difference but I am equally sure there are those who do not.

Ratings in themselves may be flawed but I also believe that children should be protected from content that they are not ready for, I am sure some parents dont know what their child is ready for or some children and young adults feel they are being strangled by restrictions, but I believe that is a small price to safeguard the sanity and healthy view on life of children not as grounded or mature as you.