The MPAA has been rating movies for years. They are the group that decides whether or not a movie is rate PG-13 or R. They decide whether or not the movie is suitable for children to watch or should only be viewed by adults. Every movie theater in the nation uses this rating system to help its customers decide which movies it is that they should see. Some think that the system is fine but others think that it is inconsistent and some even find it to be unconstitutional.

Parents everywhere love to use the system to help them guide themselves as to what movies to let their children see this summer. The ratings also include information as to why the movie has that specific rating. Some parents don’t mind their children seeing a little violence but don’t want them to see any explicit sexual content. Some parents don’t like a little sexual content but don’t want their children to see a lot of gruesome violence at the movies. So some PG-13 movies might be right for their kids and some might not. The rating system helps guide those parents as to what movies to let their kids see down to the specific reasons why they shouldn’t see them.

Some feel that the MPAA is inconsistent in it’s rating system and unfair. Some say that sexual content is a lot quicker to get a higher rating while violence is sometimes overlooked when giving movies “R” ratings at the box office. There will always be a grey area when judging pieces of art subjectively and movies is not exception. Parents can’t go see every movie in the theaters this summer so what else are they going to use to help decide which movies to let their kids see.

Some even find the ratings system to be unconstitutional. They say that rating their movies is a violation of their freedom of speech. People have also made this claim with the ratings system that applies to movies. The MPAA will often make recommendations to directors as to what to cut out to get a lower rating. Higher ratings can cost production companies millions because of the smaller audiences that are allowed to see them.

Overall I think the ratings system is necessary to help guide parents to let their children see movies that are appropriate for them. But, the system could use a little tweaking to be more fare to the directors and productions companies by being more consistent and less vague about why they are giving movies certain ratings.