Rejected at the Movies: What Next?

By Sara Jamison

Ah, the movies. The awesome hotspot where you can chill out on the weekends with some friends and see the newest and coolest movies out at the theatres. The perfect place for a date with your new "half." But as soon as you order your tickets, you and your guy/girl are embarassed to hear that you're unable to see the movie. You've been rejected from seeing that blockbuster hit. Why? Your sixteen and it's an R-rated movie. What gives?

In Nebraska, where I am, the so-called "legal" age to see an R-rated movie is seventeen. If you are under seventeen, there must be a parent with you in the same theatre, watching the same movie. Now, come on, 'fess up, who wants to bring their mom on a date with their new sweetie? Uh, didn't think so.

I feel that the youngest age for watching an R-rated movie should be sixteen, and heck, maybe even fifteen. There's tons of reasons why this would be a great option. First off, when a person is sixteen, (in most states) they are able to drive on their own. Which means, in turn, they are going to drive to the movies with some friends. Now what is the point of going to the movies with friends if you can't see what you want? I feel that if you are mature enough to drive a car, you are mature enough to handle what's shown in an R-rated movie. 'Nuf said.

Also, what's in an R-rated movie just happens to be our life. They rate it depending on the sex, violence, and language in it. Well, as we mature in life, we are faced with issues that happen to be in that new blockbuster playing at the cinema. It's the 90s, there's pressure for sex. When a person flicks on the local news, 15 minutes worth of the broadcast covers the latest murders, rapes, and gang violence that has happened in the nearby cities and towns. And foul language is all around us. As I walk down the halls to my classes everyday, I probably hear about 50 cuss words in those 3 minutes of walking. If you calculate that, it's 2000 cuss words in an average two hour movie (give or take a few! *snicker*). And in any movie, I believe there is a lot less than that.

So maybe our calculations really made you think. Do YOU believe that the age limit should be dropped in your area? Had any similar situations where you were left to choose between two children's movies because you weren't seventeen? Share your stories in the discussion areas, all of us in the teen section would love to hear them, and maybe we'll just make a difference!

About the Author:

Sara Jamison may be contacted by email at sarajamison@hotmail.com.

Article courtesy of www.suite101.com.