Keeping an Eye on What They're Watching

In high school I worked at Blockbuster, and even before that I considered myself a movie buff, so you can only imagine what renting 5 free movies a week did for me! Ever since I was old enough to understand it, I have been fascinated with the film rating system. Since the 1920s the MPAA has attempted to rate movies to accurately inform viewers of the nature of the content they are going to see. What I have always been interested in is how do they find that fine line? What makes something G but not PG, what keeps something PG-13 but not R. Sure some movies are pretty blatant. A great amount of language and adult content obviously warrants a "R" rating. But as a student pastor, as I am sure you have seen as parents, more and more there is a blurring of the line between PG-13 and R. There is this weird grey area that has started to concern me more and more.

So how can you ensure you know what your child is going to see when he or she asks you if they can see that latest movie? There is a site I have found that has been incredibly helpful to me in knowing what my students are watching and how teach out of such things. I know this site can be an incredible tool for you as parents as well.

Go to kids-in-mind.com. 

Surf around a little bit and you will get a quick sense of how they use their rating system. Each movie has a 10-point scale (1 being tame, 10 being incredibly inappropriate for children) in three categories: Sex & Nudity, Violence & Gore, and Profanity. The rating team watches a movie and takes extensive notes on each questionable scene. It is down to a science, if a woman is wearing a low-cut top, they note it. If there is a nose bleed, they see it. Their in-depth rating of profanity features a count of how many of what types of words are used, with everything from name calling to how many "F" words were used, it is very extensive. As they look at all these scenes they give it a score.

The thing I like about it is it doesn't tell you what is appropriate or not, it simply gives the facts, and you as they parent have to make the choice to allow your son or daughter to view that movie.

Now, this site is in no way perfect, it is just a tool. One complaint I got from a parent once was that sometimes they make a movie seem a lot worse than it really is by using this almost scientific language. for example, it may say, "A man bends over and reveals part of his buttocks." When the scene was of a plumber fixing a sink. Get it? The descriptions give very little context on the scene, which is good, because when you read one of their ratings you don't feel like you've seen the movie. So, all that being said, this isn't the only tool you should use, but it is a tool. I would encourage you to ask around and see if any of your friends have seen the movie, so they can help you gather and opinion as well. Ask me! I see a lot of movies and have a lot of friends who watch a ton of movies too, I'm sure I can help you out.

More than anything, I know that so often what goes in the eyes and ears of these students (and ourselves for that matter) really begins to effect their hearts. As a kid I was always very imaginative, putting myself in the characters place in my mind. That can be very dangerous for some of the movies out there!

If you have any questions or comments please let me know! Feel free to comment on this post and share your thoughts with other parents.