Quote:
Originally Posted by
Prof. Peabody 
I would argue that the problem is the ratings themselves are completely broken and not only don't reflect the kind of information that the average viewer wants to know about a particular title but are such a racket that a large part of the content production market just ignores them. Ask ten people what the difference in content is between 14a, 18a, PG, R, and X and you will get ten different answers.
I know on Netflix about 25% of the content (at least) is "not rated" because the producers didn't want to go through the hassle of being censored or having someone else dictate to them what they can and cannot put in the movie. A large part of these movies are not "risqué" in any sense of the word, they just didn't want to lose creative control to the religious zealots that run the rating system.
It's also worth thinking about what you are trying to protect your kids from. Almost all censorship is "wrong" in the sense that it only stops you from seeing things
that no one has ever been able to demonstrate any real harm can come from. The most censored content of all is simple nudity which harms no one, offends only a few and is very healthy for children in general. Second to that is sexual activity which although confusing to young children is not going to really hurt them in any way to watch.
All the stuff that will actually screw up your kids minds and make them have nightmares (twisted sex and violence) is actually hardly censored at all and is fairly common on mainstream TV shows today. The messages they send are far more affecting than the occasional bare bum in a European movie and a show with a serial killer as a "hero" is arguably far worse for your children's psyche than an image of two people having sex.
Yes, I agree that almost all censorship is wrong.
They are my grandkids, BTW.
Rather than
control what they see, my daughter and I are trying to
prepare them for what they see... so they can learn, understand and determine how to conduct themselves in polite society and the real world.
We are less concerned about [healthy/natural] sex -- than bigotry, any kind of stereotyping/profiling and antisocial behavior.
One particular galling stereotype is the kid-centric shows where the kids are smart, have access to everything and parents/adults are portrayed as out-of-touch oafs -- whose only purpose is to support the kids' every desire... a portrayal of self-indulgence and lack of respect for anything/anyone.
As an example of what we are trying to do: we have the mini-series Roots. We want the family to watch this together and to be able, where necessary, discuss and try to explain/understand...
There are several war movies that are quite graphic -- we want the kids to see these and understand...
Then, there are just the opposite -- movies/TV that we want the whole family to experience together -- because of the various emotions they invoke.
