Exposure to Sex and Violence

The OP is okay with it as long as they are in a different room.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

This bit is so bizarre, is this in the US? It seems our ratings have different attitudes, as in the UK, other than the 12 (which they changed a few years ago to 12A, and you can actually watch them if you're under 12 but with an adult) the age rated films of 15 and 18 are actually law, so you cant actually watch them unless you're old enough. I remember me and pretty much every kid in my year at school getting turned away from the cinema on a Friday night because we were trying to watch the South Park movie! Its not exactly common for 15 year olds to have valid ID either, so even the ones who were 15 got turned away! You cant go out and buy an 18 DVD without having ID, in the same way you couldnt go and buy beer under 18. That was actually my own personal marking of my 18th birthday, I went out and bought Silence of the Lambs on DVD because it was an 18 and I legally could!

My parents generally had no issue with what I watched. My dad hates films (I know right?) and my mum is one of those who doesnt exactly believe in censorship, or just trusted me enough to form my own judgements. My nan had me and all my cousins watching horror films at hers from practically birth. The Lost Boys is the family favourite, and I was probably only about 6 when I first saw it! Famously the only film she would never ever let us watch was the Exorcist. Never told us why either, just that she would never let us watch it. The first time I saw it was when they lifted the UK TV ban in 2001, so I would have been 15. I hated it the first time I saw it because we were all expecting something so vile and terrifying that my nan wouldnt let us see it. I think it went over our heads, because its a very different kind of scary (and likely bits like the whole crucifix masturbation, we didnt have a clue what was going on!). It had a far greater impact on me as an adult than it did as a teenager.

I live in Canada and I'm not sure if it's a LAW or not, meaning you won't get arrested if you break it.

Ours differs from the States as well.

G, PG, 14A, 18A, R. It's also not nation wide, but contained to each Province. For example, a rating in Ontario can be different than a rating in Quebec.

Starship Troopers was rated R in the States and 18A in Canada. These two are equivalent as you need someone over the age of 18 to accompany you. Canadian R means no one under the age of 18, period.

I wasn't going to the theatre either, this was at a video rental store. So while the employee can deny me the rental, they can't deny my parents the rental.

I remember I tried to purchase Pretty Woman for my mother for mother's day from Wal Mart. The employee denied my purchase because it was rated R. I remember arguing that it was the American rating he was looking at, but he wouldn't let me buy it. It didn't help that he knew who I was and did it to piss me off. He was older than me.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

That's it, we have the same strictness on cinema as DVD. 18A sounds crazy! 18 is generally our highest rating, and is basically the equivalent of your R. The 12 rating used to be strictly no under 12s, I imagine they changed it to 12A as what 12 year old carries ID? 15 and 18 though are still strictly enforced.

That said, I guess it shows how much censorship has changed over the years, as you get very few 18 rated films anymore. I cant imagine the likes of Pretty Woman or Silence of the Lambs would receive such a high rating today. (I just checked my DVDs and my copy of Pretty Woman is rated a 15. A quick browse of what films I own that are rated 18 and I think Ive seen much more graphic stuff recently that is now rated 15.)

Talking of ratings, I watched Alien: Covenant recently and I couldn't believe it had been given a 15 certificate in the UK. Come to think of it I have it in my mind that the original Clash of the Titans was a 15 when it first came out – bit of nudity in that of course. I'm probably wrong, it was probably always a PG, but a scary PG at that.

That's how they should do them

"PG"
"A Scary PG"
"R But Only For Boring Grown-Up Stuff"

It takes a lot these days to get an 18 in the UK.


I was surprised that the Cornetto Trilogy only got 15 ratings considering the amount of swearing in them, especially The World's End.
They use the C word like, 50 times... still only a 15 certificate.

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12 was very handy when that came in in the UK. I think Batman was the first use of the rating. Now we have 12A as well.

Burton's Batman is a 15 surprisingly. So is Batman Returns.


12A is only used in cinemas too.
12A is a bit of an anomaly as well. In cinemas, a movie with the PG rating will be PG on DVD... a 15 in cinemas will be 15 on DVD... but, if a movie gets 12A in cinemas then the rating on the DVD will either be a 12, or a 15, depending on how the BBFC decide to rate the content.

Do they still censor films any higher based on bad language? I know when I was a teenager, barring films with obvious nudity and violence, I noticed a film would only tend to be an 18 rather than a 15 if they used the F or S words! Same as they were also the only words they ever bleeped out on South Park (though strangely the film was rated 15 despite having a song called Uncle F***a!)

what a shame that NC17 movies are a rare bread these days, rarely u find a film meanigfully Rated R or Nc17, what a shame

I've just been looking into that and the suggestion is that it was only a 12 in the cinemas and 15 on video release to give more control over what younger viewers could access. How awkward .

I think swear words and ratings are deemed by how many times, and what the word actually is.
I know that one use of the S word will garner an immediate raise from U to PG.
One use of F and it's an immediate 15 on DVD.
I think there was a commentary for The World's End with Pegg and Frost, and they said the BBFC allowed the F word as many times as you like, and you will only get a 15. The C word can be used something like 60 times, but the 61st time will garner an 18 rating.



Yeah I was surprised at Batman and Returns tbh with the 15 rating. Huge hit with kids when it came out too.

I always get reminded of the Marlene Dietrich quote. Something like "Sex. In America an obsession. The rest of the world a fact."

I think it definitely extends to much of the English speaking world, certainly the UK. I watched Predator and Total Recall at about 14 with my dad, but 6 years on and I would never watch anything I knew had a sex scene in it with my parents. Even with my friends, I'll joke about sex all the time, but I wouldn't dare discuss my own sex life. Other people's is fair game I also walk out the room and get a drink or something if I know a sex scene is coming up, regardless of how tame it is

I am also bothered by nudity in films for some reason. Sometimes not, depending on the context but often I am. But I'm not bothered by sex a lot, why is that? For example, the rape scene in Straw Dogs, the original, has breasts shown in it, which bothered me, where as the rape scene in the remake, didn't show breasts, so I was more comfortable watching that one. Not sure if it's a double standard or not, but I am more comfortable watching nude-less sex.

I think that's the matter of taste.
The commentary on The Cabin In The Woods, Joss Wheadon states that as soon as the blonde girl is in danger and is injured, her top never opens again.
He said it's down to moviegoers seeing the film as exploitation, or as genuine horror.


It's true though. If someone is in danger in a movie, particularly a woman, and they're shown as naked, it adds a whole new dimension to the movie.

Yeah that's true. However, in The Road Warrior, when the topless woman is in danger, it didn't feel like they were trying to be exploitative there, unless I am wrong?

I think The Usual Suspect makes a good point about what behavior a child is likely to imitate, whether now or later as an adult. I agree that Americans, and perhaps others, will make a much bigger deal about sex and nudity, which are natural, than violence. But I'm a parent now and am more concerned about what movies, TV shows and video games are saying about sex and violence. There are movies that suggest you don't have to care about a person to have sex with him/her, which is certainly true, but it's not an attitude I want my daughter to have. And you don't see a lot of scenes with men putting on condoms. Often the women have great bodies because there is a "body double" involved (Did you know that wasn't really Jamie Lee Curtis dancing in "True Lies"?)
I'm not for censorship but I think filmmakers and other creators should own up to having an influence on people. Look at the 'f' word (which isn't the most offensive profanity to me because it doesn't mean what it used to). It's in everything now, even pop songs. If pop culture can make that more socially acceptable, we'd be naïve to think it's not influencing attitudes about sex and violence.

I've always felt sex is a kind of sacred thing (these days not so much, sadly). When I was younger I would not like to see any sex scenes with family or friends. It felt icky. Also, sex is when people are their most vulnerable. Everyone an probably relate to that feeling of being overwhelmed with passion, desire, or nerves when engaging in the act of sex. It can also be an addiction, and a drug.

I think when you mix something like sex with violence, you can overload some people's nervous system,/ Maybe not with just one film, but over time, there can be an effect..it can wear you down if you don't stay healthy about your outlook on sex.

Back to sex being a sacred and very private thing. It's a romantic gesture, and not very easily preserved, especially now where it's seemingly been brought out in pop culture as this accessory type of thing instead of a real bond between lovers.

I hate nudity and sex in cinema. I think it should be totally banned!

Any sexual scene in film should be allowed only if taking place between a husband and a wife (not just on screen, but also in real life).

Violence is okay as long as the one imposing it is right and fights evil!

/s