Fact: America is both prudish and homophobic
 

Kissing Jessica Stein - a normal romantic comedy, but about a lesbian couple
Dutch rating: all ages
American rating: R

Lost in Translation - comedy/drama, that happens to have some boobs in it
Dutch rating: all ages
American rating: R

Love Actually - very mild romantic comedy
Dutch rating: all ages
American rating: R

Italian for beginners
Dutch rating: all ages
American rating: R

Gosford Park
Dutch rating: all ages
American rating: R

And it goes on and on and on...

What exactly are American parents so afraid of? That their children will one day find out that things like boobs, homosexuality and sex exist?

"If you kiss a woman's breast on film, you get an R Rating, but if you cut a woman's breast off with a sword you get a PG-13."

*shrug*

Very intersexting (<--this was originally a typo but I decided to leave it in.) observation....

Because the "mothers of america" have ruined everything.

i would say the USA is alot more conservative than the dutch. but compared to many other countries the USA is extremely liberal. i mean hell you cant even see moves in China :)

Reason: movie comes out, has simulated sex, and/or violence, and/or some light nudity...
Most people think it's okay, a great movie, etc.
A small % of people who are either prudish, religious 'holier-than-thou' types, or ultra conservative, or a combination of all, are offended by the movie and want to restrict it (or outright censor it).
Government sees a need to appease the objectors, so they install a ratings system and label the movie "R".
Ratings system is "just enough" to appease moral objectors, yet still allows the film to be viewed in it's uncut format, thus keeping the non-objectors happy.

Not a perfect solution, but until we can figure out a way to rid ourselves once and for all of those God-damned prudish stuck up "moral objectors" we'll just have to endure it. :D

Ah yes that remind me,sex and any kind of love is bad for children,but violance is good for kids.I dont know but just one sex scene in movie can lead not for below 18 people.But in latest time our national tv has started to mark not for below 18 horros and movies with extreme violance.Atleast something

Murder is better than sex. Thats why.

I take it you have never actually been to China?

I know how it works. The thing I don't get is why the public as a whole accepts these particular standards. They are, simply put, insane. In a country where the average person starts having sex at age 16, it is illegal for anyone under 18 to watch a movie displaying breasts and featuring some talk about sex without adult supervision.

So, a 16 year old couple can fuck all they want, but God forbid they actually go on a date without their parents to watch Love Actually :eek7

Also, I'm getting quite sick of having to hear the same "warning" for the same tv show or movie at the end of every single fucking commercial break. During a 1-hour show like CSI you'll hear the same warning like 6 times. Really, isn't one content warning at the beginning of a show enough?

I'm sure you do, but there are likely others reading this, maybe from other countries, who might not know how things are over here.

Agreed. I think though that a parent keeping their 7 yr old from a movie like that is okay in my book though. Kids are going to start swearing once they get into their teens, the little ones don't need to hear "fuck this" and "fuck that" at such an early age. But I've never been a fan of idiots who swear in front of their kids anway, I think it's a boneheaded irresponsible thing to do yet so many parents do it or allow it.

fact: americans don't care what you think

It's not about caring what others think. It's about having certain idiotic systems that affect your own damn lives.

What I'm wondering about is why a majority of Americans seem to be willing to put up with such insanity.

blame mpaa.com they are they ones who give the ratings to movies, not the goverment.. and it makes no sense.. they are a highly secret orginaztion that dont have to answer anyone. there is a new movie coming out called "this movie is not yet rated" which explores who the group is and why they have so much power.

blame the mpaa they are they ones who give the ratings to movies, not the goverment.. and it makes no sense.. they are a highly secret orginaztion that dont have to answer anyone. there is a new movie coming out called "this film is not yet rated"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493459/
which explores who the group is and why they have so much power.


so its not the parents who are afriad, its these people... please learn more about how our movies are graded before you start placing blame, thank you, come again

Actually, the parents are the ones who are afraid. Remember Nipplegate? Remember the FCC (a governmental organization) fines? Remember the idiotic outrage?

The MPAA ratings are intended to protect the movie industry from such things. If a majority of Americans disagreed with these ratings, and made it clear that they wanted them to be more lenient, you can be sure the movie industry would not pass up the chance to admit more people to its movies.

MPAA ratings are self defence, and that self defence is needed for a reason :2 cents:

right!!! we dont allow beastie or rape movies

Ratings arent actually based on what the average American parent thinks is appropriate. Its a smal group of people that decide on the ratings and they usually rate things according to what the loudest liberal or consertative group is screaming about.
Really tho, as if the rating system really keeps movies out of the hands of minors in America, anyways.

Americans consider themselves too busy to be concerned about the ratings really. If I want to watch a movie and it happens to be rated R i really don't care, I dont care if it is G, PG, PG-13, R or NC-17... ok IF it is NC-17 I will probably watch it even if it is a chick flick romantic comedy

the ones that give a shit about the ratings are the anal rententive, church prayer group stay at home, home schooling freak over zealous non-bible reading but very 'religeous' type who have nothing but time and seriously repressed sexual urges and they bash the movie makers and insist that one slip of the nipple = nudity.

spaz