Censorship in Movies

Are you embarrassed?

Why are movies censored? Would it have to be with the fact that the United States is afraid to let a teenager (between the ages of 13-16) see things such as brief sexual activity, drugs and violence? These types of things happen everyday. If young teenagers do not see them in a movie, they will simply see them in the world around them. Movies also lead parents to believe that whatever their child watches in a movie, they will want to do. For instance movies such as Scarface and Schindler’s List are very knowledgeable movies and teenagers should be allowed too see them. Just because a teenager watches a movie on mob violence, it does not mean that they will go sell drugs and kill people. Although mob violence is a terrible thing, it has happened and will continue to happen. Teenagers these days should be more aware of their surroundings and the world they live in. Also, movies should not be censored for teenagers because they are old enough to see things such as brief sexual content and violence.

No one makes the citizens of the United States watch a movie. It is all a matter of opinion. Maybe if adults did not stress to teenager what they prefer them not to see, they would not be so interested; but when parents try to explain how bad a movie is, the teenager becomes interested.

When renting a movie or going to the theater, there are restrictions. In order to see R-rated movies in a theatre, a teenager must show their ID, also with renting a movie. Although many parents would say that the regulations are not strictly enforced, they are. If a person that works at the theater or the rental movie place, they can lose there job or be fined. Still, yes there are incidents were young teenagers get into the theater and go to a different movie, such as an R-rated movie. This can only be controlled to an extent. No one is about to walk into the theater and as everyone for their movie ticket. This would be a waste of time and would also interrupt the movie. According to Brian Hansen the author of Operation Hollywood, most movies are rated R. Even though this is true, most rated R movies are not as bad as they are said to be by movie critics. The slightest bit of drug use or sex can make a movie rated R. Movies should not be censored but parents should be more cautious and less tense about topics such as sex and drugs.

The movie Scarface is rated “R”. Why would a thirteen year old person not be allowed to watch this movie? Anyone who has seen this movie knows that within it, there are drugs, sex and violence. This movie was rated “R” for strong violence (killing), drug use and sexual content according to blockbuster. So, gangster movies are not on the top five lists of movies that parents want their teenager to watch, but why? Would it be because of the gang activity? There is gang activity everywhere in the world. No one can hide it. In this movie, there is a lot of drug use in this movie but in the end, there are serious consequences for the main character Tony Montana, his life. This would show that there is nothing great about drugs. The fact that Montana is shown with the worst effect of drugs can show teenager what happens when they do drugs. Anyone can learn valuable lessons from this movie like the effect of drugs and how greed can go too far. There are valuable lessons within this movie and it would be appropriate for the rating of PG-13.

Another great movie would be Schindler’s List. Schindler’s List is a movie about a German man who saves Jews and their families to work in a factory. This movie is rated R but is full of knowledge about what exactly happened in Germany during WWII. This movie can be somewhat offending to some people such as Jews. According to film critic Christopher Null "Regardless, Schindler's List is still the best movie that Spielberg ever made, and the second-best film about the Holocaust.” (Censorship in the 21st Century). Although in this movie there is a lot of violence and killing but these things are happening everyday. Kids these days are censored from the world. They have no idea what is going on in other countries or what has happened. By watching movies such as Scarface and Schindler’s list, they can obtain valuable information. By doing so they can become more knowledgeable and not just closed away in a closet to never know that people die.

Movies are a wonderful way of enjoying yourself and just a way to relax. Why we have to make a big deal and censor some things out of the movie does not seem fair. A movie is made and should be respected as so. This is not a new topic and will probably never end, but teenagers should be able to be more knowledgeable about the world around them. Like for instance, Kangaroo Jack is rated PG. In this “family movie”, there are references to sex and bad language. How would a movie like this be rated PG