A government report recently concluded that Hollywood markets material containing mature content to children. Was this a surprise to anyone? I remember thinking it odd some years ago that an R-rated movie like "Robocop" had its own toys and Saturday morning cartoons. Obviously that's a case of enticing kids to watch a movie that supposedly is inappropriate for them, based on its rating. Actually, what it showed to me is that the industry wants to attract as large an audience as possible by producing movies as childish as Robocop but inserting mature material in the film to make it appeal to adults, too. An argument could be made that the explicit details are too adult for kids while the simple-minded story is too childish for adults.

At any rate, the release of the government report recently has led to Senate hearings on the matter, led by John McCain. All of this publicity led me to wonder if the store where I work had any policy about selling mature material to minors. I figured that I ought to find out, since I work in the department of the store that sells CDs (some of which contain the Parental Advisory sticker) and videotapes (some of which contain R-rated movies). I've worked at the store for five years, but the subject had never come up. A cashier never phoned my department, that I know of, asking if she was allowed to sell a labeled CD to a child.

I found out last week what the store's policy is. There is no policy. I was told that if a 10 year old wants to buy the Parental Advisory version of Eminem's CD, they are free to buy it at the store without an adult's consent being needed. Same with R-rated videotapes.

Are we too lax about keeping our kids away from objectionable material?

We all know the movie ratings for the United States: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 (or X). But what about ratings for other countries? Surely they aren't as uptight as we puritanical Americans, right?

Here are the movie ratings for Great Britain, taken from The British Board of Film Classification website. Britain has 6 ratings, and their descriptions are as follows:

U
UNIVERSAL, Suitable for all audiences
Examples of movies rated "U":
THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE starring Rene Russo
THOMAS AND THE MAGIC RAILROAD starring Peter Fonda
CHICKEN RUN
THE RUGRATS MOVIE
THE IRON GIANT
STUART LITTLE

PG
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for some children
Unaccompanied children of any age may watch. A "PG" film should not disturb a child aged around eight or older. However, parents are advised to consider whether the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.
Examples of movies rated "PG":
DISNEY'S THE KID starring Bruce Willis
SPACE COWBOYS starring Clint Eastwood
TITAN A.E. (cartoon)
POKEMON THE FIRST MOVIE: MEWTWO STRIKES BACK (cartoon)

12
Suitable only for 12 years and over. No-one younger than 12 may see a "12" film in a cinema or rent or buy a "12" rated video.
Examples of movies rated "12":
BRING IT ON starring Kirsten Dunst (PG-13 in USA)
COYOTE UGLY (PG-13 in USA)
NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS starring Eddie Murphy
X-MEN starring Patrick Stewart (PG-13 in USA)
WHERE THE HEART IS starring Natalie Portman & Ashley Judd
TITANIC starring Leonardo DiCaprio (PG-13 in USA)


15
Suitable only for 15 years and over. No-one younger than 15 may see a "15" film in a cinema or rent or buy a "15" rated video.
Examples of movies rated "15":
BLESS THE CHILD starring Kim Basinger & Jimmy Smits
ME, MYSELF AND IRENE starring Jim Carrey & Renée Zellweger
GONE IN 60 SECONDS starring Nicolas Cage & Angelina Jolie
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II starring Tom Cruise


18 [This would be comparable to our "NC-17" rating]
Suitable only for adults. No-one younger than 18 may see an "18" film in a cinema or rent or buy an "18" rated video.
Examples of movies rated "18":
HOLLOW MAN starring Kevin Bacon & Elizabeth Shue
THE WAY OF THE GUN starring James Caan
THE CELL starring Jennifer Lopez
SCARY MOVIE
NURSE BETTY starring Renée Zellweger
SHAFT starring Samuel L. Jackson
ROBOCOP 2 (1991) [To obtain this rating, 31 seconds had to be cut from the movie.]
SCREAM (1997)
SCREAM 2 (1998)
SCREAM 3 (2000)
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1997)
I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1999)
THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE starring Johnny Depp & Charlize Theron
FACE/OFF starring John Travolta & Nicholas Cage
CLERKS (Directed by Kevin Smith)
CHASING AMY (Directed by Kevin Smith)
SPECIES starring Natasha Henstridge
SPECIES II starring Natasha Henstridge
FARGO starring Frances McDormand
DOLORES CLAIBORNE starring Kathy Bates & Jennifer Jason Leigh
BLADE starring Wesley Snipes (Based on the Marvel comic)
KISS THE GIRLS starring Morgan Freeman & Ashley Judd
PRIVATE PARTS starring Howard Stern
MONEY TRAIN starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson
DESPERADO starring Antonio Banderas & Salma Hayek
LEAVING LAS VEGAS starring Nicolas Cage & Elizabeth Shue
ALIEN: RESURRECTION starring Sigourney Weaver & Winona Ryder
HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL starring Geoffrey Rush & Famke Janssen
AMERICAN BEAUTY starring Kevin Spacey & Annette Bening
THE GREEN MILE starring Tom Hanks
EYES WIDE SHUT starring Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman
MAGNOLIA starring Tom Cruise
BULWORTH starring Warren Beatty & Halle Barry
END OF DAYS starring Arnold Schwarzenegger
FIGHT CLUB starring Brad Pitt
THE BASKETBALL DIARIES starring Leonardo DiCaprio
STIGMATA starring Patricia Arquette
HALLOWEEN H20 - 20 YEARS LATER starring Jamie Lee Curtis
CASINO starring Robert DeNiro & Sharon Stone
THE GENERAL'S DAUGHTER starring John Travolta
FROM DUSK TILL DAWN starring George Clooney

18 Restricted [This would be comparable to our "X" rating]
"R18" To be supplied only in licensed sex shops to adults of not less than 18 years. The "R18" category is a special and legally restricted classification primarily for explicit videos of consenting sex between adults. Such videos may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops, of which there are currently about 90 in the UK. "R18" videos may not be supplied by mail order.



So, it appears that a 10 year old child in the U.S. can go into a store (say, for example, the one where I work) and purchase an R-rated videotape like "Private Parts" (which my store probably carries) and is free to purchase it without the cashier saying anything.

But if he was living in Great Britain, that same child would not be allowed to purchase "Private Parts" on videotape until he was 18 years of age!