My nine year old went to a birthday party last night. They were going to a movie, I was told that they would be seeing "How to train a dragon 2", but when they got to the movie theater, that movie was no longer playing in the evening so a new movie was chosen. The movie that was chosen was rated PG, when I was a kid that meant that I wouldn't be concerned about my 9 year old watching such a movie. But apparently that isn't the case in this day and age. PG movies now come with language and violence warnings. Here is a listing of PG movies now playing at the Lethbridge Galaxy Cinema:
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Action/Drama
PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, frightening scenes
Guardians of the Galaxy, Action/Adventure/fantasy
PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, course language
How to Train Your Dragon 2, Action/Adventure/Family/Fantasy
PG
Into the Storm, Action/Drama/Thriller
PG - Not recommended for young children, frightening scenes, Language may offend
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Action/Adventure
PG - violence
The Hundred-Foot Journey, Drama
PG
Transformers: Age of Extinction, Action
PG - Violence, not recommended for young children, frightening scenes
How many of these movies would you take your nine year old to see?
There are 4 other movies playing at Galaxy right now, one is rated G, two are rated 14A and one at 18A. Call me old fashioned, but to me most of these movies should have a higher rating. Since when does a movie with a PG rating require a language or violence warning??? In my mind a PG movie should be OK for kids. If it requires a language or violence warning then it should have a higher rating. Seems pretty simple to me.
As it turned out, the movie "Guardians of the Galaxy" had accidentally been rated "G" on the App that the parent had used to choose the new movie. Not knowing what the movie was about or anything she had trusted this information and taken this group of kids( ages 5 to 9) to a movie full of bad language and violence. Even with it's correct rating of PG, this mistake could have been made because on most general listings it only lists the ratings and not all the warnings.
For me a lesson was learned. I need to be much more vigilant in understanding the ratings of today, and not assume that they are the same as they were when I was a kid. I guess I just don't go to the movies enough.
