Recently, I went to the movies with my parents and had to make that decision every teen has to go through— see an animated movie made for four-year-olds or watch a movie that has scenes that make me embarrassed to be sitting next to my mom. Why aren’t there any movies that are funny and don’t make me die of embarrassment? Today’s PG-13 films are becoming more and more explicit, and they have left me begging for a rating in between PG and PG-13. That way I at least have some kind of idea what I’ll be getting myself into.
On the Motion Picture Association of America’s website, the description of what a PG-13 movie is seems to be much longer than a summary of any other rating. The PG-13 rating was originally debuted in 1984 to help define the gray area between R-rated and G-rated movies. The first PG-13 movie ever released, “Red Dawn,” was considered under this rating due to violent scenes. A new rating should be made to allow viewers to distinguish between the realms of animation without stepping into the movies containing unpleasant scenes of violence or romance.
It annoys me that movies are no longer quality, but rather are slapped together to maximize profit. However, not all movies are falling into the trap of general commercialism. The highlight movies of 2013 for me were “Gravity” and “Captain Phillips.” Neither were funny, contained ridiculous scenes of romance or had guts and gore. They were quality movies that didn’t need modern gimmicks to get an Oscar nomination or people rushing to the theatres. The best movies are made of talented actors and even better writers, but more and more often, untalented “stars” are hired so their fans flock to the theatres just to see that one character.
After years of being stuck in between animated movies and ridiculously inappropriate movies to be watching with your parents, I’m still left asking for a new rating between PG and PG-13.