# New theater policy: small children barred from R movies after 6 PM **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350 "2003-11-04T15:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/41 "2003-11-05T04:23:05Z")
Sounds good to me. I still remember seeing **The Silence of The Lambs** back in 1990/91 and some idiot brought her 3-year-old in to watch the last 15 minutes or so. I didn’t hear the kid cry or anything, but I wanted to strangle her mom. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/42 "2003-11-05T04:39:05Z")
Heck, I wouldn’t allow kids under 6 to be admitted to R-rated movies at _all_. But this is good, too. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/43 "2003-11-05T04:49:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*I heard somewhere that a movie will get an R automatically if it shows someone getting kicked in the head. Is this true? > > As to the fuck rule, I think they are allowed 3 ‘non-sexual’ fucks and keeping a PG13 (i.e. ‘Fuck! They’re still after us!’) but only one ‘sexual’ fuck (‘I’d like to fuck her!’). \*\* I’ve linked this article before, but what the heck, one more time can’t hurt: [Separate and Unequal? How the MPAA Rates Independent Films](http://www.moviemaker.com/issues/41/mpaa.html). An excerpt: > [@](#): > > Other than by offering some broadstroke standards, such as how they view use of the word “fuck” (one non-sexual use of the word will get you a PG-13, one sexual use commands an R), the MPAA’s rating guidelines are murky, at best. Said Matt Stone, “The MPAA has no set rules. Things change from movie to movie. It makes no sense. In going through the notes we saw that they had no standards, so we decided these people are stupid and we’d just try to get it past them. If there was something they said couldn’t stay in [South Park], we’d make it 10 times worse and five times as long. And they’d come back and say, ‘OK, that’s better.’” ---
**Author:** ![MidnightRadio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@MidnightRadio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MidnightRadio)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/44 "2003-11-05T10:34:10Z")
It’s interesting to note that even in regards to studio films, the standards have changed and, in some ways, gotten stricter over the years. In the 1982 movie _Tootsie_, there’s a scene in which Dustin Hoffman’s character is trying to make Teri Garr’s character, an actress, angry so she can get in character for an audition. In this scene, he says, “Fuck you,” to her twice in a row. By today’s MPAA rules, just one non-sexual “fuck” will get you an automatic PG-13 rating, but two or more of them will get you an automatic R rating, although some movies – _As Good As It Gets_ comes to mind – have had exceptions made for them. Of course, the PG-13 rating didn’t exist when _Tootsie_ was released, but by today’s standards, even _with_ the PG-13 rating, _Tootsie_ would be rated R. Which would be silly because I can’t imagine a more harmless movie. Another example: I mentioned _The Exorcist_ in my last post. That movie got an R rating in 1973 and I don’t think any cuts had to be made to get that rating. As I said before, there’s some pretty shocking and disturbing stuff in that movie. For instance (warning, this is disturbing and graphic):There’s a scene in which a demon-possessed 12-year-old girl masturbates violently with a crucifix while repeatedly screaming, “Let Jesus fuck you!” She then forces her mother’s face to her bloody crotch and screams, “Lick me! Lick me!” before slapping her mother across the room.Now, when it was re-released a few years ago, it was allowed to keep its R rating, but I think that was just because it was a re-release of a previously rated movie. Had it been a brand new movie, I doubt it would have gotten anything less than an NC-17. By the way, I’ve seen _Boogie Nights_ and I’ve seen the unrated version of _Requiem for a Dream_ (one of my favorite movies). The sexuality in _Requiem for a Dream_ is _far_ less graphic than in _Boogie Nights_. The MPAA may not be discriminating against independent filmmakers specifically, but they certainly don’t seem to be applying their standards equally and fairly. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/45 "2003-11-05T10:52:54Z")
Mom of a 9YO and a 3YO here. I think this is fine, in fact, I would not object to a theater having a blanket policy that kids under 6 are not admitted to R-rated movies, ever. Very few R-rated movies, if any, are appropriate for pre-schoolers. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2003, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/46 "2003-11-05T13:17:46Z")
I rarely go to movies anymore, I generally prefer to wait for them to come out on video. However if this catches on, and if they enforce being quiet in the theater, I may start going again. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/47 "2003-11-06T03:59:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zap\_Rowsdower \* > \*\*I rarely go to movies anymore, I generally prefer to wait for them to come out on video. However if this catches on, and if they enforce being quiet in the theater, I may start going again. \*\* Yeah, but then you’ll have to leave Troy at home-what then? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/48 "2003-11-06T05:05:30Z")
I agree with not allowing small children in to R rated movies. However, I was taught from a VERY early age that there are places you can be loud (think Chuckie Cheese or similar kid themed restaurants) but that movie theaters are SACRED. YOU NEVER TALK IN A MOVIE THEATER. PERIOD. Yes, it was said in all caps, too. I was allowed to watch pretty much any movie I wanted as a child, and I was able to handle it. I was a VERY mature child, and I understood fully the difference between movies and real life. However, I did turn into a filmgeek, so who am I to talk? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2003, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350/49 "2003-11-06T08:40:43Z")
I remember back when it was not uncommon for a PG movie to have naked breasts - Airplane II was one of them, I’m sure other examples will come to mind when I think back on it. I also remember when disturbing themes didn’t seem to have any effect on movie ratings - ‘The Andromeda Strain’ was rated G - no nudity, cursing, or explicit language, but can you imagine that getting anything less than a PG-13 today? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-theater-policy-small-children-barred-from-r-movies-after-6-pm/211350.md?page=2)