# R rated movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087 "2006-02-18T14:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![imaqtb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecccb3/32.png) [@imaqtb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imaqtb)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/1 "2006-02-18T14:05:30Z")
If a child acts in a R rated movie, is he/she allowed to see it? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/2 "2006-02-18T14:41:38Z")
Only if he/she is with a parent/guardian. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/3 "2006-02-18T14:45:57Z")
Legally, no. In fact, steps are taken to protect children from inappropriate content in movies they act in. For instance, the actor for Regan in The Exorcist (I forget her name) was not actually swearing in those, well, swearing scenes, they were dubbed later by an adult. Child actors in R-rated films are subject to the same laws as any other children. Of course, if their parents decide they’re mature enough to deal with it then there’s not a whole lot that can stop them from letting them watch. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/4 "2006-02-18T14:48:59Z")
Aaaand on reading **racer72** ’s post I guess it also depends what country you’re in. Here in Australia R means “restricted to 18 and above” but in America it’s “only if accompanied by an adult”. And in some countries like Denmark (or was it Sweden?) kids over the age of 7 can see movies of any rating, including porn, as long as their parents let them. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/5 "2006-02-18T14:51:09Z")
Something to consider: ratings are applied after the completion of the post production of a movie, not while it’s being filmed. I suppose the scenes a minor might be involved in might been shown as “dailies” to an audience including the minor without the issue of ratings even applying. So, in that sense, the minor could see the movie. Just not with all the bells and whistles that go into the finished product. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/6 "2006-02-18T15:57:33Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > …the actor for Regan in The Exorcist (I forget her name) Linda Blair. It’s true, filmmakers try to shield young actors from the “gooshy” details of any R-rated film they are working on. Jeremy Sumpter, who was ten years old during the filming of _Frailty_, said he was very confused as to what the movie was really about. Brooke Shield, the underage star of many notorious 70’s movies, often mentioned the irony of how she wasn’t allowed to watch the films she starred in. It’s a bit of a misconception, however, to assume there’s anything “illegal” about a minor watching an R-rated film without parental consent. Yes, children are barred from buying tickets to an R-rated film (unless a parent or guardian is present) and they can’t rent R-rated movies from Blockbuster; but you’re not gonna get in trouble if your kids slip a copy of _The Matrix_ into the DVD player on the sly. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/7 "2006-02-18T18:00:10Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > Legally, no. There is no law against a child seeing an R-rated movie. The MPAA ratings system is voluntary. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/8 "2006-02-18T18:43:03Z")
Along these lines, Stanley Kubrick supposedly never told the young boy in “The Shining” that he was making a horror film. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/9 "2006-02-18T19:20:31Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > For instance, the actor for Regan in The Exorcist (I forget her name) was not actually swearing in those, well, swearing scenes, they were dubbed later by an adult. Just stepping in to correct this; in the recent (and extremely overplayed) E! documentary on The Exorcist, Linda Blair (and others) talked extensively about filming the cursing scenes. William Friedkin intentionally did not give copies of Regan’s lines to the other actors, in order to get a more honest reaction from them. Blair stated that during their first scene together, Max von Sydow had to stop the scene to “regroup” because he was so creeped out by what she was saying. Blair insists she wasn’t quite aware of what she was saying- to her they were just words- but understood that it was something that wasn’t appropriate. To answer the OP- as others have said, yes, if their parent/guardian takes them to see it. There was a recent thread that mentioned a story I always loved- Olivia Hussey had a hell of a time getting in to see Romeo and Juliet because of its R rating (I believe the rating was earned because she briefly appeared nude in it). All her protests of “but it’s ME!” fell on deaf ears. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/10 "2006-02-18T19:51:31Z")
Imagine how Traci Lords felt. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-rated-movies/345087/11 "2006-02-18T20:33:05Z")
But only imagine how she felt as of 1986.