R-rated and PG-13 movies

[unixknight]

38 minutes ago, zil said:

Ahem.  I don't watch R-rated movies.  (Of course, I also don't watch PG, or PG-13, or G - when I construct the worth-it ratio, comparing movies to books, the books always win.)

Hm.  I notice you left out a refusal to watch NC-17 and X rated movies. 

35 minutes ago, Godless said:

Fun fact: the PG13 rating was created shortly after (and largely because of, I believe) Temple of Doom.

Yep.  That's partly why I used that example.  Of course, I think that movie should have been rated R anyway.

[Guest]

Fun fact: The Wild One, a 1953 movie starring Marlon Brando as a leader of a motorcycle gang, was rated X for awhile and was completely banned in the UK for its portrayals of very 1950s criminal behavior.  It is now re-rated PG, has no objectionable content by modern standards, and is one of my favorite movies.  

That said, the above is strictly a fun fact!  Please do not use it to justify watching real rated X movies, which are very hazardous to your spiritual health.

Edited August 29, 2016 by DoctorLemon

[Guest MormonGator]

1 hour ago, DoctorLemon said:

Fun fact: The Wild One, a 1953 movie starring Marlon Brando as a leader of a motorcycle gang, was rated X for awhile and was completely banned in the UK for its portrayals of very 1950s criminal behavior.  It is now re-rated PG, has no objectionable content by modern standards, and is one of my favorite movies.  

 

What are you rebelling against Johnny? 
What do ya got? 

I love that movie!!!

[Guest Godless]

More fun movie trivia: The very R-rated 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles was the first movie to feature audible flatulence. These sounds were deemed inappropriate for TV audiences, and the "manly noises", among other things, were cut from the TV edit version.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Godless said:

More fun movie trivia: The very R-rated 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles was the first movie to feature audible flatulence. These sounds were deemed inappropriate for TV audiences, and the "manly noises", among other things, were cut from the TV edit version.

Just to nit pick.  The scene wasn't cut.  But they added the horses neighing pretty loudly during the scene to cover up the otherwise offensive sounds.

[Ironhold]

I'm a movie reviewer, and so it's part of my job to periodically see such movies. 

The MPAA ratings are a rough guideline, but barring a few specific examples (like "Saints and Soldiers" [1] or "The Transformers: The Movie" [2]) it'll still put you in the ballpark. 

As far as I'm concerned, the issue is "what is the movie selling above and beyond its content?". 

For example, just the other day I saw a documentary on the rise and fall of pivotal studio Cannon Films; the documentary included a fair bit of footage from some of Cannon's more notable films, and so got its "R" by proxy because so many of the films it showed off were "R" or the equivalent thereof at the time the film under discussion was first released. It would be difficult to discuss some of these films without including the clips (especially since during the 1970s and early 1980s Cannon made it a point to push the limit as far as content went), and so the people who produced it were in a bind in that sense. 

I've also seen a few PG-13 and R-rated films that were pretty well masterpieces, but given the setting and circumstances (for example, "war drama") there was no way to actually pull it off without having at least some degree of content that people would find inappropriate or even offensive. 

In contrast, I've also seen PG movies that I wouldn't take children to, either because the content is inappropriate for what is supposed to be a "family" film, the message being presented is unconscionable, or something else to that effect. 

This is why people need to do their own digging and make their own decisions.

 

 

[1] A key scene in the movie involves a named character being taken out by a sniper because he inadvertently exposed himself during a smoke break. The scene is meant to be shocking, but the MPAA reportedly found it so shocking that they were going to give the movie an "R" because of it even though it was in line with the other violent sequences in the film. This led to a fight between the production company and the MPAA, who finally agreed to give the film a more appropriate PG-13. 

[2] Even though a number of named characters die violently throughout the course of the film, the characters were all robots and so the MPAA didn't take their deaths quite so seriously. The writers had to add two curse words to push it to PG status, but the film was dropped back to a G after one of the two words was deleted from the US Theatrical cut of the film. As a result, parents were unwittingly taking their kids to a movie full of carnage, mayhem, and destruction without realizing how bad it was since the MPAA dropped the ball. 

[Guest Godless]

7 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Just to nit pick.  The scene wasn't cut.  But they added the horses neighing pretty loudly during the scene to cover up the otherwise offensive sounds.

I meant that the sounds were removed, not the scene. Poor wording on my part.

[Guest]

Here is a question for you... let's say you are watching a movie with profanity in it (or listening to music or whatever).  Is it a sin every time the song says a bad word?  Is it like I said a profanity myself?

I am curious because, while I personally am not offended by hearing profanity per se, I do not want to add to the burden shouldered by Christ at the atonement by consuming media with profanity in it.  It is just not worth it to cause additional pain for Christ.  Such thinking has caused me to shy away from my previous musical taste, which included lots of punk rock and metal, and move towards relatively cleaner country music.  The same goes for movies.

What do you think?  Is it a sin when a movie uses profanity?  Is it not?  Am I nuts for thinking along these lines?  Debate!

Edited August 29, 2016 by DoctorLemon

[FogCity]

11 minutes ago, DoctorLemon said:

Here is a question for you... let's say you are watching a movie with profanity in it (or listening to music or whatever).  Is it a sin every time the song says a bad word?  Is it like I said a profanity myself?

I am curious because, while I personally am not offended by hearing profanity per se, I do not want to add to the burden shouldered by Christ at the atonement by consuming media with profanity in it.  It is just not worth it to cause additional pain for Christ.  Such thinking has caused me to shy away from my previous musical taste, which included lots of punk rock and metal, and move towards relatively cleaner country music.  The same goes for movies.

What do you think?  Is it a sin when a movie uses profanity?  Is it not?  Am I nuts for thinking along these lines?  Debate!

considering that there are countless ways to sin (sins of omission/commission) I would argue yes.  My gut feeling is, (gospel according to me) that anything activity that we are doing voluntarily that is detracting from the Spirit is a sin.  That's equal parts humbling and defeating. 

 

[Blackmarch]

10 hours ago, DoctorLemon said:

Here is a question for you... let's say you are watching a movie with profanity in it (or listening to music or whatever).  Is it a sin every time the song says a bad word?  Is it like I said a profanity myself?

I am curious because, while I personally am not offended by hearing profanity per se, I do not want to add to the burden shouldered by Christ at the atonement by consuming media with profanity in it.  It is just not worth it to cause additional pain for Christ.  Such thinking has caused me to shy away from my previous musical taste, which included lots of punk rock and metal, and move towards relatively cleaner country music.  The same goes for movies.

What do you think?  Is it a sin when a movie uses profanity?  Is it not?  Am I nuts for thinking along these lines?  Debate!

what you eat will affect you. Whether it's food, sight, sound or etc. The more we like something the more acceptible it becomes, the more acceptible something becomes the more tolerable its friends become as well.

If it does not move you towards God or being Godly, then it is moving you away from God.

[MrShorty]

18 minutes ago, Blackmarch said:

If it does not move you towards God or being Godly, then it is moving you away from God.

You don't think there are "neutral" movies/books/music/forms of entertainment that neither draw one towards God/godliness nor move one away? It seems to me that much of the entertainment I consume I would classify as neutral.

[Blackmarch]

3 minutes ago, MrShorty said:

You don't think there are "neutral" movies/books/music/forms of entertainment that neither draw one towards God/godliness nor move one away? It seems to me that much of the entertainment I consume I would classify as neutral.

More and more i'm finding that once you've taken a side there is no neutral. If the devil can't turn you, then he'll happily settle for neutral.

[anatess2]

11 hours ago, Blackmarch said:

More and more i'm finding that once you've taken a side there is no neutral. If the devil can't turn you, then he'll happily settle for neutral.

Ahh... if every single minute of your life is spent in entertainment then I'll agree with you.  But, no.  We don't spend every single minute of every single day entertaining ourselves.  I wake up in the morning and I brush my teeth... yes, that can be considered inching me to Godliness because cleanliness is Godliness.  So then I decide to spend the next 30 minutes prettying up my face.  Godliness?  Nah.  My face is clean that's Godly... rouging my cheeks and coloring my eyelids...  neutral.  It just passes the time and makes me feel good.

Life is a looooooooonnnnggg journey.  Neutral is fine as long as it is only a respite in that journey to Christ.

Edited August 30, 2016 by anatess2

[Guest MormonGator]

11 hours ago, Blackmarch said:

More and more i'm finding that once you've taken a side there is no neutral. If the devil can't turn you, then he'll happily settle for neutral.

I know what you are saying my friend but I do think there is some neutral in the world. I don't like Adam Sandler movies. I find them vapid, vulgar, and insulting to good taste. BUT-I don't make the rules and my own views on movie tastes are subjective. Someone might find him funny. So while I don't personally like the movies, I can't say watching him is immoral. 

Sorry if I misread your posts. You know I got nothing but love for you.

[Blackmarch]

I was referring to how we choose to entertain ourselves.

it may seem  our life is long before us but when looking back it has been in the blinking of an eye- this time is a probationary time and while we have been given the freedom to do with it as we will, it is not ours. There will be an accounting for each second, and we will find that our desires, thoughts and actions (And inactions) will condemn us. I keep getting reminded of the talk "Good, better, best" and that was just dealing with things that were good... nevermind neutral.

We are commanded to be perfect, anything less than that will be weighed against you.
Every choice you make is a reflection of your desires, and what you value most, and when the focus deviates from being centered on being christlike and etc... that is against us.

 

However, very very fortunately, we have christ with us. And through him we can overcome these deviations, and find out where the right balance is, found out where our limitations are, and have the means to come to perfection.
As we are all different I expect such limits not to be exactly the same or in the same place for everyone
For example using Anatess' example I have no idea at what point "prettying up" becomes vanity nor do i know the motivation behind it, between me and her it's very likely at a different point. For me it would be a only a few minutes worth of time and the motivation would be to be "presentable at work" rather than because we want to be like christ and have been told that part of it is taking care of your body- Is this bad? not in itself- working gets me money, which isn't bad in itself, which then keeps me alive which could be argued as taking care of your body which can be argued is a good thing because that's one of things we are commanded to do.... but when i keep digging further into where this trail goes I find that it ends more on because it satisfies me, than satisfying God- and that is why it won't be a point for me but a condemnation if i don't change it.

And this is part of why we are here, is to find our weaknesses, to find out these limits, our focuses and etc..... the big question is what do we do with them once we do find and know them.

gotta stop wrtiting for the moment will get back to this later.


to 'Gator don't worry about misreading my posts; it's my responsibility to get my understanding, experiences across. Love your posts as well

 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Blackmarch

[Guest MormonGator]

9 minutes ago, Blackmarch said:

I was referring to how we choose to entertain ourselves.

I did misread it. I'm sorry my friend. You make some great points, as you always do. 

[tesuji]

My two cents:

In general, I absolutely believe in taking every movie on a case-by case basis.

However, as a rule I do not watch R rated movies. Few are worth it. It's safer to stay away from them all. Once in a while I make an exception, but it is so easy to slide into justifying bad movies that way. 

I do make exceptions.

For example, I recommend everyone watch The Godfather, one of the best movies of all time. But I would still prefer to filter out a few of the awful scenes in there. Another movie I recommend is The Verdict with Paul Newman. Just one scene with F bombs. The BYU Honors reading list contains many R rated movies, as some of the greatest films made.

But as I said, it's a slippery slope. Most PG 13 movies and PG 14 TV shows are also very offensive. I know that it's getting worse and at some point I'm going to have to just stop watching things, unless I can filter out the junk, using something like Vidangel.

PG 13 are often as bad as R movies used to be. The families doing the ratings are obviously getting corrupted over time. Like the old story of a frog in boiling water: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog

Edited August 30, 2016 by tesuji

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, tesuji said:

 

For example, I recommend everyone watch The Godfather, one of the best movies of all time.

Amen to that. The greatest movie of all time, in my view. I love that movie. 

[tesuji]

3 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

Amen to that. The greatest movie of all time, in my view. I love that movie. 

I'm glad I watched it (even though filtered). I wouldn't want to watch again, though. "Great storytelling" is not the same as "a great, edifying story." 

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, tesuji said:

I'm glad I watched it (even though filtered). I wouldn't want to watch again, though. "Great storytelling" is not the same as "a great, edifying story." 

"If two people see the the Godfather and one thinks it's a masterpiece and the other thinks it's a piece of junk, that shows much more on the critics then it does the movie."-Unknown (by me anyway) but 100% accurate. 

[NeuroTypical]

I see The Godfather is available on Vidangel.  I saw it once decades ago, time to revisit it.  Will probably apply a filter or two based on what I'm reading here. 

[Guest MormonGator]

10 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

 Will probably apply a filter or two based on what I'm reading here. 

Take it from me, a model of virtue and morality who has never heard a naughty word in his life (much less spoken one! I declare!) that Vidangel is a good idea for that movie. 

[NeuroTypical]

I'm a model of virtue and morality too - but only these days.  I was raised by a WWII vet, and part of my education came whenever my dad would hit his head on something or bang his hand with a hammer.   

Yeah, I recognize all the nasty stuff I see in movies, but I'm happier when it's not there in the first place.

[Guest MormonGator]

3 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

I'm a model of virtue and morality too

I have no doubt that you truly are a model of virtue and morality my friend. 

(But I was being sarcastic about myself being one too) 

[Guest]

I am actually in the no R-rated movies camp for myself personally. . . it is kind of a funny thing, though, because I will be the first to admit that I do indulge in Parental Advisory albums sometimes (Faith No More, anyone?) and M-rated video games sometimes (Metal Gear Solid), and I am also cognizant of the fact that three F-words in a movie (eg Fahrenheit 9/11) will make it R-rated, while three F-words in an album (eg Pearl Jam's Ten) qualifies as a pretty clean album that many Mormons would have no problem with.  I guess not watching R-rated movies is just too deeply engrained in me from my upbringing.  As such, while I may not watch R-rated movies, I am not judgmental about it, either.

I do admit there are benefits from not watching R-rated movies.  Some of the worse R-rated movies could cause the spirit to leave, and some of the really bad ones could land you in the Bishop's office!  (eg 50 Shades of Grey, I guess - I don't know from personal experience!)  But to each their own.

I remember when I was a teenager, to be rebellious, I would watch the 1962 movie "Psycho", which had gone from rated R to PG, before receiving an "honorary R" rating.  I guess I'm just a rebel like that!

Edited August 30, 2016 by DoctorLemon