(The following entry is written mostly in jest, but expresses very real sentiments.)
Ratings are a funny thing to me. Don’t get me wrong, they’re definitely a needed service in entertainment today, though occasionally very flawed(rant for another day: how does Transformers 2 get away with PG-13, having tons of sexual humor, crude and colorful language, and violence, while a movie like Slumdog Millionaire gets an R rating? Because Slumdog happens to use the F-word more than once). Nevermind that right now, though, I just think they might not be rating the right stuff. Let me explain.
There are many different ratings. G(General Audiences Permitted), PG(Parental Guidance Suggested), PG-13(Parents Strongly Cautioned), R(Under 17 Restricted without adult supervision), NC-17(No one under 17 permitted). Ratings are based on objectionable content. Language, Violence, Sexuality, Alcohol or Drug Use. You get the picture. Ratings are also based on the premise that the older you get, a) We are more personally responsible for the content we watch, and b) We can handle objectionable content with more maturity than a child could. It all makes sense for the most part. Until we bring in another factor: emotions.
I rewatched the Count of Monte Cristo this past weekend(Fantastic movie), a movie I have not watched since I was 10 or 11. For those who don’t know(minor spoilers ahead), the plot of the movie revolves around a man getting revenge against his former friend who steals his life, his wife, his job, everything. The opening of this movie is the beginning, set-up, and execution of the friend’s betrayal. I remembered it all from the last time I had seen it. What I didn’t remember was how hard it was to watch. Me — the person who never gets emotional about movies, stories, or much in general — felt his heartstrings being tugged at. This wasn’t the first time, either. Don’t get me started on the beautiful, yet heartbreaking intro to UP, Henry Poole’s struggle in coming to terms with his faith in Henry Poole Is Here, Szpilman’s survival of the Holocaust in The Pianist, and many other movies I’ve seen in the past year or two. Movies that I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash during when I was a child, yet find my throat tightening during now.
The reasoning behind it makes sense. When we’re kids, we just haven’t had many life experiences yet. We haven’t felt the pain of losing a friend, seen the aftermath of a war-torn country, or experienced much loss at all. We know it exists, there’s just no personal connection to it, and it makes no difference whether it happens or not, as long as we get our chocolate and kill Cobra Commander. Simply put, the pain and complexity of life have not had time to be fully realized in us yet. Having experienced these things now, as we enter and live in adulthood, we connect with the characters, the pain, and the loss these characters experience. We might think of the unrequited love in our life when we see the same thing happen to Average Joe on the screen. It’s the reason why I’m debating whether to watch Finding Nemo again. I’m not sure I can make it through that brutal intro. =)
So here we go. I propose a new ratings system. It’s your call, we can either replace it with or use it in tandem with the current ratings system. I will heretofore call it the ECRS, the Emotional Content Rating System. It’s very simple. Just like our current rating system, ECRS is based on the content in a movie. But not the objectionable content. The Emotional Content in it. For example, something mindless like Transformers will be rated G(All Audiences), as it doesn’t challenge the mind, or tug at the heartstrings much. However, a movie like UP would be rated PG-7(Parental Guidance suggested for those OVER 7 years old.) We just can’t handle that heartbreaking opening.
Maybe I’m overreacting. Maybe it’s good to feel these emotions. Maybe getting in touch with our emotions through a movie can help us cope better in a real-life situation. Maybe I need to man up, shed some tears, and enjoy these emotionally complex thrill rides like everyone else.
…..Maybe I should call the US Patent Office for the rights to ECRS right now.
Agree? Disagree? Sound off below!
So would you rather be put into a box and not feel a thing?
I think emotions are a wonderful thing. Granted, not all of them feel pleasant, but they are all colorful.
I personally love it when a movie reminds me of the heartstrings moments. It reminds me that life is temporal. And sometimes, maybe often times, I learn something about myself or others through that experience.
There is definitely an emotional knowledge, which you hit upon.
But I do not know what to make of it besides of the reminder and acknowledgment.
Agreed. And in the past few years, I have enjoyed emotionally complex movies immensely and, like you said, learning something about life and myself in the process. It’s also been beneficial in the fact that I now am on the lookout for deeper meaning in everything, from Ratatouille to District 9 to Into the Wild. There is a deep layer of meaning and purpose in almost everything around us, and it rocks! It also hurts sometimes, too. And I do choose to embrace all of it, the easy and the hard….but not without some panache and sarcasm along the way. =)