Transformers Caught in the Crossfire of the FCC Content Filtering Enquiry

[Super_Megatron]

Transformers Caught in the Crossfire of the FCC Content Filtering Enquiry (http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/transformers-movie-just-movie-31/transformers-caught-in-the-crossfire-of-the-fcc-content-filtering-enquiry-168411/)

Category: Transformers Movie (Just Movie)

Posted From: TFW2005.COM (http://www.tfw2005.com) - Transformers (http://www.tfw2005.com)

[Team Jetfire]

Unfortunately I agree for the most part. Like I stated in my question to Hasbro, I was looking for a company line on why a Movie, marketed to children was so filled with Sex, Drugs and violence. Sure the job of the FCC, or Canadian equivalent is not to raise our kids and I fully support the role of the parents in makes these decisions, but if the ratings are tools used by parents to make informed decisions and these are compromised by studio clout, there is really no point in having them in the first place.

Plus I am sure a lot more people would have enjoyed the movie without the low brow crap.

[Sun Swipe Prime]

I'll agree that there should be consistency in the rating system, and if ROTF got a more child friendly rating than it should have, people have something to maybe gripe about. But, I get really worried when a select group wants to regulate what others can or can not see. I don't have kids, but I do have a couple of nephews, and I think it's up to the parents to filter out what they think is inappropriate, within reason of course. What that means, IMHO, is that it falls on to the shoulders of the parents, as it should be.

I'll probably catch some flak for this but... oh well.
Now in terms ROTF, if you brought your kid to see this movie, and didn't bother to check out a trailer or two before hand and then got suprised when sexy Megan Fox straddled a motor bike in her tight tight jean shorts, you didn't do your due dillagence as a parent. Because if you didn't at least suspect that there could be sex and violence in this type of movie, you're living a bubble.

I'm not telling anyone how to raise their kids, but what I do know is that, for the most part, it shouldn't be the government that filters content for kids, it should be the parent.

Ok, now, I'm going to get my bullit proof vest.

[Team Jetfire]

I agree that it is up to the parents, but how are they suppose to know how bad a movie is? The main tool that is available is the rating system and the point of the article is that the rating system is no longer valid or up to the same standards it once was.

How can parents Make the right choice, if the options are askew?

[Sun Swipe Prime]

Like I mentioned, they have to do their own work, be diligent, read a few reviews and watch a trailer or two before they take their child. It takes like fifteen minutes. If they do that, they can tell, well, at least I can, what a movie is about and what kind of content they're likely to see. Generally speaking, that's what the purpose of a trailer is.

But the thing is, some don't want to do that. They want the easy way out. They just want somebody to tell them with a rubber stamp if the movie is right for their kid to consume because they don't want to deal with it. The thing about that is, no matter how "accurate" a rating is, there's always going to be someone who's going to find something wrong in terms of content for that rating, whether it's swearing like F@ck, the use of the word Dam, or the fact that a little boy is using magic. There are no guaruantees even in a perfectly consistent rating system. It will always be subjective. What one parent deems entirely apropriate another will deem to be evil and vile. Its an unwinnable situation because they'll never be able to please everyone.

So once again, it's up to the parent to figure out if a film is right for their kid, not the ratings board. The parents have a perfectly good tool available to them. It's called common sense.

[Team Jetfire]

But if parents can't rely on the rating system, what is the point in having it?

And while I agree whole heartily about the parent taking responsibility for what the kid is watching, there is NO way that a trailer or two is enough to adequately judge if a movie is appropriate for their kids to see it. If anything, it does the parent more of a disservice because it showcases a very G rated snippet of the movie. Add that with Transformer merchandise made for preschoolers and a parent could have very little idea what could be in store for their kid during the movie. To suggest that a parent, who may have very little understanding about the movie in general, cannot trust the one thing tool that they should be able to trust to make a decision about a movie is asinine.

If the FCC was not bullied by studio heads like Spielberg, transformers would have been rated R and they would have had to edit it down to be more appropriate, or leave it the way it was and loss the demographic that they are relying on to sell merchandise to.

[Sideswipe]

I do not recall one preview showing skids calling whats his face a you know what. And then hi 5-ing afterwards about it.

Previews mean nothing. Reviews may help provide some insight to content, but definitely not previews.

[Sun Swipe Prime]

But if parents can't rely on the rating system, what is the point in having it?

I didn't say that the rating system shouldn't be consistent or don't have purpose. I'm saying that parents shouldn't be relying on it as the sole guide in determining if a movie is right for their child. There are other options that they can use instead of or in conjunction with the ratings, trailers and reviews being two other options.

And while I agree whole heartily about the parent taking responsibility for what the kid is watching, there is NO way that a trailer or two is enough to adequately judge if a movie is appropriate for their kids to see it. If anything, it does the parent more of a disservice because it showcases a very G rated snippet of the movie.

Using ROTF as an example. In my eye's, the "G-rated" trailers show two things that give clear indications of what level of sex and violence one can expect in the movie. 1- Megan fox straddling the motor bike and lifting her leg suggestively over the handlebars. 2- the aircraft carrier full of thousands of soldiers getting obliterated after the camera does a pan across clearly showing people on the deck.

Now, the trailer doesn't show the potty humor, but reading one or two of the reviews will clearly tell you about the potty humor.

Each of these things in themselves may not give a complete picture, but when you use them together, you'll get a very good idea about the things the kids will be seeing in any movie without relying on the rating system. IMHO. And the amount of time needed to do this is equivalent to watching one or two trailers and reading one or two reviews.

Add that with Transformer merchandise made for preschoolers and a parent could have very little idea what could be in store for their kid during the movie. To suggest that a parent, who may have very little understanding about the movie in general, cannot trust the one thing tool that they should be able to trust to make a decision about a movie is asinine.

If a parent doesn't have enough understanding about what the movie or the franchise are about, in general, before taking their kid to see the movie, they're not doing their due diligence in paying attention to the media their children are being exposed to.

Like I said in my last post, even with a 100% consistent rating system. There'll still be problems because what the ratings board deems as appropriate for a child of age X will differ from what parents think. What's really asinine is trusting a ratings board, any ratings board, blindly without supplementing it with ones own common sense and doing ones own research in order to make an informed decision instead of taking what's being rubber stamped as being 100% right.