The most effective rating there is
Written by: Rough Writer Staff | 13 Jan 2009
There has always been controversy surrounding the various media ratings systems. There are plenty of people doling out official ratings from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for movies to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) for video games, along with a plethora of people complaining about the flaws of the ratings they assign.
Many people disagree with the ratings games and movies are given. Sometimes they have to be censored to reach a desirable rating. Other times, in the case of video games, retailers get busted for not being strict enough when selling games to those who are underage.
From senators and government officials to Jack Thompson (the lawyer infamous for his vendetta against violence in games) to the ratings boards themselves, there is always more than enough blame being sent around.
However, it seems that among the many groups that should be preventing children from accessing content meant for older and more mature audiences, there is one that is continually forgotten and therefore left off the hook.
The Parents.
They are the one group in the best position to protect children from content that they shouldn’t be seeing and they are in a much better position to make an accurate decision about what content is appropriate than any ratings system, no matter how advanced.
The shortcomings
Rating systems only take into account age. While that is one of the only easily verifiable and simple ways to determine what is appropriate, age only matters so much.
The ratings systems cannot take into account personality, how much violence someone can take and most importantly, how impressionable they are.
The ratings systems cannot take into account personality, how much violence someone can take and most importantly, how impressionable they are. It’s not like a magical transformation happens every time you grow a year older.
While you do mature and it definitely changes you, it is not clear cut year by year. There are some 17-year-olds who are actually affected by certain games and movies more than most and there are others who have dealt with more in their lives already than most of us ever will. If the parents are doing their job, they should be able to make the distinctions that the ratings systems lack.
Media violence
One of the big controversies is with how the media, especially video games, influences teenagers to be violent. However, most people aren’t even affected very much by violence in the media. Most people aren’t completely indifferent either, but it’s the people who are already troubled and already have problems in their lives that will really be affected by the media they consume. Once again, only the parents can know what their child or teenager can handle.
The vast majority of people are not going to be affected by the games they play, the movies they watch, the music they listen to and the books they read. The select few that are aversely affected always have something else going on; even the worst games can only bring out what’s already wrong with someone, not create it. Even then this is incredibly rare.
Knowing your child
Now, I’m not saying parents should closely regulate everything relating to the media, like the amount of time; that’s a completely different argument. I’m just saying that if the parents know their kids and know what content they can handle and how it will affect them, they can make important distinctions the rating system is simply incapable of. The ratings system is meant to be a guide and the parents are the ones that need to decide how accurate it is for their children.
And I’m definitely not saying everyone else should get an automatic pass for the deficiencies and mistakes surrounding media ratings while all the blame is placed on the parents.
Each element from the media providers to the organizations to the consumers has its place. It’s usually not one single factor that leads to problems. The ESRB or MPAA can make mistakes or game developers and movie producers can go too far with what is really necessary. There are plenty of reasons why “inappropriate” content gets into the wrong hands.
Each has its place
While it seems that these groups are consistently being attacked and attacking each other, I find it curious that the parents are rarely brought into the equation, despite the fact that they are the ones that should have the biggest influence.
I just think that everyone who isn’t doing their job should be held under equal scrutiny and hopefully that will lead to them accepting their responsibilities instead of merely pawning their deficiencies in judgment off to others.
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