Going to a movie on a Friday or Saturday night is a long time tradition for teenager. Whether it’s a comedy, romantic, action, or horror movie, theatres tend to attract crowds during the weekend.

Movie trailers often come out months or sometimes even a year before a movie. The buildup often results in people getting excited to go see a certain movie when it comes out, until teenagers’ plans get interrupted when they find out the movie rating.

The Motion Picture Association of America prevents people under the age of 17 from seeing any R-rated movies in theatres without a parent or guardian present. This restricts all teenagers under 17 to only being able to watch G, PG, and PG-13 movies which can become a big inconvenience.  

When teenagers go to a movie, they usually want to go with their friends, and not have parents hovering over them. However, plenty of movies these days are rated R such as horror films, action and others. The MPAA states that an R-rated film contains adult material, and parents should learn a lot about the movie before taking their child to watch it. However, I feel like age does not determine a person’s maturity.

The guidelines and restrictions laid out by the MPAA prevent younger kids from being able to view content deemed inappropriate for those of a young age, such as explicit language, violence, nudity, and drug use. If a teenager decides to watch a movie that may contain adult-content, it is ultimately their responsibility to determine whether they are prepared for what’s to come.

Others are like minded as Debate.org hosted a poll asking the public wheteher a teenager should be allowed to watch an R-rated movie without the accompaning of an adult/guardian. The results were clear, as 80 percent agree with teenagers being allowed this privilege, while the remaining 20 percent agree with the way it is now.

In today’s world, these age restrictions don’t make sense. Sure, the MPAA ratings may prevent a young teenager from seeing R-rated movies at the theatre, but it doesn’t stop that same teenager from watching that same movie at home on a DVD or online. All this does it lead teens to either sneak into a movie or find another way to watch it.

Going to the theatres can be very fun for many, as there is always new and different movies being released each week. Adults don’t have to deal with age restrictions and get to fully enjoy the experience of watching any movie of choice. It’s time to get rid of these archaic ratings and let teens and their parents decide what movies can be seen.