PG-13 Films Teach Kids Violence

A report on top-earning movies marketed to adolescents published in Pediatrics shows that 87 percent of PG-13 films contain scenes of violence.

Studying a sample of 77 films released between 1999 and 2000, researchers found 2251 acts of violence, with a mean number of 29 per film. Approximately half of these actions were lethal. The body was the most common weapon of violence (45.5 percent), followed by firearms (31. percent). "Good" and "bad" characters participated in the acts about equally, however the majority of "good" characters perpetrating were young white men while "bad" perpetrators were more diverse. Findings were similar to the National Television Violence Study which showed that 90 percent of television programming contained violence.

Past studies have shown that portraying violence without consequence encourages aggressive behaviors and attitudes among viewers, while a discussion of its effects has an inhibitory effect. However, only one of the 77 films, Pay It Forward, spent time dealing with the repercussions of its violence.

Noting large numbers of homicides committed by youth age 12 to 24, the report notes that while no single environmental factor is to blame for this aggression, "education has become indistinguishable from entertainment and...popular films have an impact on beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge."

The report studied the PG-13 category because it is the rating commonly targeted by action films and other Hollywood blockbusters. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)'s rating system does not require parental guidance for anyone age 13 and over to see these films, however, researchers note that these films are often more violent than R-rated films.

The report warns against unsupervised viewing, particularly in the case of films rated for "violence" or the synonymous "action," and suggests that parents visit websites such as Kids-In-Mind before allowing children to watch films they are unable to preview. It further calls upon the film industry to tone down violence and for the MPAA, a voluntary association of parents, to require members to read about social learning theory.

Press Release: PG-13 Films Not Safe for Kids, UCLA Researchers Say
FULL TEXT: Violent Entertainment Pitched to Adolescents: An Analysis of PG-13 Films