Taken Should be Rated R Essay

Film ratings was a system that was introduced in 1968 in order to help provide parents with the needed information necessary to determine if a movie is appropriate for the children and the teenagers. Although the rating in the 80s was cautiously done and closely monitored to protect the children from harmful content that included violence, sexual, and drug content, the present day rating are different where films with violent content such as Taken are rated PG-13 instead of R. Additionally, violence, drugs, and sexual content had multiplied at an alarming rate in the recent years. In essence, Taken is a well-scripted movie about a retired government agent whose daughter is kidnapped with her friend on their arrival in Paris. He discovers that his daughters together with her friend were abducted by sex slaves. Bryan, therefore, unleashes all the skills he had previously learned in Black ops to rescue his daughter before she is auctioned. However, the main question still remains if the movie is appropriate for a thirteen-year-old or not. This essay will look at the different ways that the movie impacts the lives and the thought process of the young people.

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In opposing the move about the proposal to rate the movie Taken R, people argue that the film uses a strong language with good grammar that people can use to learn and also emulate. It is true that the movie uses good and standard English that the young people can learn and use in their conversations. Secondly, although the language used uses stronger words that are vulgar, it does not use them in such an excessive manner that would affect the behavior of the teenagers. They also argue that the advantages of the good language used in the film outweigh the shortcomings of the very strong language. For example, the movie uses some bad language such as 'fuck' and 'bitch'. However, according to the research by Coyne, Sarah, and other scholars, it is evident that good language used in the movies would be a good way for the young people to learn how to use and communicate effectively using good grammar. Therefore, teenagers exposed to films with good grammar tend to learn and communicate effectively.

Secondly, it is argued that the movie addresses the sensitive topic of human trafficking which has become an issue of concern to the society today. Although human trafficking is becoming a common practice in our society today, there are not many people who are aware of it or even if they are aware, they do not believe it is real or it could happen to them. therefore, the film acts as an eye opener or a means to enlighten the public and especially the young people on such vices as human trafficking so that they will remain aware and protect themselves at all time. As a result, the movie helps to inform the people and especially the teenagers to be vigilant and aware of such vices and how to protect themselves when such issues happen. For instance, from the movie, Kim, Bryan's daughter is abducted by sex slavers on her arrival to Paris with her friend. She is to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. From the trafficking report by Tidball, Sriyani, and Shireen, it is important to educate and train the society of some of the vices such as human trafficking that is taking root in the society today. By creating awareness on such vices, the children and parents can create strategies to protect themselves from falling victim.

In essence, these arguments are faulty because there is no way a language used in a film can be said to be good just because it uses less vulgarity. Even if it is not as much as it is in other films, it is still present and could affect the communication behavior of the young people. Whether it is used sparingly or not, it still makes it look like a normal language in the society. Therefore, children who watch the movie could easily adopt the language which would in return lead to aggression. Secondly, even if the movie addresses a common issue such as human trafficking, it could also encourage the people to also turn into such violent acts thus hurting the people around them.

In support of the argument, it is worth mentioning that the film shows a lot of sexual content that is harmful to the young people. too much sexual content is considered harmful to the minds of the young people and the teenagers who are not experiences and take in whatever they view from the media as what is right. For instance, the film shows how the abducted people are sold off and used as sex slaves. The scenes explicitly show the detailed actions of what happens. According to Collins, Rebecca, and the other researchers, in their article, they put out that teenagers are a sensitive people who are at a critical age in their lives. the reason is that they are at an informative age where they are looking to learn and experience new things. therefore, with such heavy sexual content in the film, the teens are at risk of exposing themselves to premature sex that would lead to sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies. Therefore, movies such as Taken with such sexual content should be rated R to protect the young people from these vices.

Secondly, the movie also uses a lot of scenes where there is the use of alcohol and other drug substances. These substances are harmful to the body and should not be used. For instance, in the different scenes, there are different people who are openly taking drugs and making it look like it stimulates the body. For instance, the kidnappers are heavy users of such drugs such as cigarette smoking and alcohol. According to Bleakley, Amy, and Ellithorpe, such content is harmful to the young people because they are at an informative stage and spend most of their time on TV where they get to learn different things. Therefore, exposure to such vices as the use of alcohol would encourage them to also engage in the same behavior.

Therefore, it is apparent that at such a critical age, the teenagers should not be involved or exposed to such bad content that encourages sexual practices and use of drugs in the society. The reason is that the young people will take these vices like normal practices as they grow up. They will then begin practicing them thus exposing themselves to dangers such as drug and alcohol addiction, sexually transmitted illnesses and unplanned pregnancies. Therefore, to protect the young people, it is important that movies such as Taken be rated R.

Conclusion

To conclude this discussion, there has been a major disconnect in the rating of movies in the recent times. The reason is that movies that could have been previously rated R in the recent years have been rated PG-13 allowing them to be made available for the teenagers. Films such as taken have content that has been proven to be harmful to the young viewers and therefore should be rated R.

Works Cited

Bleakley, Amy and Ellithorpe, Morgan."How Are Adolescents Affected by What They Watch on TV?" Annenberg School for Communication, 22 Mar. 2016, www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/how-are-adolescents-affected-what-they-watch-tv.

Collins, Rebecca L., et al. "Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens' Sexual Activity?" RAND Corporation, 2004, www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9068.html.

Coyne, Sarah M., et al. "Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior Regarding Profanity Use and Aggression." Pediatrics, vol. 128, no. 5, Nov. 2011, pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/128/5/867.full.pdf.

Tidball, Sriyani, and Shireen S. Rajaram. Schools and Anti-Trafficking Awareness: Education/Training Key Influencers & Students. 2017, Schools and Anti-Trafficking Awareness: Education/Training Key Influencers & Students, www.unmc.edu/publichealth/departments/healthpromotion/facultyandstaff/01-Trafficking-Report-final.pdf.