Levels of gun violence have more than tripled since 1985 in films
rated as suitable for teenagers, according to a US study.
Gun violence in PG-13 films last year actually exceeded that in films
rated R for viewers aged 17 and older, according to the research.
Overall film violence had doubled since 1950, found the study
published in the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Put simply, violence “sells”, one researcher told the BBC.
Dr Daniel Romer, co-author of Gun Violence Trends in Movies, said he
and his colleagues had examined the top 30 grossing movies of each
year from 2012 to 1950.
In a total of 945 films from the last six decades, there were 17,695
violent scenes, according to the joint study by Ohio State University
and the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Some 396 of the 420 films they studied since 1985 contained violence,
including 783 instances of gun violence.
Some of the recent PG-13 movies that “had a lot of gun violence”,
according to the study, included The Dark Knight (2008), Transformers:
Dark of the Moon (2011), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011),
The Avengers (2012), The Amazing Spiderman (2012) and Taken 2 (2012).
The study’s authors suggested that sex scenes were more likely to
incur a stricter rating than scenes of violence.
Dr Romer suggested the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
re-evaluate its rating system in order to better protect young viewers
in the future.
“We’d like to see those films [containing gun violence] put into the R
category… or [have them] rethink how much gun violence they will
show,” Dr Romer said.
Viewership of R-rated films is restricted to those over age 17 or
accompanied by a parent; PG-13 strongly cautions parents that some
material may not be appropriate for viewers under age 13.
But that rating does not preclude theatres from selling tickets to
anyone of any age. – BBC Entertainment
