finally, some truth

I have this issue with not being able to just sit and do nothing.  Even when I eat, I have to been reading/watching/talking to someone.  I was making dinner tonight (Mac 'N Cheese...oh, the life of a college student), and while the water was boiling, I was reading the WSJ.  Page after page of reading about suicide bombings in Pakistan and riots in my beloved London and reviews about President Obama (negative...), I came across an article by the famous movie critic, Roger Ebert called "Getting Real About Movie Ratings: Roger Ebert on why the only letters that should count at the multiplex are 'G', 'T', and 'A'".  I found myself agreeing with every single thing in that article.  I like Roger. 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703766704576009343432436296.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
He discusses how the rating system is so messed up and the MPAA has gone downhill since the 1970s when it was first started.  For example, I was disappointed to hear that the new movie "The King's Speech" was rated R in America because I wanted to see it.  But then I found out that it's rated G in Quebec and 12A in the UK (which means you have to be accompanied by an adult if you're under 12).  I can just go across the border and not feel guilty about seeing this movie, right?  Well, the movie is still rated R in America for lots of F-words.  What does this mean?  That America's holier than thou? 
I don't think so, because he also talks about programs like Screenit.com and how it "tells you exactly what [the movie] contains".  For example, in "How to Train Your Dragon" (which I just adore), it's "rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language."  Screenit.com reveals that it has lines like: "All hell is going to break loose in my undies" and "Thanks for the breast hat".  Adults will chuckle at this since it's older humor, so what will the kiddies do who look to their parents when they don't understand the adult humor?  They'll just chuckle along with them.  I have Disney movie Sunday nights with a friend of mine and we definitely pick up on things that we didn't when we were a child.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney and Pixar and Dreamworks.  They have made some fine motion pictures.  But for movies like "The King's Speech", I would like to be better informed on what I'm getting myself into.  What's a single letter going to tell me about a 1.5-2.5 hour film?  What's going to be fed to my brain that I will never be able to get rid of?  As Ebert put it, "At a time when literally any content can find its way into most American homes, what's the point of singling out theatrical films? It's time to admit we've lost our innocence."
So, yes, Roger, we should fix our rating system.  Or get a new one entirely different.  Or not leave it up to one company, who seems to try to be a crowd-pleaser.  Either way, it's terrifying that we have lost our innocence.

{If you haven't seen this movie, GO! DO IT NOW!}