Why is TV-MA frowned upon?

[ComfortableInChaos]

So I was talking to my mom a few days ago and we were talking about TV shows and I asked her if she watched Breaking Bad and she hadn't so I told her about it and she asked what the rating was for it and I told her TVMA... But what is the problem with TVMA? I only remember nudity in like, 2-3 episodes.

I have HBO on my TV subscription and my mom was talking to me about Girls and how much sex is in it and how it needs to be off of TV and I was trying to tell her how it's rated TVMA for that reason. She says "Oh, I'm not surprised." I started watching the show and yes, there is a lot of sex but I just don't understand what is so bad about it. I'm all caught up now and the only problem is just how strong the language is and the nudity every other episode. I've only seen boobs, ass, vag (it was like the frontal view), and a guy cumming on a girl's chest in the show. It didn't show dicks like Game of Thrones does. Game of Thrones shows it all...

So continuing the story about Girls, I was at Best Buy with a friend who is 17 (I think I was 15 at the time, but I'm 16 now) and I was buying the first season on DVD of Girls and I wasn't allowed because of the rating. My friend who is 17 had to buy it for me because the show has a TV-MA rating. It's not like the show has just straight up hardcore porn in it. I do understand about how it shows things that don't need to be shown particularly to kids, but I don't understand why 16 is such a big difference from 17.

My question is: Does anyone think it's ridiculous to have the age limit for TV-MA set as 17? At least it is here, in the United States. Please share thoughts below.

[Miserabilia]

Mm.
Well all of those things are still "mature", they are sexual and they set up a certain age for it, it's not like they are going to sell it to those who are younger just because they don't show full on porn or dicks, there's just a limit I guess.

[ComfortableInChaos]

Mm.
Well all of those things are still "mature", they are sexual and they set up a certain age for it, it's not like they are going to sell it to those who are younger just because they don't show full on porn or dicks, there's just a limit I guess.

But if I want to, I can just google it right now and find it. When I was 12, I came across the word "porn" and found a video online and watched it.

[Miserabilia]

But if I want to, I can just google it right now and find it. When I was 12, I came across the word "porn" and found a video online and watched it.

Ofcourse, but in a world of lawsuits, there's no big deal unless you buy something; if you actualy buy a porn at too young age, you can file a lawsuit against the owners for letting you watch it.
As long as it's free, it's still not legal for you to watch it, but the owners of the video have no controll over who visits their site, so they are not the ones that are in the wrong, which is why they don't bother to protext themselves with an age limit.

[ComfortableInChaos]

Ofcourse, but in a world of lawsuits, there's no big deal unless you buy something; if you actualy buy a porn at too young age, you can file a lawsuit against the owners for letting you watch it.
As long as it's free, it's still not legal for you to watch it, but the owners of the video have no controll over who visits their site, so they are not the ones that are in the wrong, which is why they don't bother to protext themselves with an age limit.

Some sites have a little pop up window asking if you're 18 or older, which I can understand, but some websites like PirateBay have porn ads on the side on the website and if a kid goes there by accident, there's porn. Bam. Right in their faces.

[Korashk]

I'm all caught up now and the only problem is just how strong the language is and the nudity every other episode. I've only seen boobs, ass, vag (it was like the frontal view), and a guy cumming on a girl's chest in the show. It didn't show dicks like Game of Thrones does. Game of Thrones shows it all...
Ugh, Girls. I hate that show. It's just so terrible; you can't claim a show is a comedy and then have it not be funny. I'd be less hard on it if it claimed to be a drama or something else. Also, it's way more sexually explicit than Game of Thrones. Showing dicks /= Sexually explicit. Not really relevant to the thread, but I wanted to get that off my chest.

My question is: Does anyone think it's ridiculous to have the age limit for TV-MA set as 17? At least it is here, in the United States. Please share thoughts below.
There is no legal age limit for the consumption of entertainment media other than pornography in America. Enforcement of stuff like that is up to individual stores. There's nothing legally preventing them from selling TV-MA, or Rated R content to 5-year-olds.

[ComfortableInChaos]

Ugh, Girls. I hate that show. It's just so terrible; you can't claim a show is a comedy and then have it not be funny. I'd be less hard on it if it claimed to be a drama or something else. Also, it's way more sexually explicit than Game of Thrones. Showing dicks /= Sexually explicit. Not really relevant to the thread, but I wanted to get that off my chest.


There is no legal age limit for the consumption of entertainment media other than pornography in America. Enforcement of stuff like that is up to individual stores. There's nothing legally preventing them from selling TV-MA, or Rated R content to 5-year-olds.

I have never seen a dick in Girls and I didn't know it was supposed to be a comedy... some things make me laugh but it's more dramatic than anything else :P I just don't like how much it's being put down since Lena Dunham is overweight a little bit and she's nude in the show (that's a whole other thing) but still, I think it's stupid for there to be a limit. Almost all stores do card you

[Camazotz]

Are you aware that films are rated (http://www.mpaa.org/film-ratings/) by the Motion Picture Association America based on maturity levels? And video games (http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp) as well?

It's the same exact thing; certain audiences aren't mature enough to handle the content. Each product is targeted at a certain age group. These organizations help determine what is suitable for these groups based on societal standards.

I've watched TV-MA shows since I was 11/12. My mom didn't especially like it, but she thought it wasn't too bad because I was mature for my age. I think this is a parenting decision; maybe you shouldn't be watching a show like that. The MA shows I watched were Family Guy and cartoons like that: no nudity, but sexual jokes and offensive language.

[Gamma Male]

Yeah, some ratings are kinda stupid. I mean, I have never seen anything in a pg13 movie that wouldn't be perfectly fine for a 6 year old. Overprotectiveness and extreme sheltering is simply bad parenting.

[Karkat]

Ever heard of iTunes or Amazon? ;) I've been buying R-Rated movies on them for years undetected. No ID required.

It's up to the store. The only laws around it are for movie theaters if I remember right- not stores. But most stores will card you to prevent parents coming in and complaining.

You realize that until you're of legal age, unless you get emancipated or your parents don't take care of you properly, your parents OWN you? They have the legal right to control almost everything you do. You have no power. This is why you get carded for non-illegal purchases. R-Rated movies and MA-Rated television shows are usually deemed inappropriate for children, and a fair amount of parents agree. And these are the kinds of parents who are going to best case scenario angrily ask for a refund and reprimand the poor sap who made the sale, or worst case scenario, try to file a suit or make a stink up in corporate.

Personally, I think that it's hilarious that it's 17. Why not 18? Why not that extra year? However, I am somewhat thankful, because there are a couple video games I wouldn't own otherwise.

Yeah, some ratings are kinda stupid. I mean, I have never seen anything in a pg13 movie that wouldn't be perfectly fine for a 6 year old. Overprotectiveness and extreme sheltering is simply bad parenting.

That's ironic, because my dad made me watch R-Rated movies with him when I was 8-12 years old, and some of them- namely the violent ones, obviously- made my anxiety and nightmares unbearable. Some PG-13 movies did that as well. It wasn't because my parents sheltered me obviously, that doesn't make any sense.

Little kids have different wiring in their brains. Some can watch Repo! unfazed apparently (read on Commonsensemedia tonight, which is a little unnerving imo) some are terrified of Finding Nemo. (Which did affect me to some extent as a kid, but not really. It just wasn't one I watched over and over because I didn't like how sad/'scary' certain parts were.) They aren't developed enough to understand some things, and likewise, they find some things 'scary' or even downright TERRIFYING that wouldn't affect a soul on this forum. It wouldn't make sense to us- why would that be scary? We're not little kids, that's why.

I think I'd leave it up to my kid to SOME extent personally, but graphic-images would be a no-no, because there's no way in hell I'd put them through the shit I went through as a little kid. Maybe a little older, but at least 10. Heck, my parents refused to change the channel from CSI when I begged them to, they'd ground me when I cried. It just bothered me when I was 5-10.

And I'm not affected by most of it now. I personally don't watch most crime dramas at the moment, but that's out of choice. I'm bipolar, most of them are fairly dark and they obviously deal with death a lot, I feel like I'd be better off without it right now. But after I got over being TERRIFIED of them, I was a crime-drama fanatic.

The point being that that's a really shoddy claim, because children have to be treated...SOMEWHAT special, because they're in a rapid stage of development. They're fairly delicate mentally. They can't handle a lot of disturbing things usually. Some can, and if they can and the parent allows it, power to 'em, I guess. Whatever. Their kid. But naturally I'm going to 'shelter' my kids to some extent and be attentive to what they actually do and don't need because I understand that before you reach adulthood you're not going to be like an adult. You're not an adult. It seems like a stupid thing to point out, and most people realize it to a certain extent...Or overcompensate and shelter, blah blah, but is the fact that a child is not developmentally capable of certain things REALLY that hard of a concept to grasp?