The
Public,
the Ratings, and Entertainment
Content
by John Fithian
NATO President
As NATO and our coalition partners undertake
the second annual Entertainment Ratings and Labeling Awareness
Month in June, we should all be mindful of how the public
views the entertainment industry.
The latest nationwide Pew Research Center
survey provides important insights for our industry. Its
results, both positive and negative, remind us why we take
our responsibility with the rating system so seriously.
On the one hand, the survey suggests that
a strong majority of Americans do not believe government
action is the proper
way to address concerns about sex, violence and indecency
in the entertainment industry. They blame audiences more
than the industry for the existence of objectionable material,
and they blame parents more than the industry for children’s
exposure to explicit sex or graphic violence. They also
have a more favorable opinion of the movie industry and
our rating system than of our counterparts in music or
videogames. That is the good news.
On the other hand, the survey indicates
that we have more work to do to understand parents’ concerns better
and to educate them about our rating system and the content
of the movies our members exhibit. Though the government
and the industry have focused on issues like adult language,
sexual content and violence, the survey reveals that parents
are substantially more bothered by depictions of drug use
than any of those other three issues. Despite the fact
that a strong majority of parents place either a fair amount
or a great deal of trust in the movie rating system, a
sizable minority of parents believe that they do not find
enough information available to them to make entertainment
decisions for their children. That may partially explain
why a majority of parents favor a universal rating system
for all entertainment products – to make their choices
easier to understand.
Here are some selected numbers worth noting:
| Greater danger ... |
% |
| Undue gov’t restrictions |
48 |
| Harmful content |
41 |
| Neither/both/don’t know |
11 |
| |
100 |
| |
|
| |
|
| Best way to reduce |
| media sex, violence |
% |
| Public boycotts |
37 |
| Gov’t rules/fines |
32 |
| Industry rules |
23 |
| Other/don’t know |
8 |
| |
100 |
| |
|
| |
|
| Overall favorable opinion of |
% |
| Tech companies |
78 |
| Movie and TV industry |
60 |
| Fast food companies |
56 |
| News media |
56 |
| Music industry |
55 |
| Pharmaceutical companies |
43 |
| Video game manufacturers |
34 |
| Oil companies |
27 |
| Tobacco companies |
21 |
| |
| |
Most responsible
for screening kids
from sex, violence
... |
% |
| Parents |
86 |
| Entertainment industry |
8 |
| Federal government |
4 |
| Don’t know |
2 |
| |
100 |
| |
Percent who are
“bothered a lot” by ... |
% |
| Depictions of drug use |
46 |
| Reality programs |
38 |
| Gay characters & themes |
33 |
| Adult language |
32 |
| Sexual content |
30 |
|
| Violence |
29 |
| |
| |
Very concerned about
what kids see and hear on ... |
% |
| The Internet |
73 |
| TV |
61 |
| Music lyrics |
61 |
| Video games |
60 |
| Movies |
56 |
| |
| |
How much trust
do parents
place in the various
ratings systems?
|
| Industry System |
“Great Deal
of Trust” |
“Fair Amount
of Trust” |
Total |
| Movies |
24% |
51% |
75% |
| TV shows |
18% |
49% |
67% |
| Music lyrics |
21% |
42% |
63% |
| Video games |
17% |
42% |
59% |
| |
| |
Enough information
to decide for kids? |
% |
| Yes |
63 |
| No |
35 |
| Don’t know |
2 |
| |
100 |
| |
| |
| Proposals to curb indecency |
% |
| Gov’t enforce TV family hour |
73 |
| Increase TV fines |
61 |
| Single rating system |
61 |
| Apply network rules to cable |
60 |
In an age of Republican control of the federal
government, and the rise of political influence for conservative
religious organizations, we should also note that Democrats
have a much more favorable opinion of the movie industry
than do Republicans (66 percent favorable compared with
48 percent). Similarly, a much higher percentage of those
who attend church regularly are concerned about what children
see in the movies than are those who seldom or never attend
(69 percent very concerned versus 41percent). Thus, even
the relatively good general numbers for the movie industry
should be tempered in our minds when we consider the balance
of political power in this country.
Though the survey contains much more, I
will conclude with a simple reminder that whatever good
poll numbers the movie
industry receives emanate in part from your vigilance with
the movie rating system. Let’s keep that fact in
mind as we embrace Entertainment Ratings and Labeling Awareness
Month – it’s an opportunity to preserve the
good numbers and improve the bad!
You can find all of these numbers and more
at www.people-press.org. The survey makes for fascinating
reading.
