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I'm sure I'm not the only person here who buys DVDs from America as well as the UK. I'm 21 so age ratings on films aren't a problem to me but what about younger children who have debit cards that can be used on the Internet to but DVDs from all over the world?
I'm not going to get into the 'are they a good thing' discussion again. The point I'm drawing attention to is that there are often differences in age ratings for different countries. America uses a different age rating system to ours and so (assuming guidelines are enforced) films will often be available to children at different ages in different countries.
For example, I bought Scary Movie a while ago on R1 (Canadian version) and it had a 14A rating. In the UK it's been given an 18 rating (according to my sources: Amazon and DVDStreet). Let's suppose I was 16 years old. Should I have been allowed to buy this disc from America? Think about it, I'd be underage in the country I'm in when buying it but over the required age to buy it in the country that I'm buying it from?
(pause while I re-read that bit to check it makes sense).
The differences are also very apparent with the UK and Ireland. Look at the discs in your collection and most of them should have 2 ratings on them, one for the UK and one for the Irish Republic. Chances are you'll have a couple of discs where the rating isn't the same. Here's a selection of mine (remember these apply to the same film/disc, not edited in any way):
Austin Powers 2
UK = 12 Ireland = 15
Charlie's Angels
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
The 5th Element
UK = PG Ireland = 12
Independence Day
UK = 12 Ireland = PG
Jurassic Park: The Lost World
UK = PG Ireland = 12
The Mask
UK = PG Ireland = 12
The Matrix
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
The Mummy
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
Road Trip
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
Sleepy Hollow
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
U-571
UK = 12 Ireland = 15
(sorry if I've made any mistakes in the list but you still get the idea)
Suppose you we're a 16-year-old in Ireland and wanted to buy The Matrix from a UK based Internet site - which age rating would apply? You'd be too young to buy it in your own country but another would let you do so quite happily.
DVDs are a global business, whether through multi-region players or (more favourably in the industry) Region 0 discs.
However, the obvious solution of having a global age rating is unlikely because of the differences between the people and tastes in different countries.
What else could be done? How can you enforce age ratings over the Internet anyway? Does anyone care? For the answers to all these questions and more hang about for a bit and see if anyone replies.
By the way, I liked the topic title. I though it was better (and also more interesting) than 'Where you're shopping FROM or where you're shopping AT?'.
I'm not going to get into the 'are they a good thing' discussion again. The point I'm drawing attention to is that there are often differences in age ratings for different countries. America uses a different age rating system to ours and so (assuming guidelines are enforced) films will often be available to children at different ages in different countries.
For example, I bought Scary Movie a while ago on R1 (Canadian version) and it had a 14A rating. In the UK it's been given an 18 rating (according to my sources: Amazon and DVDStreet). Let's suppose I was 16 years old. Should I have been allowed to buy this disc from America? Think about it, I'd be underage in the country I'm in when buying it but over the required age to buy it in the country that I'm buying it from?
(pause while I re-read that bit to check it makes sense).
The differences are also very apparent with the UK and Ireland. Look at the discs in your collection and most of them should have 2 ratings on them, one for the UK and one for the Irish Republic. Chances are you'll have a couple of discs where the rating isn't the same. Here's a selection of mine (remember these apply to the same film/disc, not edited in any way):
Austin Powers 2
UK = 12 Ireland = 15
Charlie's Angels
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
The 5th Element
UK = PG Ireland = 12
Independence Day
UK = 12 Ireland = PG
Jurassic Park: The Lost World
UK = PG Ireland = 12
The Mask
UK = PG Ireland = 12
The Matrix
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
The Mummy
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
Road Trip
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
Sleepy Hollow
UK = 15 Ireland = 18
U-571
UK = 12 Ireland = 15
(sorry if I've made any mistakes in the list but you still get the idea)
Suppose you we're a 16-year-old in Ireland and wanted to buy The Matrix from a UK based Internet site - which age rating would apply? You'd be too young to buy it in your own country but another would let you do so quite happily.
DVDs are a global business, whether through multi-region players or (more favourably in the industry) Region 0 discs.
However, the obvious solution of having a global age rating is unlikely because of the differences between the people and tastes in different countries.
What else could be done? How can you enforce age ratings over the Internet anyway? Does anyone care? For the answers to all these questions and more hang about for a bit and see if anyone replies.
By the way, I liked the topic title. I though it was better (and also more interesting) than 'Where you're shopping FROM or where you're shopping AT?'.
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Goatboy wrote:
> If anything, you've made a very good point.
Regulars are treated
> no differently to newbies or notables when it comes to what may
> win.
I'll take comfort in that thought when I'm out spending money on films ;)
> If anything, you've made a very good point.
Regulars are treated
> no differently to newbies or notables when it comes to what may
> win.
I'll take comfort in that thought when I'm out spending money on films ;)
If anything, you've made a very good point.
Regulars are treated no differently to newbies or notables when it comes to what may win.
Regulars are treated no differently to newbies or notables when it comes to what may win.
For the first time in nearly a year on these forums I'm disappointed I didn't win something. As soon as I thought of the idea for the post I thought it could be a winner.
Instead I'm beaten by a brief 'review' of Gladiator. A review which includes a couple of spoilers! OK so they're not spoilers in the same league as, say, giving away the ending to The Sixth Sense but they do take out elements of the film.
I've read a few winning reviews on this site and have to say most of them are very good - without needing to tell us things that happen in the film.
It just goes to show that regulars aren't favoured for prizes like many people think.
Sorry if this sounds a little sore.
Instead I'm beaten by a brief 'review' of Gladiator. A review which includes a couple of spoilers! OK so they're not spoilers in the same league as, say, giving away the ending to The Sixth Sense but they do take out elements of the film.
I've read a few winning reviews on this site and have to say most of them are very good - without needing to tell us things that happen in the film.
It just goes to show that regulars aren't favoured for prizes like many people think.
Sorry if this sounds a little sore.
Okay, then. What is all this about the chicken and the chalice?
Frequently and quite willingly.
But not as much as Captain Funk, it's quite shocking really.
(ask him about the chicken and the chalice)
But not as much as Captain Funk, it's quite shocking really.
(ask him about the chicken and the chalice)
And you haven't sinned then Goatboy?
SINNER!
> If this is indeed Irish ratings, Arn't the Irish
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
A lot of Irish people are Catholic yes, but their particular strand of christianity is by no means more conservative.
Power, evil, and cruelty feature big, so they let anything go. Just as long as any sex scenes don't involve the use of condoms.
Every sperm is sacred.
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
A lot of Irish people are Catholic yes, but their particular strand of christianity is by no means more conservative.
Power, evil, and cruelty feature big, so they let anything go. Just as long as any sex scenes don't involve the use of condoms.
Every sperm is sacred.
> If this is indeed Irish ratings, Arn't the Irish
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
A lot of Irish people are Catholic yes, but their particular strand of christianity is by no means more conservative.
Power, evil, and cruelty feature big, so they let anything go. Just as long as any sex scenes don't involve the use of condoms.
Every sperm is sacred.
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
A lot of Irish people are Catholic yes, but their particular strand of christianity is by no means more conservative.
Power, evil, and cruelty feature big, so they let anything go. Just as long as any sex scenes don't involve the use of condoms.
Every sperm is sacred.
Mewtwo wrote:
If this is indeed Irish ratings, Arn't the Irish
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
That's what I thought at first but pick out a few from the list I gave and you'll see that Ireland doesn't always have the higher rating:
Charlie's Angels
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
Independence Day
UK = 12 Ireland = PG
The Mummy
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
I think we can assume it's more to do with more specific content in film, rather than just it being more violent/rude than another (for example bad and explicit language are different things), but what about the 'which age rating applies' query?
If this is indeed Irish ratings, Arn't the Irish
> Catholic? and so we could assume would have tigter ratings
> controll?
That's what I thought at first but pick out a few from the list I gave and you'll see that Ireland doesn't always have the higher rating:
Charlie's Angels
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
Independence Day
UK = 12 Ireland = PG
The Mummy
UK = 15 Ireland = 12
I think we can assume it's more to do with more specific content in film, rather than just it being more violent/rude than another (for example bad and explicit language are different things), but what about the 'which age rating applies' query?
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