A new study has found that the level of gun violence in movies aimed primarily at a teenage audienceis on the increase.
The study, Gun Violence Trends in Movies, published this week, found the level of gun violence – defined by the researchers as "shootiung a gun and hitting a living target" – in the top-grossing PG-13 movies had more than tripled since 1985.
The rating PG-13 stands for parental guidance for children under the age of 13 and is given by the movie industry for films that may not be appropriate for kids under 13. There is no direct equivalent in Australia, with the PG-13 category sitting somewhere between our PG and M classifications.
Published in the December issue of the US journal Pediatrics, the study shows that in 1985, the first full year of the PG-13 rating, the amount of gun violence in popular PG-13 movies was similar to that in movies rated G and PG, which are deemed suitable for all ages.
Since then, however, the gun violence in PG-13 movies has grown, and since 2009 it has rivalled the level of gun violence in R-rated movies, which are restricted to audiences 17 years and older unless accompanied by a parent (again, there is no direct Australian equivalent, with the closest parallel classification being our MA, which applies to teens aged 15 and over).
The authors of the study write: "By including guns in violent scenes, film producers may be strengthening the weapons effect and providing youth with scripts for using guns. These findings are concerning because many scientific studies have shown that violent films can increase aggression. Violent films are also now easily accessible to youth (eg, on the Internet and cable). This research suggests that the presence of weapons in films might amplify the effects of violent films on aggression."
"It's disturbing that PG-13 movies are filled with so much gun violence," said Dan Romer, director of the Adolescent Communication Institute of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and a co-author of the study. "We know that movies teach children how adults behave, and they make gun use appear exciting and attractive."
Romer said the findings were especially troubling given it cited the "weapons effect", a finding that just the sight or depiction of a gun can make people behave more aggressively.
"Because of the increasing popularity of PG-13 films, youth are exposed to considerable gun violence in movie scripts," the researchers said in the study. "The mere presence of guns in these films may increase the aggressive behaviour of youth."
Romer said the study convinced him that the ratings system must change, with violence to be rated as R for restricted. "It may be time to rethink how violence is treated in movie ratings," he said. "We treat sex as R. We should treat extreme gun violence as R," he said.
DPA, with Karl Quinn