Letting kids watch R-rated movies
Image via Wikipedia I can't remember for sure what my first R-rated movie was. If my fuzzy middle-aged mental hard drive (which could use a serious defrag) is working correctly at the moment, I think it was either Flashdance or Purple Rain when I was about 14 years old. I have clearer memories, actually, of what my best friend and I had to do to rent such films. Specifically, my R-rated experiences depended upon a bit of luck, an older, ethically lax friend who punched the clock at our small-town video store … and my parents going to bed early. Both films have content concerns that are way out of bounds for a young teen (and most other folks, too, for that matter). But at the time, if you had asked me if I thought the films impacted me in a negative way, I'm sure I would have said something like, "It's just a stupid movie! It doesn't really matter. It's no big deal." My conscience knew better, though, and I still recall the illicit rush ...