Checking ID at the Movies

President Clinton, worried that “G-rated kids are getting into R-rated movies,” has been pushing theater owners to voluntarily check for proof of age for youthful movie-goers. LINDSAY SPANN spoke to teens about such an enforcement procedure.

ALEXANDER DAVIS

15, 11th-grader, Concord High School, Santa Monica

Checking IDs is fair, since kids aren’t supposed to be in there anyway. They’re just taking extra precaution to make sure they don’t get in. I think it should be up to parents to decide how mature their kids are and when they feel they’re ready to make their own decision about what they view, what they read and what they listen to.

I have probably seen 10 to 15 R-rated films this year. As far as underage kids renting R-rated videos, I know they do if the parents want them to. If parents put a restriction on the video rental card, then the kids can’t get the movie unless the parents are with them.

This proposed enforcement policy is mostly about jumping on a hot issue and then taking a stand that the people want to hear in order to get votes.

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JULIO NUNEZ

17, 11th-grader, Huntington Park High School, Los Angeles

I’m not saying the ID enforcement policy is bad, but these are just movies. You see it. You think about it. It plants things it in your head. They should check IDs.

But violence is not just in the movies. A lot of times, movies are just representing what’s in life. Violent movies don’t make me feel any different afterward. It’s entertaining. It gives me something to do. It’s just like going out and playing basketball. I don’t take what I see and consider doing something with it.

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ANTHONY DENNIS

15, ninth-grader, Westchester High School

The level of maturity, not age, should determine whether someone should see an R-rated movie. Parents should know their child and help make the decision. The R rating should be enforced, but it shouldn’t be by age. But if they have to pick an age when they check ID, it should be 16.

Anyone younger should be with the parent. I am not affected by violence, but other people are. Bad things happen when some people see that kind of stuff. It is not just kids who are affected by violence. It could also be an adult who does something violent like that.

Sometimes when I am with a group of my friends and we come out of the movies it will be about 11 p.m. We all live right down the street. We walk home, and it is dark. You feel kind of weird after seeing a violent movie. It is just a movie and nothing like that will happen to you.

I have seen a lot of R-rated movies. I get in because I know a lot of people who work at the theaters. My mom always asks me what movie I am going to see and I tell her.