Carding Junior at the Flicks

The entertainment industry has launched a preemptive strike in the controversy over gratuitous film violence and its effect on juveniles. The North Hollywood-based National Assn. of Theater Owners said its members will seek to turn away anyone 16 or younger at showings of R-rated films. In other words, the ticket seller’s parting line “Please enjoy the movie” will be prefaced with “Can I see some ID?”

A couple of obvious questions: Can it be done and, if so, will it? Close followers of the industry’s one-step-ahead-of-regulation initiative will recall the Motion Picture Assn. of America’s 1968 decision to establish a ratings system. It came in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that local governments could form ratings boards and, potentially, censor movies. Since then, the MPAA has argued that the ratings system is cautionary and advisory only. Theater owners are not compelled to enforce anything.

But what if they did? First, the age checks would mean longer waits in line for everyone, especially at multiplexes. Inside, there would be the problem of a 14-year-old buying a Disney-movie ticket and walking instead into the slasher flick. To meet the rules, cinematic bouncers would have to be hired for duty at multiplex theater doors. There would be a cost to compliance.

This issue is probably something that the industry should have worked out, well, 31 years ago. We’ll see what effect the newly announced strategy will have. Age checks are not a panacea, but they’re worth a try.