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Should the MPAA abolish PG-13 rating?
Moving Ratings
Chandra Johnson
Deseret News National
Updated: Jul 14, 2014, 4:00 PM
Published: Jul 11, 2014, 4:26 PM

Is the MPAA's PG-13 rating expendable?

That's what Mashable writer Gabe Toro suggested in a Tuesday article calling out the upcoming PG-13 release of "The Expendables 4."

"PG-13 is corrupt, pointless and should be abolished," Toro wrote. "Not only is PG-13 specifically financially driven, dedicated to protecting no one from anything, but it's outdated. It's a decision created to make money, to water down films so that 'The Expendables 3' could be the same movie for a kid that it is for an adult."

But blogger Brad Brevet sees a problem with the MPAA ridding screens of PG-13: The watering down of movies rather than more R ratings.

"Thanks to the PG-13 rating the PG rating has been softened to the point it's rarely used any longer, while at the same time studios aren't going to make big budget tentpole features for an R-rated, adults-only audience," Brevet wrote. "Marvel and DC Comics' movies will be watered down to the PG-rating and adults will begin to shy away, a solution no one wants."
Yet if violence was the only distinguishing factor between PG, PG-13 and an R rating, there's little difference, as Herb Scribner of the Deseret News National Edition pointed out last year.

Scribner's article cited two 2013 studies from the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the University of Pennsylvania that found that R-rated and PG-13 films shared similar amounts of violence, sex, substance use and that gun violence in PG-13 movies has nearly tripled since 1985.

"Our findings raise serious concerns about the effectiveness of the MPAA rating system for allowing potentially harmful co-occurring content in youth-accessible films,” the later study stated.

Even kids are weighing in on the topic.
Teen Ink blogger Sonja Pond argued to take the debate one step further: the MPAA should be abolished altogether.
"If the MPAA was genuinely concerned about the well-being of America's youths, they would not rate violent movies PG-13. As long as there is no blood, movies that have numerous murders and death are rated PG-13. Whereas four times as many films received NC-17 for sex than for violence. What is that teaching children?" Pond wrote. "Anyone who has children will want to protect them from harm. What parents should be protecting their children from is the MPAA."

Email: chjohnson@deseretnews.com
Twitter: ChandraMJohnson
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
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A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
Herb Scribner
Deseret News
Published: Aug 13, 2018, 1:39 PM
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.